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Re: URGENT! fellow 'B stuck in PA

To: Josef Kurtz <kurtz@helix.mgh.harvard.edu>
Subject: Re: URGENT! fellow 'B stuck in PA
From: Paul Hunt <paul.hunt1@virgin.net>
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 20:01:51 +0000
Josef Kurtz wrote:
> 
> gets batteries, comes back to car.  tries to start.  engine starts to
> turnover, but then gets a big "clunk".  tries to restart, and only gets
> one solid click.  nothing else.  so he pops the hood, nothing looks weird.
> car was not running hot.  pulls the plugs, puts it into third, and was NOT
> able to push the car and get the engine to turn.  the car will only rock
> 1/2 inch forward or back.  can be poushed in neutral.  when in gear, he
> can see the engine torque.
> 
> waits a bit.  in desperation, tries repeated starts.  engine finally turns
> over, but he can hear grinding, and the engine will only run if he keeps
> his foot on the gas.
> 
> so, is it possible that the starter has somehow become lodged in the
> engine and is causing the problem?  he is staying at a best western
> tonight, and will be calling me at 7am for any suggestions.  what should
> be do?

Try rocking it in fourth if he hasn't already done so, not first.  A
stuck starter, and rocking to clear it, would normally only be
applicable to intertia starters (pre 68?) but could just affect a
pre-engaged type, I suppose, if something had gone awry in the solenoid
mechanism.  The other, horrible, possibility is something major inside
the engine.  If there is a square shaft at the back of the starter and
he can turn this freely, then it isn't a stuck starter.  

Good luck to Matt.
PaulH.


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