Engine/transmission seperator plates

[Limey57]

OK, seems kinda like a dumb question, but what exactly do these do?



Picked one up at the weekend supposedly for a 164 tooth flexplate but it's a bit too small.  These plates are only thin steel and I know some who haven't used one, Ford obviously designed them for a reason, but what reason is it?  The starter bolts to the transmission bellhousing, not the plate, so what purpose do they serve?

Thanks

[thomasso]

It provides proper support and sealing for the starter. Plus I'm sure Ford factored in the thickness for proper depth of the convertor.  I've seen installations without it, but I wouldn't.

[gasman826]

It locates the starter...important to get the right one.

[lalessi1]

I always looked at these plates as a separator to isolate oil weepage from the rear main seal from the clutch? I guess I really dunno...

[Limey57]

Thanks everyone, I'll track down the right one

[gasman826]

Even though a thin piece of metal, some call it a block protector.  If the flywheel broke or blew up, debris would be inclined to slide to a weaker place to come out...preferably the bottom of the bellhousing.  Quicktime (aka Lakewood) calls it a block plate and is nearly .250".  I lean toward the OEM engineers were much more concerned about proper starter alignment rather than saving your block from a catastrophic loss.  The only bellhousing catastrophic loss I've experienced was a starter drive gear.  It banged around in the bell a couple of times and exited via the inspection cover.  In my limited experience, the block plate did its job.

[Ford Blue blood]

I'm with the starter location bunch.....not really strong enough to contain a flywheel come apart...IMHO