Truck won't start - Where to start?

[thelongrangers]

I have a 1972 C-10 Short Bed that I have owned since 1980. It has 183,000 original miles on it and I have not had to do much to the engine. Yesterday I started it up and let it warm up for awhile as I was planning on driving it later in the day. It started right up with no issues. A few hours later I went to start it and it wouldn't start. When I turned the key, it was cranking, but something didn't feel right or sound right. I could feel a grinding (think it was coming from underneath the firewall). Never quite felt this feeling on any vehicle.

Not sure how or why something would occur so quickly. Any help would be appreciated. I am thinking about starting with the starter, but I have never had a starter fail that quickly. If it is the starter, it gave no signs such as not catching the fly wheel.

Any thing else that could produce a grinding feeling as the truck is trying to turn over?

[Daner]

Throwout bearing? What is your tranny?

[jhow66]

Starter.

[thelongrangers]

Originally Posted by Daner

Throwout bearing? What is your tranny?

3-speed manual

[thelongrangers]

Originally Posted by jhow66

Starter.

For a starter, do you think a remanufactured through LMC or Napa, or a rebuild kit through LMC. I am fairly mechanical, but have not rebuilt a starter.

[custom1970]

A starter from NAPA should be fine, I'd ask them to test the old one first. Make sure to give the flywheel a real good look. Hopefully the teeth are ok

[GMCJOE]

Was the motor cranking over, or was the starter just engaging and grinding against the flywheel? Normally if the starter starts grinding, and the engine cranks it will still start. I would pull the cap on the distributor and see if anything came loose inside the cap. If there is nothing that came apart under the cap, try turning it by hand to make sure your gear on distributor didn't shear the pin. If it spins freely by hand, the gear on the cam could have busted off also.

I have had all three happen ( stuff under the cap break, pin thru the distributor gear shear, and the gear on the back of the cam break off). They all could cause a grinding sound/feeling to come from near the fire wall. I hope it isn't any of those issue, but it is simple to trouble shoot. The reason I say to check these things is that it sounds like you aren't producing spark at the plugs.

I would also crank it over with the cap of the distributor to make sure it turns when cranked.

[thelongrangers]

Originally Posted by GMCJOE

Was the motor cranking over, or was the starter just engaging and grinding against the flywheel? Normally if the starter starts grinding, and the engine cranks it will still start. I would pull the cap on the distributor and see if anything came loose inside the cap. If there is nothing that came apart under the cap, try turning it by hand to make sure your gear on distributor didn't shear the pin. If it spins freely by hand, the gear on the cam could have busted off also.

I have had all three happen ( stuff under the cap break, pin thru the distributor gear shear, and the gear on the back of the cam break off). They all could cause a grinding sound/feeling to come from near the fire wall. I hope it isn't any of those issue, but it is simple to trouble shoot. The reason I say to check these things is that it sounds like you aren't producing spark at the plugs.

I would also crank it over with the cap of the distributor to make sure it turns when cranked.

Thanks GMCJOE - I checked the cap and everything seems in order, pin seems fine. Need to charge the battery now as it ran down. At this point I am not sure if engine was cranking or not. It definitely didn't feel like trying to start a flooded engine. Felt like something was missing, so maybe it wasn't firing. When I was idleing the engine earlier, I don't think I ran it too long. I did depress the accelerator a few times. I am wondering if the engine overheated - if so what damage could occur to the engine if it did overheat?

[GMCJOE]

Have you had issues with it over heating before? If not, I wouldn't think it would be an issue. I would say get the battery charged and have someone crank it over for you and try to locate the grinding noise. Pull one of the plug wires and see if it is arcing when close to the plug (wouldn't solve the grind, but tell you if you are getting fire).

Best of luck finding the issue.

[LockDoc]

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Starter bolts loose? Clean the battery cables and posts. Battery cable loose on solenoid? Just some things to check...

LockDoc

[71swb4x4]

If you ran the battery down trying to start it, it's very possible that you overheated the starter. They are made for short bursts. Someone cranking and cranking it will certainly burn it up.

Have you changed the starter recently?

[thelongrangers]

Originally Posted by GMCJOE

Have you had issues with it over heating before? If not, I wouldn't think it would be an issue. I would say get the battery charged and have someone crank it over for you and try to locate the grinding noise. Pull one of the plug wires and see if it is arcing when close to the plug (wouldn't solve the grind, but tell you if you are getting fire).

Best of luck finding the issue.

Never had issues overheating. In the process of charging battery. Once charged I will start checking things one at a time. After 32 years, I thought I knew every quirk this truck has or had.

[thelongrangers]

Grinding noise turned out to be the starter. Had the starter tested and the starter basically froze up. Popped in a new one and truck fired right up. Never had a starter fail like this one did - especially with no signs. Also never had a starter last 40 years.

[GMCJOE]

Nice... At least it was a simple fix.