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Hot Starter Syndrome

To: slaterw@bluffton.edu
Subject: Hot Starter Syndrome
From: Paul.Meyer@key3media.com
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 14:44:13 -0400
Will,

When I first got my '78 off the flatbed, the PO said the starter was shot.
I took it off (it was loose, and made clunking sounds), cleaned the
connections and sprayed it with some lube my mechanic neighbor handed me.
I've had to tighten the bolts once since then.  I also had to replace the
ground cable before the electrical problems started to subside.  I have
heard that if the thrust washers drop, the starter teeth don't mesh well
with the flywheel, but I think that would be the case all the time, not
just when hot.


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Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 11:46:30 -0400
From: "Will Slater" <slaterw@bluffton.edu>
Subject: RE: hot start syndrome??

Thanks for the insights. I had not realized a starter could propel a car.
It
truly seems  peculiar that heat of the engine would be the source of the
problem since it is not near the exhaust. I wonder if the clanking sound as
it starts is an indication of a related starter problem or something else.
The clanking happens virtually every time I start it.  A friend speculated
that the clanking might be the flywheel. Another speculated that it might
be
carbon build up might be the cause of the hot start problem coupled with a
weakened starter.
I think Doug's comment
" I think the gear reduction is expensive overkill, and would tend to be
bought by people who are using the "replace parts until it starts working
better" approach to auto maintenance.' points to a sound approach to auto
repair. I don't want to unnecessarily replace parts and would like to find
that actual problem and resolve it rather than simply treat the symptoms.
My
knowledge of engines is admittedly pretty scant and so makes diagnosis
particularly difficult. So, I am wondering where to go from here. Are their
tests I could/should make to get at the actual source of the problem?

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