Technical 51 Flathead V8 Grinding noise

I had the original starter on it. It worked, but the noise sounded like gears grinding so I figured that the starter wasn’t disengaging from the flywheel. So I put this new one on and the problem still exists.

 

From post #4: "The noise doesn’t change if you push the clutch in." Given the O/P mentioned that, it would seem that the throwout bearing is not the issue.

 

I ran the stock 6v starter on my snotty stroker Merc with 12v and it did just fine. I had one of those cute lil jobs on the built AMC 6 cyl and it never sounded right...it worked but I'm still not convinced it was 100% right.

 

Went ahead and pulled the tranny. Took 5 minutes. Here’s what’s behind it

 

I have confirmed that it is not the flywheel rubbing the bell housing or the starter. Must be farther into the engine. Oil pump gear maybe?

 

Is that throw out bearing finger on the left as trashed as it looks in the pic?

 

No. I wiped them off and they look good

 

Is the flywheel hitting the block? Using an early flywheel on a late block will cause serious interference.
Take a pic of the engine side of the flywheel.

 

8ba PP bolts go all the way thru the flywheel, early PP bolt holes are blind

 

My first thought was early flywheel bolted to late engine. My next thought is rear cam bearing driven to far rearward and interfering with the oil pump gear

 

The engine ran fine before we rebuilt it. Purred like a..... sewing machine lol. Same flywheel the only thing we changed was the ring gear. I’ll pull it tonight

 

This whole ordeal is very aggravating. I went clear to the back of the engine tonight and everything still looks brand new and sounds freely as it should. I don’t know what it could be now and it’s getting ready to hit the road lmao. Still open to suggestions, looking for more help on what to do next

 

Spins freely* not sounds

 

A cracked, crankshaft main cap will make a constant, bad grinding noise, while the gauge still shows oil pressure.

 

Well I hope it’s not that serious. I just replaced all of them. But new is never new so it’s a possibility

 

It does still show 50 lbs of oil pressure tho

 

You just replaced all the main caps?! That is either a serious build (billet for strength), or you started with a block that was robbed of its caps (dedication).

While you have the trans loose, I'd suggest spinning it in all gears to eliminate it from the grinding possibilities.

 

Did you ever find the source of the noise?

 

He's never been back to the HAMB since the last post. Probably put an LS in it.