DarkSeas
Well-known member
- 200
- 306
- 63
- Location
- Leland, N.C.
Hey guys,
Finally getting my bearings with using the forums!
Here's the situation: I could get my truck to crank and fire up all the way until last weekend. Now it just makes a free spinning whirring sound.
Details: Turn the key to battery on, hold the glow plug button in for about 5 seconds 2-3 times, engage the key and the starter sounded like it was just whirring freely. Almost like a free spinning blender sound. High pitched and fast, like it's not meeting any resistance.
My thoughts: Dead batteries not pushing enough juice to starter, starter has a bad solenoid, flywheel is shot/missing teeth.
1. Dead batteries - I took out both batteries and put them on a battery charger for a couple hours each till both battery indicators were green. Hooked them back in the truck, went to crank, same exact sound, no differences. Not the batteries, in my opinion, but it was the easiest thing to check first.
2. Flywheel is shot - Yesterday I got up under the truck and took off the bolts for the access panel to get my eyes on the condition of the flywheel and see if I could see any issues with the little starter gear or anything. I couldn't get the panel completely out, but I got it pulled down about 3", enough to see the flywheel and starter gear connection point (sucker got caught on the transmission cooler lines). Flywheel looks fine, couldn't see any unusual wear on the starter gear or flywheel. I'm going to trust my gut and rule this one out.
3. (current objective) Starter solenoid is bad - Panel is still off from inspecting the flywheel (well, loose I guess
), I get back under the truck to start tackling the starter bolt, gently push on the starter toward the front end of the truck and the thing pivots along the bolt at the back end of the starter. I could make it swing by hand relatively easily like 2-3" back and forth. I haven't even touched the starter bolt yet, this can't be right... Maybe the bolt wasn't torqued down all the way? I couldn't see a bracket toward the front end of the starter, I just found the one bolt going up from the bottom that looks about 5" long that I haven't touched yet. I'm wondering if this sort of play is normal, because now I'm starting to think that maybe the starter was just loose and the rough idling of the motor the last time I had it fired up shook the starter and pivoted it just enough that it couldn't grab the flywheel anymore.
My doubts: I had the access panel off/dangling there haha, maybe it secured the starter before and kept it from pivoting? Am I missing a bolt or something? The amount of torque that starter puts out, I'd imagine it shouldn't move at all, at least not by hand...
Next steps: I still want to take the starter off and test it to see if I can make the little gear come out, verify that it's not the solenoid that's bad. If it's a bad solenoid, new 12V starter, put back in, and that's all she wrote. Now I'm starting to think what if it just pivoted or something just enough that the gears weren't contacting each other anymore? What if the starter is perfectly fine? It's too difficult to see up under the truck since I can't get the access panel out, I really wish I could set my phone up under the truck and record another start attempt to see if the starter gear comes out/not, that would tell me some things.
I was going to try and get the starter out yesterday, but I got fed up with the spiders and bugs all over me and in my hair and shirt so I went home after 2 hours of tinkering.
Any of you have any pointers or guidance for me?
Finally getting my bearings with using the forums!
Here's the situation: I could get my truck to crank and fire up all the way until last weekend. Now it just makes a free spinning whirring sound.
Details: Turn the key to battery on, hold the glow plug button in for about 5 seconds 2-3 times, engage the key and the starter sounded like it was just whirring freely. Almost like a free spinning blender sound. High pitched and fast, like it's not meeting any resistance.
My thoughts: Dead batteries not pushing enough juice to starter, starter has a bad solenoid, flywheel is shot/missing teeth.
1. Dead batteries - I took out both batteries and put them on a battery charger for a couple hours each till both battery indicators were green. Hooked them back in the truck, went to crank, same exact sound, no differences. Not the batteries, in my opinion, but it was the easiest thing to check first.
2. Flywheel is shot - Yesterday I got up under the truck and took off the bolts for the access panel to get my eyes on the condition of the flywheel and see if I could see any issues with the little starter gear or anything. I couldn't get the panel completely out, but I got it pulled down about 3", enough to see the flywheel and starter gear connection point (sucker got caught on the transmission cooler lines). Flywheel looks fine, couldn't see any unusual wear on the starter gear or flywheel. I'm going to trust my gut and rule this one out.
3. (current objective) Starter solenoid is bad - Panel is still off from inspecting the flywheel (well, loose I guess
![Laughing :lol: :lol:](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
My doubts: I had the access panel off/dangling there haha, maybe it secured the starter before and kept it from pivoting? Am I missing a bolt or something? The amount of torque that starter puts out, I'd imagine it shouldn't move at all, at least not by hand...
Next steps: I still want to take the starter off and test it to see if I can make the little gear come out, verify that it's not the solenoid that's bad. If it's a bad solenoid, new 12V starter, put back in, and that's all she wrote. Now I'm starting to think what if it just pivoted or something just enough that the gears weren't contacting each other anymore? What if the starter is perfectly fine? It's too difficult to see up under the truck since I can't get the access panel out, I really wish I could set my phone up under the truck and record another start attempt to see if the starter gear comes out/not, that would tell me some things.
I was going to try and get the starter out yesterday, but I got fed up with the spiders and bugs all over me and in my hair and shirt so I went home after 2 hours of tinkering.
Any of you have any pointers or guidance for me?