Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Boy this scared me today!

[CBrabec]

So I went to start my truck today after eating lunch and when I started the truck it was making a horrible loud griding noise like my starter wouldn't disengauge. I turned the key off but the truck kept running ( i tried it 3 more times to turn off but no luck) and the grinding noise kept going. I put the truck in drive and started driving off and got stopped at light. All of a sudden I started smelling something burning and then there was white smoke flowing out from under the hood and out my driver's side front wheel well and then the truck died. I jumped out with my fire extingusher but no fire. The truck would crank but wouldn't start. I called a friend and he pushed me to my garage and when we popped the hood the top of the fuel solenoid had split open and was black. What the hell could have caused this to happen? Nothing under the hood got damaged and still can't figure where the smoke came from! Since the truck would try to start do you think my starter is fine? That grinding noise freaked me out. I just ordered a new solenoid, 70 amp power relay, fusible link and a fuel trasnfer pump (since I was having hard starting issues). Man that scared me today. Anyone else had this happen?



Chris

 

[BigPapa]

Pretty common issue Chris. The starter contacts wear thin and then they hang, causing the starter to stay engaged. When this happens it burns the solenoid up. Get you a set of Larry B's contacts from Geno's or it will happen again.



By the way, I'd bet your lift pump's fine. Most hard start issues are from bad fuel lines sucking air or the fuel heater doing the same.

 

[Dieseldemon]

To stop that from happening again put a diode on the wire to the starter Larry B has them Genos might have them also

 

[BigPapa]

Anybody ever replace those starter contacts without pulling the starter?

 

[mwilson]

Anybody ever replace those starter contacts without pulling the starter?

I worry that I would not be able to see if I had them in there square given the nasty habit they have of trying to twist while tightening the nuts.



Maybe it could be done with a mirror, but I can tell you that my big ole' punkin' isn't gonna' fit up in there so that I could see... ... .



Mike.

 

[mwilson]

To stop that from happening again put a diode on the wire to the starter Larry B has them Genos might have them also

That brings up something that I have wanted to mention...



Don't forget that these diodes can die and cause a no-start condition.



Happened to Seth last month, he jumped the gun, did not perform his due diligence, purchased and installed a new starter when the failure really was the diode.



Just add that to your troubleshooting library, it was only a year old... not knocking the diodes, just wanted all to be aware that they can and do fail on occasion.



Mike.

 

[CBrabec]

The kit I ordered was from Larry B's ( on ebay) which came with the solenoid, 70 amp power relay, fusible link and all new mounting hardware needed to fix this problem. I figured I'd just replace the lift pump to be safe as well as check all the fuel lines when I install a new float assembly in the tank since my fuel guage currently bounces all over the place. I will also add the diode to the list when we fix everything. Thanks again everyone

 

[BigPapa]

This might help someone and it could have been a fluke, but it doesn't hurt to try.



Mine hung on me the other day. Yes, I have contacts on the way. When it hung I turned the truck off and it kept running, as usual. I turned the switch back to on then to start and when I let off after going to start they let go. Like I said, maybe a fluke but it won't hurt to try if it happens to you.

 

[Rich M-37]

My starter contacts hung up. I thought that the truck sounded funny. So I shut it off. It did not shut off, I opened the hood and pulled the fuel soleniod connector off and the truck shut off. I was lucky, that I knew were to look and could pull the connector off fast. I did restart the truck and drove home. I then replaced the starter contacts and installed the starter diode from Larry B's. The funny thing was that I had purchased them over a year earlier, and did not install them. I bought the parts because I had read about the problem in the TDR magizine. If it happens to some one else's truck it is only a matter of time be fore it happens to you. The TDR has saved me a lot of money over the years in preventative maint, as well as aggrevation.
Rich M-37

 

[Mr. Ken]

guess I should install the parts soon too. I have had them for over 2 years now, and havent taken the time. Thanks for the reminder

 

[SSage]

Mine hung up twice and I did end up frying the relay. The Larry B stuff fixed it. Make sure you have a very good and "long" end wrench for the starter bolts. You need a good quality 12 point. I think they are 10mm and they were very hard to remove on my 95. The longest 12 point end wrench I found was at Sears and I had to use a cheater pipe. Major pain to remove for me. Also make sure your batteries are in good shape, weak ones will pull too many amps and fry good starters. I had to replace my fuel solenoid also, you can go with a manual cable, but I went back to a OEM fuel cut off.

Hard starts are usually air related, Larry B sells the correct fuel hoses too. On my truck, I replaced the hoses at the fire wall about 4 years ago, but just recently I started loosing prime again after two days. So, I've got an air leak some where again. I'm guessing I will need to drop the fuel tank soon to replace more hoses. Too much crap bolted into in the bed to remove for a top side repair.

 

[surfbeetle]

A 12 point socket with a swivel and socket extension to a ratchet works just fine. I can have the starter out in a few minutes.

 

[gcorron]

The fuel guage can be bouncing all over the place because of the in tank module. I bought the sending unit thinking that was the issue, no soap! When I got it out I found the entire thing had rotted in half inside the tank! Well, that would certainly explain why the guage was all over the map!

What do you think? Did it need replacing? BTW, the lines on top were rotted and sucking air as well, made for very hard starting.

George

 

[HerbW]

The 12 point socket is 10 MM size. I bought a large diode off Ebay used in solar panels and made my own setup with some stranded wire, solder and heat shrink after even my Larry B large contacts stuck. Twice is two many times. LOL I never had the diode before. Starters are fast to remove once you figure it out. Three bolts and the wires that feed it. Much easier to mend on the work bench.

 

[fest3er]

The fuel guage can be bouncing all over the place because of the in tank module.

My gauge was bouncing for years. When I finally had to drop the tank (to replace a rotted brake line behind it), I found the supply and return connections on the module completely rotted away. The level sender was another problem. I found a '97 module locally for a fair price. And found it wasn't the same as the '98. But I swapped parts around and got it working.



Among the parts swapped was the resistor sweep 'plate'. Cleaning it didn't help much. I finally put a 'u bend' in the contactor arm to shorten it by 2-3mm so it sweeps a different part of the plate. Finally, after 8-9 years, I can fill the tank without fuel spewing out the top of the module, and the fuel gauge runs smoothly from full to empty; it finally again dings *once* when it reaches ⅛ tank.



Should I mention I had to drop the tank 4 times before I finally made it work right? The '98 uses a friction-fit between the pickup tube and the filter inside the basket; the '97 uses a gasket; I didn't reassemble it right and that gasket was holding the valve at the bottom of the basket shut; soon as the fuel dropped below the basket and the basket emptied, I ran out of fuel--with more than ¼ tank left. Four times I dropped the tank before I figgered out what I done did wrong. I got real good at it!



It ran great for a few weeks; with some cetane boost, I may have broken 20MPG going to Fall Brawl and back. Alas, a couple days later the trans let go, seven years after installing an ATS tripledisk converter and valve body. (Nice of it to wait until I got home, though. ) So even a puny 180HP to the ground (17. 1s in the ¼ mile) is enough to break the 47RE, given enough time. So the truck sits at the shop until I gather enough funds to fix the trans (and find out what broke). I suppose the next thing to break will be the rear diff; it's been loud and grumbly in the cold for many years, too.



FWIW, I bought the truck new 10/97 (ordered 8/97). Have 280k miles on it. Best vehicle I've ever owned.