i had friends 351 get some thing in the oil pump to lock it up. the result is the roll pin on the distrubutor shaft gets sheered into 3 pices and the gear just spins on the shaft. i really doubt that the oil pump is the problem the startermotor should easly be able to sheer the pin. pull spark plugs first.
I've seen many of times that someone used sealer on the oil pump and/or pickup tube and it gets inside the pump and locks the pump enough to shear the shaft. It is best to just wet these gaskets with oil instead of using sealer.
when i removed the pump, it was a little pice of sheetmetal in the pump. not sure how it got past the screen and where it came from. didnt look like a piece of any motor part ive ever seen.
Found the problem, removed the starter and found a cracked plate behind the gear, and got stuck somewhere in there. So happy I didn't have to remove the tranny. Thanks for everything guys
i actually broke a starter mouting ear off without knowing and ran for a year with only 1 bolt holding it place, figured it out when i pulled my trans last time.
