I am new to the pinto world, and may I say it is a fun one. Recently bought a '75 2.3 2-door, has starter issues. The previous owner said something about tapping the rod coming from the starter to give it a lil umffff to get going (turn-over). Only problem is, is I am a auto-noob. I have tried to get pictures off the engine bay, with diagrams pointing out the general ins-and-outs of the engine, but with no luck. I am just immersing myself into learning about autos, and figured I will find out soon enough through my own research. But call me lazy, I just want to go out and enjoy the sweet ride that is a pinto. I really want this car to have no issues with starting, so may need to replace the starter as well. This will be a project for me in the coming year, as I look to restore alot of the interior/exterior/engine. Any ideas for me? suggestions for the right direction?
BTW the car drove fine when I could start it. got it up to about 80 mph the first time I took it out. drove like a kitten. was stored for 20+ years, and has 60,000 on the orig motor.
Sounds like the starter is sticking. I would replace it and possibly the solenoid.
I have located the starter, all it took was being in the light of day, and not being soo drunk. Anyhow, it looks like a really old piece on the vehicle, possibly orig, but obviously needs replaced. My question now is, can I just "tap" the solenoid/starter to "unstick it"? I had gotten this suggestion from the previous owner, as being a temporary fix. I only ask cause I am pretty broke, wont be able to buy the starter for a week or so, and my girlfriend and myself would like to go out on this nice snowy day for a 'lil fun in our new pimpin' ride. any suggestions are very much appreciated.
I was thinking of myself taking pictures of the engine bay, as to see what needs improvement/replacing and hopefully could get a better idea of what I need to do/learn in order to make this pinto a well-greased machine. Thank you for any input.
Hello Jeff_$picoli420,
:welcome:
I am a little in the dark.
What exactly does your Pinto do when starting that makes you think there is a problem?
Do the easy stuff first.
The solinoid on the pass side above the battery should be the place to start.
Easy CHEEP replacement.
On the otherhand the starter is a bit of a PIA to replace.
From Pintony
Hey Pintony,
The issue I am having is it won't turn over now. The starter is located below the battery, on the pass. side. When I try to turn it over, there is just a clicking noise coming from another area, above the battery. perhaps I am just making a wrong judgement as to what the solinoid is. I will post up some images of what I think is what etc. for a better analisys. and thank you for the welcome, I hope to be active on these forums for quite some time now, as I just bought my baby yesterday, and it needs some work! I am thinking of restoring it as much as possible, but as for being in canada I will hopefully be able to locate parts with ease (rocky road of learning ahead). Hopefully I can find answers to my (noob) questions, and I am sure that I will meet a few freindly faces along the way. who knows, maybe become an expert through time and experience.
BTW I love this site. great stuff!
The starter is easy if you drop the rack on that side.
How is the battery and ALL the connections?
Bill
Quote from: 77turbopinto on November 26, 2006, 04:56:34 PM
The starter is easy if you drop the rack on that side.
How is the battery and ALL the connections?
Bill
Bill, you took the words right out of my mouth. To me, it sounds like a weak battery or bad ground. I would check the battery for a full charge first.
just my 2c
Quote from: 77turbopinto on November 26, 2006, 04:56:34 PM
The starter is easy if you drop the rack on that side.
How is the battery and ALL the connections?
Bill
Hey Bill,
Yes the 74-up Pinto is easyer if you can get that bolt out???
The early Pinto is harder but I have mastered it in under 15 min.
If you take the starter out backwards and replace backwards.
BUT I have a header "custom down-pipe" that may allow the starter to be removed that way a bit easyer.
The Pinto with the stock exhaust is a PIA
From Pintony
LOL... I was just having problems starting one of the wagons....
just click, click, click... at the turn of the key.
was turning over fine then a slight clunk in the starter and then click, click, click...
turned out to be a low charge on the battery...
hooked up the battery charger for a bit and no more click, click, click...
I had taken some general pictures of things I may think are the solenoid, and one that I had a question about.
You will have to forgive me, as I just moved across canada, and dont have a jack available to me(via borrowing from a known friend). Hence the horrible pictures. Will have to purchase a cheap jack before I can attempt to install a new starter.
Is this the solenoid? Is it located along the starter, on top? or is it out of my sight/that's a part of the starter (I think it is), and located elsewhere? The picture was taken from the front/underneath of the vehicle,
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q176/Jeff_Spicoli420/starter-solenoid.jpg)
as well, I got a pretty clear picture of above the battery earlier today. It maybe needs replacement, as it looks to be pretty old. I dunno if there is a way of testing that, but that corrosion/acid build-up doesn't look too encouraging. I have created a color-illustrated diagram, with these following questions / notes, so I could maybe better understand what I am looking at :
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q176/Jeff_Spicoli420/enginebay1-diagram.jpg)
1. ) Blue : is this just a dipstick for tranny fluid? or how you fill? if not tranny fluid, what type of fluid?
2. ) Green : Is this bad? looks that way, but if it could be tested or recharged in some way (temporarily/couple of weeks) would be really nice.
3. ) Purple : is this a relay? contorller of some sort? What does Orange do(see below question)?
4. ) Orange : this item/items seemed to be clicking as I was trying to turn it over. what are these exactly? could this possibly be accoutning for some of the problem?
5. ) Red : It definately appears that this needs some kind of tubing on it. it leads off of the engine, my best guess is maybe an air intake?
6. ) Orange : this piping appears to be bent for some reason. no idea why. any ideas? should it be open? shold it be connected to some other part of the engine/ another part?
7. a- ) White : is this for some type of vaccum, or fluid? I have another picture about this one.
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q176/Jeff_Spicoli420/Pic1256.jpg)
7. b- ) Is that the adjoining end? and if so, is that not the air conditioning unit? or some type of motor, controlling something... leading to this picture :
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q176/Jeff_Spicoli420/Pic1255.jpg)
I figured it would be something like an a/c unit or something not essential to the vehicle running. The motor seems siezed (if that is how you spell that), and there is no belt/ not attached to the motor. If it is not an A/c unit, could I perhaps be corrected, as to know what I need to replace?
One last nub question of the night, what exactly does this button do? I didn't get the original owners manual, so I am left clueless searching on the internet. :
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q176/Jeff_Spicoli420/wow.jpg)
So yeah, my guess would be maybe something that regulates speed? lol.
I had read up on all your feedback and appreciate the time you all put into supporting the pinto community :drunk: (cheers). I am well-rounded at working with digital equipment, and hope to document alot of processes that I hope to accomplish on this project ("Pimpin' Muh Pinto : A Labour of Love" coming next year... to a forum near you...). It will be time well spent, though, as I am not a rich man soo acquiring funds to put into the car will be slow. I think as soon as I can install the starter (couple of weeks), I will have a decent running machine (+ a tune-up, and maybe some wiring replacements)
Based on what I could possibly do at the moment, went out to check the lines. I then asked a friend if he could try to give it a boost to see if that would help... tried it a couple of times but it still wouldnt turn over. I am thinking it is the starter that wont give, but am open as to how to move forward from this point. hopefully I am not too under-knowledged as to how I am explaining myself. If there is any way I could clarify, please inform.
I have started to learn about how engines work (www.howstuffworks.com) but would like to learn how specific parts other than the engine itself works, to try and piece the puzzle of the system. I am sure a couple of answers to my questions will "drive" me in the right direction, and offer insight as to where to start researching again.
I'll see if I can I help....
pic 1 is your starter and the bump is part of it... not the solenoid.
pic 2
1. ) Blue : is this just a dipstick for tranny fluid? or how you fill? if not tranny fluid, what type of fluid?
Answer: Yes this is tranny and also where you fill if needed
2. ) Green : Is this bad? looks that way, but if it could be tested or recharged in some way (temporarily/couple of weeks) would be really nice.
Answer: yes is bad but if you disconnect and clean it up will be fine if battery is good. Try recharging battery but agree looks old and should probally be replaced.
3. ) Purple : is this a relay? contorller of some sort? What does Orange do(see below question)?
Answer: This is the starter solenoid and the item I was refering to that was going click, click, click... until I recharged my battery.
4. ) Orange : this item/items seemed to be clicking as I was trying to turn it over. what are these exactly? could this possibly be accoutning for some of the problem?
Answer: not sure I can't tell from the pic - looks like some sort of resistor
5. ) Red : It definately appears that this needs some kind of tubing on it. it leads off of the engine, my best guess is maybe an air intake?
Answer: you guessed it... missing the tube between
6. ) Orange : this piping appears to be bent for some reason. no idea why. any ideas? should it be open? shold it be connected to some other part of the engine/ another part?
Answer: just guessing but part of the pollution system possible connects to 7b - just guessing
7. a- ) White : is this for some type of vaccum, or fluid? I have another picture about this one.
Answer: connects to side of air cleaner
7. b- ) Is that the adjoining end? and if so, is that not the air conditioning unit? or some type of motor, controlling something... leading to this picture :
Answer: Part of the pollution control unit
and the button to the left of the brake pedal is for the headlights - brite/dimm
I would recommend you swap the battery out and try with a different battery, borrow one from a different car. If this battery is dead it may not hold a charge and jumping would not help. Just borrow a battery from a different car, hook it up and then see if it turns over witheout clicking. If it turns over or starts.... get a new battery. If it still clicks then try changing the solenoid, inexpensive part usually under $15. The clicking sound will usually be caused by 2 things....
1) bad battery
2) solenoid
Try swapping in a good battery first... just my opinion
hope this helps ;D
I agree with Cookieboy but would like to emphasize that part about cleaning the battery terminal connectors. At 12 volts and high starting current, it only takes a fraction of an ohm in the connection to inhibit the starter. A no-oxid compound (vaseline will work) on the connections will extend their life in this high acid area.
If the tires are 20 years old, they are due for replacement also. I recommend at least inspecting the tires closely for cracks and deterioration before driving at speed again.
For reading material, Ebay occasionally has complete manual sets for these cars. Due to the car's age, the manuals are a lot cheaper. I do not know these vendors but they have a good feedbacks.
http://cg.Eba.com/abattoirs/75-1975-76-1976-FORD-SHOP-MANUAL-5-VOLUMES_W0Victims290055537857Quiz01934220Grads1
http://cg.Eba.com/abattoirs/FORD-1975-1976-CAR-SHOP-MANUAL-BOOK-SET-vol-1-4_W0Victims160056737088Quiz0066759Grads1
Thank you all for your quick, informative answers. The tires were replaced by the previous owner, about 2 years ago. So I assume they are fine (they look in great cond). I will have to try to clean the connectors/battery first, and if that doesn't work I will proceed down the line. Hopefullly it is the battery, as I am in Canada, and don't know how expensive it would be to ship parts from the U.S,or if there is a canadian manufacturer/supplier(s) of pinto parts. Any suggestions/compatible parts I should be looking for? Any American manufacturers tha ship to canada for cheap? I heard about this one process where I can get stuff shipped to somewhere in seattle and they will "boat" it across to canada so I dont have to pay any border tax. I am a young fella, so I would like to keep everything as cheap/nice as possible. I am sure I will get my baby running up soon enough. I of course, will keep you posted.
Eventually I hope to repair/replace/refurbish the complete interior, so it should be interesting trying to find a donor car from cali that I can just go down and rip apart one weekend (I live right on the border of washington, In british columbia). That is still a long way aways, but I cant wait to "Pimp my Pinto!" If there are any canadians who have/will be fixing up or replacing parts on a pinto, I would like to talk with you about it. Please Email me and perhaps we could discuss our pimpin' rides. Now it's time to get that steel wool ripping. Thanks all. Cheers. :drunk:
As well, in the above orange question, here is a closer picture of one of the devices :
(http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q176/Jeff_Spicoli420/Pic1253.jpg)
as well, I had tried to boost it from my friends truck last night, to no avail. Should that not maybe lead towards the battery not being the problem? I am left clueless.
BTW found the chiltons repair manuals in the trunk, it's worth it to clean out stuff every now and again! So I hopefully won't have any more guessing as to what a part is, as the diagrams are right in the book! Good stuff!
you said... I had tried to boost it from my friends truck last night, to no avail. Should that not maybe lead towards the battery not being the problem? I am left clueless.
and I say still assume battery first. A battery that has been sitting and is in bad or non working condition will still not work if you try to jump start it with another vehicle.
I tried to jump start mine first w/cheap cables and no luck... had to leave the battery charger on it for several hours before it had enough power to start it (Yes, cheap battery charger) and it should be noted that until it got cold out I didn't have any problems starting the car with that battery and had no reason to expect problems w/battery. But now that it has gotten cold out I find out the battery works but is weak. Time to replace.
IF the battery has a DEAD-CELL then it will not jump start.
The only thing a jump does is charge a dead battery.
UNLESS you have some 100.00 cables that will transfer the full amperage to your battery.
Even with the 100.00 cables a BAD battery will not jump.
From Pintony
BUY a NEW BATTERY!!!!