Starter Motor: Swapping a Ford Festiva Starter Motor: Auto/Manual

[ajbremer]

My manual transmission Festiva's starter motor had a good life after 342,000 miles.

Ford Festiva starter motors are not the same, they are different between manual and automatic transmissions. It seems the only difference is their front brackets but I may be wrong...I'm about to find out.

I found a used Ford Festiva starter from an automatic transmission Festiva and will attempt to swap front brackets between starters.

Here's the first video:

Festiva Starter Swap Part 1

[htchbck]

Yes, you are correct that you can swap the nose on them. Both the automatic and manual starters for festivas and early 323s can be interchanged this way. Possibly other Mazda starters as well, but I haven't tried.

[Festevil3]

This is good info I was unaware of...Thanks

[htchbck]

Also, parts from an early 323 4 speed automatic will interchange with festiva. My sister's automatic festiva has the guts of a G4A-HL starter in her starter case. So possibly the other F/G ones would work as well.

[ajbremer]

Gotta go. Festiva starts great now: here's vids:

Festiva Starter Swap Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUmKuTVlQ9w

Festiva Starter Swap Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHhjeOaoX2g

[Bert]

This is good news. Excellent job, man!
I will no longer throw away spare ATX starters that are collecting dust in the garage.

[lessersivad]

Huh? I thought the automatic and manual starters rotated in opposite directions.

Glad I learned something today. Good info.

[ajbremer]

I never really thought of that logical concept but your right. The Festiva starter on an automatic transmission gets mounted on the opposite side of the fly-wheel towards the center of the engine as opposed to the manual transmissions starter that mounts towards the end of the engine. If both manual and automatic transmission starters go in the same direction then it would seem like the motor is now turning in the opposite direction. So does that mean my engine is now turning in the opposite direction and I have an 'ambidextrous' motor? If so, it's running just as good turning counterclockwise than it was clockwise.

[TorqueEffect]

If I am not mistaken with electric motors, if you swap polarity on them (Applying power to the ground, and ground to the power), the motor will spin in the opposite direction.
Now I am not sure if this applies to starter motors, but it could very well be plausible.


There is no way your engine is running backward, for one the intake and exhaust strokes wouldn't even let it run while spinning in reverse.
But even if it did run, that would do quite a bit of damage, also the water pump, and oil pump wouldn't work at all, and another thing, you would only be able to drive forward while in reverse gear but not for long as the lack of cooling and oil would cook the engine real fast.

[ajbremer]

Thanks TorqueEffect,

I pretty well knew that it was crazy to think that the motor was going backwards but I just couldn't see how that starter was turning any differently than the other one. I've wired the starter/solenoid the same way as always too.

I don't understand the concepts yet but I know one thing, the cars running good except for the bucking/stumbling when going slow and I'm hoping that goes away when I time it as soon as I get to a timing light. The only other thing going on is that the engine light goes on and then off...sometimes. I might go 15 miles and then it'll come on. I'll have to go to the auto parts store and get them to give me a code.

[TorqueEffect]

Sadly, the auto parts store will not be able to get you the code. The Festiva doesn't have a diagnostic port, but there is a way to pull codes by yourself.

There is a single wire connector under the hood coming off the coil, there will be a clear/white one, and a black one, ground the black connector.

Then turn the key to the on position, and the Check engine light will blink the two digit code.
First the long flash indicates the first digit, and the short rapid flashes are the second digit, if there is only short rapid flashes, then the code is not a double digit code.
Sometimes it will flash multiple different codes, but it will cycle through them, and repeat them if you missed one.

If it doesn't flash any code, then it probably didn't store it like it was supposed, I say then go trigger it then drive back home, shut the engine off and try again.
Post what code, or codes it spits out here and someone with a Haynes, or Shop manual will be able to tell you what the code means.