Starter Gear

[Mudbone2005]

So my starter was just spinning and not starting my truck. Once removed I found that the gears had be completed chewed up on the starter. Now the starter was not loose when I removed it so I am wondering what could have caused this. The Flywheel?

[FORDification]

Could have been several things. It's possible that at some point someone tried to 'start' the truck after it was already running....though most people would've heard the horrendous noise immediately and stopped. More likely someone's installed the incorrect starter drive (Bendix) in your starter. A Bendix with the incorrect number of teeth wouldn't have meshed correctly with the flywheel, and every time it was engaged it would've worn a little more...just very rapidly...and it finally wore to the point where the teeth are gone.