Starters?
- Thread starter chris142
- Start date
Either style will work just fine. One style is a bit easier to install.
The ultimate decision for me was what was in stock.......
The ultimate decision for me was what was in stock.......
icanfixall
Official GMM hand model
I like the Mistubishi gear reduction starters. They spin an idi so fast you can't count the rpm during starter run. The direct drive starters work fine but generally its felt they spin slower and are much heavier to install. They also are huge for the space they are to fit into.
austin92
Full Access Member
I put a power master in my 83 6.9 and never in my life have I been “impressed” by a starter until now. Most are remove and replace, ok it starts again but when I put that power master in I was truly in awe for probably the first 50 starts with it. Got it for 190$ online and when stock replacements at part stores are 160$ it just made sense. The gear reduction is awesome, and I will buy them for any idi I ever own
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Macrobb
Full Access Member
They are /not/ direct drive!
There is no IDI direct drive starter out there, except for an '83. The "long" style is also a gear reduction, and when in good shape, will crank exactly the same speed as the shorter style.
79jasper
Chickenhawk
Right.
The difference is offset vs straight.
But most call the straight one direct drive. Lol
While that is incorrect, I think it just stuck for knowing the difference between the two.
Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
The difference is offset vs straight.
But most call the straight one direct drive. Lol
While that is incorrect, I think it just stuck for knowing the difference between the two.
Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
Knuckledragger
blowing chunks and grabbing porcelain
Wrong. The stock Delco starters are all direct drive. They have more power (that is why they are so heavy) and spin faster than gear reduction starters. Their only real problem is that they need good batteries to work well.
Turbo engines with a little lower static compression do not need direct drive starters. N/A engines appreciate the extra grunt.
Turbo engines do not have a different cr than the na engines.
Knuckledragger
blowing chunks and grabbing porcelain
It has been my impression that any N/A engine to which a turbo is added usually gets a little trim on the pistons in order to save the non-turbo rods and/or head gasket. I am sure plenty of people just bolt it on and go drive. I did not try to research the factory turbo engines.
Macrobb
Full Access Member
Take one of the "direct drive" IDI starters apart before making claims like that.
I have, and it's pretty easy to see the gear inside.
Oh, and no on both counts for the IDI turbo stuff... First, a stock 7.3 IDI will handle a turbo just fine stock; it's only a couple of people who have shaved their pistons.
There are quite a few stock 7.3 IDIs running around with turbos on them from Banks etc.
Personally, well... check my sig. I'm pushing my rigs further than they should be without head studs(the real weak point, once you start adding a bunch of power), and so far nothing has gone.
On the factory turbo IDIs? Same as NA CR there. Rods are stronger, but we've ended up finding that a NA IDI rod is good up to about 450RWHP(and 45 PSI of boost) in a stock motor, so the extra strength isn't needed.
I have, and it's pretty easy to see the gear inside.
Oh, and no on both counts for the IDI turbo stuff... First, a stock 7.3 IDI will handle a turbo just fine stock; it's only a couple of people who have shaved their pistons.
There are quite a few stock 7.3 IDIs running around with turbos on them from Banks etc.
Personally, well... check my sig. I'm pushing my rigs further than they should be without head studs(the real weak point, once you start adding a bunch of power), and so far nothing has gone.
On the factory turbo IDIs? Same as NA CR there. Rods are stronger, but we've ended up finding that a NA IDI rod is good up to about 450RWHP(and 45 PSI of boost) in a stock motor, so the extra strength isn't needed.
Knuckledragger
blowing chunks and grabbing porcelain
It seems as though we are at odds in terminology. A "direct drive" starter does not mean that there are no gears, only that the drive gear that engages the ring gear on the flywheel is driven by the motor armature, not a series of gears assembled to create torque multiplication from a smaller motor.
Macrobb
Full Access Member
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And that's exactly what I'm saying it has. Inside, the motor shaft has a small gear on it(1/2" or so dia, few teeth) which meshes with a 3" or so gear(lots more teeth), and that is connected to the output shaft on the starter.
This is inside the middle of the starter, between the motor and output shaft.
Do you need a picture? I'm sure I can take one apart to show you.
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Knuckledragger
blowing chunks and grabbing porcelain
You are showing a gear reduction starter. I was not aware that Ford used those in later model IDIs, having most of my experience with early ones. Direct drive starters do not have an offset drive system, weigh about 25 pounds, and the motor itself is about 7 inches long, 4.5 inches in diameter.
Macrobb
Full Access Member
These are used on all the IDIs(except perhaps an 83?), every one I've seen - several 88's, 92, 93, 94, 86(2 of them), and even an '83 "A" block, but it might have been added later(napa reman).
Interesting fact - '94 6.5 chevy uses a similar starter, to the point that parts almost interchange with an idi starter(except the nose/bolt portion)... but the rotor is 1/8" longer.
Interesting fact - '94 6.5 chevy uses a similar starter, to the point that parts almost interchange with an idi starter(except the nose/bolt portion)... but the rotor is 1/8" longer.
