88' Cherokee won't start

[mr2fyre]

My jeep wouldn't start last week. I jumped and and it started right up, so i assumed it was the battery. But yesterday it wouldn't start again.

Basically what it was doing, I would turn the key and it would make a quiet humming noise in the front and also making a noise in the rear of the car. I did some searching last night and i found where someone said they just hammered on the starter a few times to get it to work again. So i tried that and and it worked.

So i guess my question is, should i look into anything else before I replace the starter or is there a chance that it could be something else?

John
88 Cherokee

 

[IcyFridge]

It possibly could be your starter. The humming noise is your starter recieving the electrical current, but not enough juice (or stuck) to start. Better off taking it to a shop.

 

[mr2fyre]

You don't think that hitting the starter with a hammer and then having it work is a good indication of a failed starter?

I am just trying to make sure that i am not missing something else. I really don't want to pay someone else to fix something that i am capable of doing myself.

 

[jps4jeep]

Starters are pretty cheap, and you will need to replace eventually, So I say replace it, The humming from teh rear is the fuel pump turning on.

From what you say, sounds like a starter! easy to replace too! just makesure that if there are shims behind the starter, that you reuse them on the new one!

 

[MudderChuck]

When the brushes in the starter get worn, a good wack on the starter will seat them into the guides a bit and often get you a few more starts. The brushes get short, so the springs can´t press as hard on the back of the brushes, to make a good contact.
Buy a rebuild and then buy a new set of brushes for your old starter (cheap insurance), anytime you go mudding, keep the replacement starter handy, just in case your starter gets full of mud. Automatics are kind of hard/impossible to push start. I´ve had to clean out my starter, more than a few times.
Same with the alternator, keep a spare handy. Alternators are worse for getting packed with mud than starters.
Most times if you clean up the muddy starter or alternator, it will work just fine. Very hot water from some sort of sprayer works best. Many times it´s just mud under the brushes, messing with the contact.