OReilly's has the Motocraft relays for about $25 and it should look like this:
They also carry Borg-Warner which is what I run on my cars and have had zero problems. If memory serves me right the BW's have about a 1/4" longer studs which helped with all the wiring on my cars due to the stereo, MSD, mini starter, etc.
I checked OReilly's website and it will not pull up the part number on my BW relay which is S5048. They show an S5049 but it has the two smaller posts where mine only has the one.
I understand completely. I was just looking at the maintenance side of things. If you can wait for a set of ten holes I would as they are nice and easy to clean. I have a set but I think shipping would be higher than just being patient and finding some local.
Okay, I did a little more digging and found this information on the Corral:
The starters are the same for auto or manual on '82-95, but on earlier years the manual and auto have different fitment. The same PMGR starter fits all applications below.
(1996-92) Ford Bronco 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L w/ AT (2002-92) Ford E Series 4.2L, 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L (1998-92) Ford F Series 4.2L, 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L (1991-90) Ford LTD Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis 5.0L (2004-94) Ford Mustang 3.8L (1995-92) Ford Mustang 5.0L (1997-90) Ford Thunderbird 3.8L, 5.0L (1992-90) Lincoln Mark VII 5.0L (1990) Lincoln Town Car 5.0L (1997-89) Mercury Cougar 3.8L, 5.0L Also retrofits (1991-82) Ford Mustangs 5.0L (302 CID) All (1979-68) Ford Mustangs 5.0L (302 CID) w/ AT (1973-69) Ford Mustangs 5.8L (351 CID) w/ AT
With that I would think that if you found one off of any of the cars in the above list it would work for you.
92 and up 302's and 351's have these starters. I have heard that you want to get the starter off of an automatic with a 351 as the manual transmission units are different but I have not confirmed this. The 3.8L cars also have this starter as well. I got mine off of a 99 V-6 mustang. The Explorer's are a great source for these starters.
Was just making sure. We just bought a Magnum T-56 to put in my father's '69 Mustang FB and you have to cut up the trans tunnel to do it which is pretty easy in those older cars. Its not something I would want to do in a street car like my Bird.
Typically you can use a flash light and look up into where the speedo cable goes into the tranny and determine the color of the drive gear (gear on the output shaft of the tranny). Once you have this, the cirspoogeference of the rear tire (typically you can find this on your tire from http://www.tirerack.com), and the rear gear ratio you can find the closest driven gear to get the speedo correct.
I have heard that the T-56 is much larger in diameter in comparison to the T-5. Did you notice this and were there any challenges with regards to this on the installation. I currently have a Tremec TKO in my '83 and have always thought about installing a T-56 for the OD with the 4.10 gears.
It refers to Mustangs but it is nice to see what was installed and when if you are looking for one especially if you are doing a V-8 swap. Tremec also has the service manual in .pdf on their site here:
Most alternator shops can rebuild the old style starters for around $30 to $50. If you want to swap over to the mini starter then find one in a salvage yard and wire it up like the link shows in the post above. I would suggest running 4 Ga wire from the battery side of the fender mounted starter solenoid to the BATT terminal on the mini starter solenoid. You would also be good to run a 12 Ga wire from the starter side of the fender mounted solenoid to the male spade terminal on the mini starter solenoid. I have the mini starters on both my cars and they work great.
My personal feeling is that you have a starter problem. I run the starter solenoids from O'Reillys and have zero problems with them. I am a bit of a freak when it comes to my electrical system as I pull the starter and alternator off every two years or so and have a shop check them out. At a minimum they get new brushes and bearings. I would much rather have them 100% and know it than be on the side of the road in East Texas...think banjos man.
Pull the starter and take it to a reputable shop and have them check it out. While you are at it take them your alternator if it has not been checked in a few years.
