1992 181cid 3.0L starter turns but will not turn over engine

[Ford1992]

I replaced my 3.0's bad starter I can get it to spin but it will not turn over the engine. I pulled the spark plugs. No water or rust on the plugs or in the cylinders. I tried to turn the motor by tightening the alternator belt and turning the bolt no dice. I'm stuck Im a car guy not a marine just helping someone out. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[Bondo]

I can get it to spin but it will not turn over the engine

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... Yer sayin' the starter spins, but it doesn't engage the flywheel to turn the motor over,..??

Did ya get the wirin' back on right,..??

What was wrong with the old starter,..??

 

[fishrdan]

Yeah, same as Bondo, exactly what's happening? Starter spinning, but not engaging the flywheel? Or, starter spinning and engaging the flywheel, but won't turn the engine over?

How tight did you tighten the alt belt, it needs to be pretty darn tight to allow turning over the engine via the alternator nut. If the starter is making a solid "thunk" while engaging the flywheel (but not turning over the engine) I'd pull the drive to see if it's locked up.

I've slowly turned engine's over (really slow) by wedging a screwdriver into flywheel teeth and edge of block, and working the engine over a tooth at a time. Don't think I've ever tried it on a 3.0L, but it's worth a shot - - - if you have the starter removed.

Last thing, the harmonic balancer has 3- bolt holes (5/16?) that I screwed bolts into with a tall stack of washers, so I could turn the engine over. 1" stack of washers or so, then use a big-ol wrench's to hook into the stacked washers and turn the engine over. Get too aggressive, and apply too much pressure, and I imagine you could snap one of those bolts off...

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... After seein' yer post at another forum,.....

My guess is, ya wired to the starter to spin, rather than to the solenoid to kick out the bendix,....