Ford 555 (1983) Flywheel Ring Gear

Not sure I'm on the right track, but welcome any thoughts. I was working the machine for half the day with no issue. Suddenly, I felt a power loss and about 30 seconds later the engine stalled. I try to start it and the engine won't turn over. Fan moves slightly, then a grinding noise. I can turn the engine by hand and the pistons are moving up & down freely, so engine isn't seized. I'm thinking now that the starter and/or Flywheel Ring Gear may be at fault. but that doesn't explain the loss of power; or does it?

Outside of starting the engine, the starter and ring gear has nothing to do with engine performance. The only exception I have seen is if a starter gear or nose cone breaks off and wedges against the flywheel and the bell housing. That usually results in an engine that won’t freely turn over by hand.

Possibly, if the starter engaged and locked up. Pulling the starter will show that soon enough, like does the starter spin? is the gear and bendix chewed up? Is the bearing sloppy?

You can't work on the lack of power when the engine won't start. Have you tried charging the battery, or jumping it? Do you have an electric solenoid controlled injection pump? or a pull cable to stop?

Thank you (both) for responding. I sure hate to keep taking things apart, only to find I'm on the wrong track. The battery is fully charged, as I keep on a trickle-charger. I have a pull cable to stop.

The engine turns freely by hand and I can watch the pistons rise up and down since the oil pan is now off. I don't know, offhand, what else could make a grinding noise and prevent the crank from turning other than the starter.

The loss of power and stalling is still a complete mystery to me.

did you not pull the starter for a look see before you drop oil pan?

Bad thought= broken crankshaft.

Michael Caravaglia said:

I try to start it and the engine won't turn over. Fan moves slightly, then a grinding noise.

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That indicates a starter problem. Was there any chance you heard a whining noise created by the starter stuck in the engaged position even though the engine started ?
Remove the starter and have a competent repair shop check it. Removing the oil pan was a drastic first step in determining the problem.
Turn the engine at least one complete revolution slow enough so you can look at all of the rig-gear teeth.
Make absolutely certain the engine can not start while doing that.
I am guessing you have two problems going on. The starter for one, and the loss of power and the engine dying.
Yes Vetech, That is definite possibility.

Yes, I apparently took the "drastic step" and removed the oil pan; quite a project too. With the power loss, I thought sure I had thrown a rod, or something inside the engine. The Crankshaft seems fine though, as I can view all of the moving parts underneath now and have turned the motor manually quite a few times.

I just removed the starter (wish I'd done that first) and there definitely is a problem here. The small gear on the starter has the very tips of all of the teeth chipped. The large ring gear on the back of the engine also has some teeth worn (just the very tips) in a section of the gear (not the whole gear; I turned and checked them all). It appears as if the starter gear was not fully extending and engaging the ring gear on the crankshaft and thus the grinding noise. None of this explains the sudden loss of power, but it may just be coincidence that I had two failures simultaneously(??).

One thing I noted while turning the motor is with every full revolution of the engine, there is a metallic clank seeming to come from inside the torque converter, as if something has come loose and is clanging around. This definitely cannot be good, so am I looking at pulling the whole back-end apart now to get this all apart :-(

I'm grateful for the dialogue gentleman. I'm a total novice here....

You most likely have a broken flex plate.
If not prolly a torque convertor problem. Remove the shuttle / transmission filter and cut it open. Look for shiny stuff in it.

I started a thread on here titled "Ford 555 transmission problems". A lot of good info in that thread that may apply to your machine.

Michael Caravaglia said:

Not sure I'm on the right track, but welcome any thoughts. I was working the machine for half the day with no issue. Suddenly, I felt a power loss and about 30 seconds later the engine stalled. I try to start it and the engine won't turn over. Fan moves slightly, then a grinding noise. I can turn the engine by hand and the pistons are moving up & down freely, so engine isn't seized. I'm thinking now that the starter and/or Flywheel Ring Gear may be at fault. but that doesn't explain the loss of power; or does it?

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As mentioned, your flex plate likely broke. Probably been cracked for a long time and it finally let go. Explains the noise, power loss and engine stall. You might be able to see what's going on through the inspection plate under the bell housing. If the converter is moving at a different speed than the flywheel, you've found your problem. Requires a split to replace.

Thank you all. Looks like I have a project on my hands.

Any updates?
Did it turn out to be the flex plate?

Clawed Backster said:

Any updates?
Did it turn out to be the flex plate?

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Thank you for your interest and your assistance. I have had to focus my free time on other issues. And, with the weather turning very cold in the Northeast I have paused working on the machine (I have no indoor space to do the work).

Soon after my last post, I removed the starter and had it fully tested, thinking it may be part of the issue. From the look of the starter, it is not very old and seems to have been replaced in the more recent past. The test showed that the starter is working perfectly and not malfunctioning. I re-installed the starter and tried turning over the machine and the initial grinding noise I was experiencing is now gone and it turns over fine; however, now that the machine turns over there is a real racket coming from inside.

I'm not sure why it wouldn't turn over and was making a grinding noise when the machine initially failed, but removing and re-installing the starter seems to have resolved that problem. I can only assume that for some reason the starter became stuck in a partially engaged position and the audible grinding noise was the starter gear chattering against the ring gear. This is now gone and the machine turns over normally.

Turning my focus to the Torque Converter, I removed the fuel tank and opened the cover plate that's on the top of the shuttle. I then turned the engine over and am quite confident now that the Torque Converter is the issue, as the noise I'm hearing is coming directly from this area. The noise is pretty loud and I can hear metal-bits clanging around.

As soon as we get a warmer spell that will last for a couple of days (anything higher than 40 degrees) I will split the engine from the transmission and remove the Torque Converter. My local New Holland tractor dealer can provide an "as new" part for about $300. Hopefully, this is all that's wrong with the machine (at least for this go-around!) and I will be able to put this thing back to some good use.

You are not hearing starter noise Micheal.
That is a classic example of a broken flex plate. They usually cost about $60.00

Yep, I second the broken flex plate.