bad starter......

Late one night while asleep a woman was awaken by a knocking on the door down stairs. She woke her husband and told him someone was downstairs knocking on the door. He got up and put on his robe and went downstairs; the knocking was coming from the backdoor. He open the back door and there stood a drunk in the dark and he asked the man if he would give him a push.

The man told the drunk that he was not coming out at that hour of the night and to go away and not bother him again. He then closed the door and went back upstairs and went to bed. The wife being curious what the commotion was all about asked her husband, what did they want. He told her it was some drunk wanting a push.

The wife said to her husband, you remember the time we were stranded on a trip and people stopped and help us? You really ought to go back down and see if you can help him.

The man gets back up, dresses and goes back down to the back door and calls out into the darkness of night if the man was still out there needing help. The drunk replied from the dark he was still there and needed a push. The man asked where he was. The drunk replied, I am in the swing.

ferndaleflyer wrote:
I have fixed 2 "bad Starters" in the past week. Both had dirty or loose battery terminals. Check them yourself.

In times past cleaning the battery terminals was part of routine maintenance, but now it is considered a repair. I wish I knew how certain we where the starter is bad. I don't know if Ford still uses the relay at the end of a short cable from battery. In times past, when I needed 1 more start to get to a shop, (Or on demolition derby cars) I would disconnect the cable from the starter side of that relay. Then a 2nd battery, hook (+) to that cable, and (-) to the relay terminal. When you turn the switch to 'start' that relay kicks in and the starter gets 24V most times it will crank.

Tal/IL wrote:
If you can get at the starter from underneath, rap on it few times with a mallet and it might start. If it does, don't shut it off 'til you get to the shop.

OT but gave me a laugh. A friend called me 1 night, he was out of town and his teenage kid was broke down at a party. He told her to tap on the starter. When I got there with another starter, the 1 I had to take off was beat so bad it could not even be a core. That little cutie had half the HS football team beating on that starter

If it's literally "around the corner", then why spend the big bucks for a tow truck? Save that money to pay the repair bill. And replacing a starter isn't something a regular mechanic can't fix, may not need a "technician". :)

Call a real tow truck and get the vehicle to a real technician.

I believe the word "pull" was also mentioned. :)

I think it's funny when folks talk about "pushing" a vehicle with another anymore....
Hello, you've been asleep for about 30 years or longer. Find me any newer vehicles that have the bumper strength, design and or protections in place to even contemplate being the push-er or push-ee without a trip to the body shop afterwards?
Pretty sure once vehicles similar to these quit getting spit out the door in Deetroit, "pushing" vehicle to vehicle quit being a thing....

Or maybe y'all mean push by hand??

If a person doesn't have access to jack stands and the necessary tools, then all the advice on how to do it won't do much good. And maybe they realize their mechanical limitations.

I don't see any issue with pushing/pulling the truck a block or so to the mechanic. I'd do it in a heartbeat if necessary. Passenger vehicles can be steered even with the power steering pump not working. It's hard to turn when stationary, but eases up some when moving.

A starter is in many cases a pretty simple component to swap out. If you're up to the task and physically able, watch a couple of youtube videos (there will be plenty with your truck model and year) about how to change a starter. A first timer could probably do it in 45 minutes...assuming it's in an easy to get to spot.

2oldman wrote:
Sure wish I lived in an area where it was easy to get a mobile mechanic to show up. It's usually 'we don't know what tools we'll need' or 'we're too busy'

You're lucky then, you didn't get that rip off mobile diesel engine guy who was roaming NM for a few years....that guy was a real piece of work.

He probably dead by now, buried out past 9 mile hill or somewhere...

Sure wish I lived in an area where it was easy to get a mobile mechanic to show up. It's usually 'we don't know what tools we'll need' or 'we're too busy'