right, im no mechanic but ill try my best to make sense.

i have a w reg escort van which has had an engine change, now holding a 1.8 endura non turbo, i think this is just an engine for the newer models but dont really know.

the gearbox completely died on me last week resulting in a mechanic quoting silly money for a replacement. a friend persuaded me that its not as big a job as it sounds and that we could do it ourselves.

so the new gearbox has gone in like for like with a new clutch but now i have power problems.

at first we couldn't get the engine ticking over, checked all the fuel lines, it was flowing fine when you prime it but stopped when it got to the fuel pump. we then noticed that the choke/fuel shut off valve thing was jammed shut not sending fuel into the injectors because some kind of cabal was not releasing, so i manually undone this which resulted in the engine coming to life.

the problem now is that the starter motor wont disengage from the fly wheel resulting in it going too fast, heating up and blowing a fuse. it also keeps spining for a while after you turn the ingnition off.

iv been told its an electrical fault, most likely the solenoid.

im so sure i have reconnected every cabal that came off of the bell housing etc so am clueless as i had no problems before the new gearbox went in.

any ideas or thoughts would be helpfull

cheers

I would suggest the starter motor is at fault too. Problem sounds like the inertia mechanism is at fault. The starter motor spins and this turning motion forces the gear out which then engages with the flywheel ring gear. Indeed it could also be the solonoid at fault which is responsible for activating the electrical circuit - if this is at fault it will remain activated resulting in the starter motor not disengaging (or indeed it could result in the starter motor not working too).

What I would suggest, is to whip the starter motor out and if you can, and you have one spare, connect it up to a car battery and see what happens. You should be able to tell if the starter motor is at fault this way.

Hope that helps a little bit,

Dan

thanks for you reply dan.

i have tested the starter motor and it is fine, the mechanism retracts the spindle the moment you cut the power from it.

im sure it is something electrical at fault, the starter motor has a constant feed which is stopping it from disengaging.

could it be something as simple as a circuit not being earthed or something like that?

thanks for you reply dan.

i have tested the starter motor and it is fine, the mechanism retracts the spindle the moment you cut the power from it.

im sure it is something electrical at fault, the starter motor has a constant feed which is stopping it from disengaging.

could it be something as simple as a circuit not being earthed or something like that?

the starter motor should have a constant feed but only on the heavy power side. the wire from the ignition should only have a feed when the key is turned.

which fuse is blowing? whats the rating?