Need some help guys....Wife's Expedition
 

So about 30% of the time when you start the truck it just grinds and will not turn over. After a few tries it starts fine. I figured it was the starter so I swapped it out for a new one this morning but the it still doing the same thing.
Any ideas what else it could be? I checked the flywheel when I had the starter off and it looked fine.

You need air, fuel and spark.
My first guess would be fuel but checking spark is easier.

Cranking and not starting is not a starter issue.

The 88 is doing the same thing, its the starter. Shims are important now a days.

With the GMC I once had what I thought was a fuel or spark problem since it was turning, though not particularly aggressively. Then my brother discovered the connectors to the starter were a little loose and dirty. Cleaned them up and reconnected . . .nothing else and it turned right over. Not entirely sure why, guess the engine has to turn fast enough to actually create vacuum to pull in air and if the starter is kind of anemic that won't happen. :huh:

the first things I would have checked (like you) would be starter, flywheel and solenoid but thats all I can think of

Like Guy said, make sure it is shimmed correctly. The grinding noise is from the bendix gear not meshing with the flexplate. If it is shimmed correctly then you have a bad new starter which happens but my guess is that it's not shimmed correctly.

Gotta bring this back to life.... So I changed the starter and it has not fixed the problem and 3 months later it's worse (way worse) then ever. Everything I read says you don't need to shim a 2005 Expedition starter :huh:... You guys have any shops in the Glendora area you would recommend. I need to get it fixed and for as cheap as possible.

Take it back to Leo, he should be able to handle that.

Dropped off the truck with Leo this morning and picked it up in the afternoon.
All of the teeth over 3 areas on the flex plate were chewed off :huh:.

Over to Ed's in the morning to get new rotors and pads.

Grinds? Chewed the teeth off the flex plate?