Need somebody smarter than me

[cordbob]

Appreciate the help.Going to check all cables and install some temporary ones I have of 1/0 welding cable to trouble shoot.Car drives great you can drive it for miles.I meant it only needs to be driven a mile or so to get warm enough to cause this problem .All else fails will remove plugs when hot to check for water and relieve compression for possible mechanical problem.

[George/Maine]

My 46 has a ground from body to engine and battery grounds to body.
Check the ends of cables may have few strand that have broken off can not see some times.

[36coupe]

When hot and not starting check to see if any of the cables are getting hot to touch.
I ground cars from the body to the chassis to engine. The flat Ss woven straps are nice. Bad grounds can cause so many little issues. I like to soder all insulated cables.
My 38 was rolling over slow and I increased the cable size and put in a optima battery and it spins like a 12 volt now and no worries of killing the battery if I crank it for a long time.
Good luck.

[Cecil/WV]

Years ago, I saw a car that had a leaky head gasket and it let anti-freeze into the cylinders and when it got hot, it became gummy and would prevent cranking when hot, started fine cold and it would smoke from burning the a freeze. It also gummed the rings and had to be torn down.

[cordbob]

didn't get to work on it today. I will be tomorrow when I figure it out I will let you folks know.

[Alaska Jim]

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one other thing to do is load test the battery. it may start the car just fine when cold, but may not have enough "reserve" cranking capacity to start a warm eng. had this problem years ago, bought new optima battery and never had another problem.

[keith oh]

Try rocking the car with it in high gear when it won't start. Maybe the flywheel ring gear is worn and when hot it expands enough to lock with starter gear and when it cools down it releases.

[Bob C]

X2 what Alaska Jim said.

Bob

[Russ/40]

Despite all the above, I'm banking on it being the starter solenoid. Going directly to the starter can present some confusing results depending on how good that connection is. A click of the solenoid indicates one of two conditions. A solenoid with burnt and pitted internal contacts, or a battery with a good surface charge, but sulphated plates that cannot deliver enough current.

[Ken/Alabama]

Also make sure the mating surface on the oil pan where the starter bolts up is free of paint.

[flatheadmurre]

Measuring with a basic voltmeter while cranking will tell you where the issue is...no guessing...just start at the battery and do it step by step.
Measuring over the battery while cranking=loadtest
Measuring over the solenoid while cranking=voltagedrop shows condition of solenoid.
If battery and solenoid is fine measure over starter while cranking=if the voltage is low cable/grounding needs attention, measure over each grounding/cable to find where the voltagedrop is.

[cordbob]

Well finally got it figured out. Replacement starter was the wrong part! Had no idea a starter for a 59 AB was different for a Mercury and a Ford.I always get the right information at the wrong time.....

[cordbob]

Well I finally got it figured out. The replacement starter was the wrong part! I had no idea a starter for a 59 AB was different for a Mercury and a Ford.I always get the right information at the wrong time. .....

[Frank Miller]

Thanks for updating us.

[flatheadmurre]

All 32-53 with a manual gearbox should be the same.
So either you got one for an automatic or a 8N would be my guess if it´s wrong in size...not sure how it would work cold and not warm that way...faulthy starter seems more likely if the new one is the same in measurements.

[keith oh]

Also the flywheel ring gear teeth may be warn, meshes when hot and expanded, jams when cold. I know " this is just too simple a solution to check"

[justold]

I know my 52 8rt and 51 merc were the same but different than a ford passenger !
starters were the same but the drives had a different tooth count .

[cordbob]

My friend ordered the starter from Dennis Carpenter it was an import with the new style Bendix bolted right in.When cold it worked fine once it got warm it would not work then it locked up called them up gave them the part number they said it would not work on a Mercury. Put the original starter back in it seems a little tired but it is working.We changed the battery the starter solenoid upgraded all wires to 1/0 welding cable and ran a separate ground right to the starter.I think the motor may have been rebuilt a little tight because it draws a lot of current to rotate it when hot.When it's cold turns right over.