A buddy of mine just got a 90 xj with manual tranny on the cheap. He didn't know for sure that it would run but he heard it turn over fine. When he got it back we started working on getting it started and it cranked the engine over the first time we tried. The second time, the starter just free-spun. Could the bendix randomly go out like that from one second to the next or could it be something else?

 

Bump

 

tapthe starter with a hammer

 

ok. I'll try it tomorrow. Can't figure out why its not runnin when it won't try to start!

 

yep it kinda hard to do like this

 

Tapping it didn't work. I did do some investigating and I didn't have a spark and the distributer wasn't spinning so I pulled it and it's not even spinning down inside the block. Timing chain maybe?

 

That'd have no correlation to the starter just sounding like it's "free spinning", 2 separate systems entirely. Start at point A, and more description needed. When cranking, does the motor try to turn over, i.e. does it sound like theres compression. OR, does the starter just make a monotone noise. Start there, then focus on the distributor.

Your in the mythical realm of Renix, watch where you step.

 

He said in first post it turned over a couple times.

 

When we first got it, it turned the engine over. Now it doesn't and the starter free spins. I know the distributer doesn't have anything to do with it, we knew it didn't run when we got it and its been sitting for years.

 

Gotcha. I'd still start at the starter. Replace it, then move forward. Doesn't take much to get a motor to crank, but you need to enable the ability to crank first, ya know.

Cheap reman starter for the 90' can be had for less then $60 with a warranty.

 

I know. But I figured it would speed up the process if I figured out why I wasn't getting a spark.

Where can I get one for that? I thought I looked it up at about 90?

 

$5 over, my bad. Been forever since I purchased one.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web..._539243756____

 

If the starter motor isnt working and the engine isnt being turned at all you won't have a spark. Or something

 

Thanks


True....that makes me feel like a dumbass lol

 

So I took the starter off and took it into the auto parts store and it passed the testing and I was told to clean the mounting surface and terminals. I did so and still same problem.