Another noise – Starter?

Here’s a video of the latest noise. After checking for loose bolts or exhaust hitting anything I suspect its related to the starter.

After discussing with the friendly folks on the vintage mustang forum I decided to buy a new mini starter. I expected a few issues removing the old starter but it was a little more annoying than I was expecting. After removing the headers I was able to remove the starter and right away I could see what I suspect was causing the noise.

The cover (the bit that sticks out) had been touching the header and vibration had caused the starter to fall to pieces. The top cover was loose, the band holding it altogether was also loose.

Here’s a video of what it looks like compared to the new one.

When reading up on starters I knew that the longer nose ones were generally for auto cars. The new starter I bought (much smaller, so header clearance is not an issue) has a shorter nose so I am hoping this is ok. You can see the difference in nose length in the right hand picture below.

The new mini starter fit perfectly and has loads of clearance from the headers. Once I fired it up I knew that I had found the source of the rattle and also improved the starter system for the car. Happy days.