I noticed this past week that when starting the engine that it was slightly slower on that first turn over before firing up. Now a few days later it was so slow and sluggish on that first turn over i thought my battery was dying, yet all the tests show it is fine. The known good battery off my daily driver (03 liberty) is the same and it also turned very slow on startup when i switched it out. It acts exactly like the timing is too high, yet according to the t8ming light its fine at 10degrees advanced. I have ran this same timing with no issues for about 2 months now. Just to be sure i backed it down to zero tdc and it still turned over very slow and almost stops before firing up. Before this week the engine always turned one time and the cranked within a split second. Now it slowly lugs over once.... Pauses for a 1/2 second..... Then fires up. Is it the starter about to die due to header heat?
Yeah the stock starter is awfully close to the headers and does soak up a lot of heat from them plus they dont live forever to start with. Was the starter new when you put the engine in ? If you have checked the wiring and it all looks good then I would opt for a new starter, the starter solenoid could be the cause but those are not the usual signs of one going bad. I would recommend install a high torque mini starter, lots easier to install lots more space between headers and starter and just a little change of the wiring to do it
I agree with Yellow75, the mini high torque is the way to go. You can get one for a 90s V8 mustang and it is bolt in I think I used 93? You can buy them pretty cheap online or buy it from the store for the lifetime warranty.
Do you have a good ground on your engine? Was that balancer new? If it's old they spin and are almost always inaccurate.
My "re-built" starter lasted a very short time.....I had some carb issues (flooding) and all that extra cranking killed it. I didnt bother with free replacement, went with mini starter and although it cranks slower (which will give you lower compression test #s) it starts very easy, and was 10 times easier to install, and has more clearance, and when I change heads and bump compression slightly it wont care.
All new wiring and balancer yes. Im going to check my wiring today and see if its melted or looks cooked. MIni starter will be next.
