wolf39us

ok so heres the deal...I have an 87 mustang 5.0

whenever my battery died in the past....I have always been able to start it after a bit of charging, however if the battery was not putting out enough juice...instead of the car starting you would hear a grinding sound coming from the starter...I never really thought much of it except that the battery wasn't putting out enough....so sometimes I would pop start the car instead...

now the past 3 months the car's battery has been dying and been very low...and I usually had to use a jump pack to get it going or jump start it....well the last time that I went to start it..it was COMPLETELY dead....no juice at all....so I used the jump pack and no matter how long I kept charging the battery, the starter would keep grinding and grinding...

So my next attempt was to run another car side by side with it and using jumper cables. I ran it for about 10 minutes... and tried again.. still nothing

I gave up and called my mechanic..he suggested that either the fly wheel or the starter is bad, so he told me to put the car in 3rd gear and move the car forward a foot and try again...so I did and no difference

I can't pop start because I'm too close to a cliff

he also said that he is going to need remove the transmission or motor to get to the starter...anyone have advice?

TRexGAWD

He doesn't have to emove the motor or tranny to remove the starter. Although removing the starter is a PITA it's not impossible. Could be that you just need a new battery... First you need to figure what killing it, probably the alternator is bad. If a new battery doesn't do the trick then remove the starter, and unless you feel like having your mechanic rapping you on labor charges do it yourself andit will only take about 2-3 hours if your mehcanically inclined. Then take it to your nearest VatoZone and have it bench tested...

wolf39us

I have zero mechanic skills :-(

wouldn't putting a car side by side give the car enough juice to crank the flywheel?

Gronk72

Sounds like a combo of two problems. Bad battery and a bad bearing (throw or endshaft) in the starter. Have your mechanic put a charge into the Battery and do a load test on it just to be sure its shot. If you have a buddy to help you yank out the starter do so then take it and have it tested as well(autozone Etc). Sounds like your mechanics feeding you a line. Had the starter out of my 88 several times, and yes though it can be a pain in the a** you don't have to pull the tranny or anything of the sort.

blk95snake

It sounds like there's a communication problem with your mechanic, or he's trying to take you for a ride. Is the starter actually turning the flywheel? I don't mean actually starting the engine, but just turning the flywheel like it's trying to start. If that's happening then your starter is fine. Can you describe the grinding sound a little more?Usually when your starter goes bad you'll here a click and nothing will turn.Even if it was your starter there isn't a mechanic in the world that would pull the tranny or engine to get to it. I just took mine off the other day and it took me about 10 minutes.

If your battery wasn't holding a charge then you should have already replaced the alternator. The alternator is what keeps the battery charged so when your car keeps going dead it's a good place to start. The least frustrating way to handle this is to do what TrexGAWD said.Take your battery out and down to the closest auto store. Have them test it. You probably need a new alt but if it's just the battery then your car will start and you'll know your starter is fine. After that I would replace the alt so you don't have to keep charging your car.

If that doesn't work and you move onto removing the starter then let us know and we'll guide you. It's only two bolts plus unhooking the starter cable. An extension and a swivel usually does the trick.

blackbetty93

100$ says your battery is fried from a dead alternator, and now its not giving enough juice to start it. and no jumping a car on a dead battery is not sufficient if your battery is 100% dead. your alternator could also be fried from jumping too often if not done correctly. youre supposed to ground the negative jumper on the frame of the dead car NOT the negative battery terminal

brentloftis

The starter is held in place by two bolts, one is easy to get to the other is a bit of trick but universal, long extension, socket and ratchet, and a little twisting you can get it. Pretty much all auto parts places will test for free.... the grinding noise you describe reminds me of the starter not disengaging fully, kind of like when you try to start a car already running. If the starter is not disengaged when you try to start it, it will not do anything no matter what the charge. You can try to rock the car forward or back a little with it in gear and it will sometimes release or in drastic cases you can tap the starter with a wood block and hammer, but this is a last resort as to much force will kill the starter completely.

Bullitt91

sounds like a smoked battery. the starter is grinding bc its not getting enough juice. how old is the battery? the flywheel probably wont be bad b/c u really havent been using it to start the motor. try another battery and get back to us.

wolf39us

so I had my dad put his explorer onto my car with some heavy duty jump cables...

it did the same thing....lol btw I had to pull the car up the driveway with a rope and a tow ...which did a little damage to my bumper...but it's ok that bumper was shot anyway..

we charged it for about 15 minutes...

after trying and trying we gave up and decided to roll start it

I rolled it...got it to about 13 mph

popped the clutch...and it ALMOST worked! I heard the engine turn and it was just running horrible for about 3 seconds...and then it was dead!

the battery was completely dead by this point...only enough juice to roll the window up half way

my dad was saying something that the solenoid might be bad....that little plastic piece on the side wall (drivers side)

I dunno !!

tmajikman

The vehicles computer has possible lost its memory on how the car runs, take out your dads explorer battery and use it to start your car, it will fit, I have an explorer battery in my car, more CCAs, and see if that will get you going and then you can find out if the alt is bad by taking it to Advance Auto or some place like that.