Solenoid removal problems

[EEVW]

I think my solenoid is bad on my 88 GW.

(Haynes manual says that only 89-91 have solenids and the 88 should have a relay on the firewall..., but there it is riding next to the starter)

Anyway, I've disconnected the big cable ( to + battery, and the small wire attacted with a little 5/16th nut on the solenoid) but I can't get that screw (phillips head) holding the solenoid to the starter.

Can I just bypass the solenid to get this thing running again, or should I remove the starter with solenoid on board and then try to remove solenoid?

Those bolts holding that starter seem pretty snug.

Help appreciated...

A Novice

[andy d]

remove the starter and work on it where you can get at it.the correct starter for an 88 is this lil bitty thing,i think Bob Barry said it was japanese. i have plenty experience with the earlieer ford starters. what are the symptoms that lead you to thinking the problem is the starter? one winters eve iworked til about 1am trying to resurect a starter, all3 had the sme problem. inside the round thing is a set of contacts that were burnt,they just wont handle the amps the worn out starter was drawing to turn over. rebuilt ford starters are cheap 30$. i dont know what a little late model goes for. i think its prolly more. what ever it is youre better off paying it than trying to fix something that youre not set up to fix. good luck

[JERRY88GW]

I just replaced my starter for me 88. It was the big Ford starter. $40 and change with core. The small Jap. starter was listed for over $100. My GW is wierd. I have two solenoids. One on the firewal and one on the starter.

[BobBarry]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JERRY88GW:
I just replaced my starter for me 88. It was the big Ford starter. $40 and change with core. The small Jap. starter was listed for over $100. My GW is wierd. I have two solenoids. One on the firewal and one on the starter.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The starter on my '88 was the Mitsubishi jobber; smaller, more expensive (only about $80, IIRC). There is still a relay on the fenderwell, but a different shape one, as it doesn't switch the current for the Positive feed to the starter like the older Ford-style ones. Of course, Jeep could have switched starter-styles at some point besides the beginning of production on 9/1/87 (or whatever), so an older Ford-style starter in an '88 should not raise any eyebrows.

The Mitsu starter works more like the AC-Delco starters on GM cars; the solenoid and starter relay are one piece bolted to the starter housing. I think I prefer the remote relay, as there are fewer things to short myself out to when working under the truck. That Mitsu starter is a lot lighter to work with, and smaller to boot.

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Bob Barry<UL TYPE=SQUARE>* '78 Cherokee 4-door
* '88 Grand Wagoneer[/list]http://studentweb.providence.edu/~rbarry/wheels/

[JERRY88GW]

Would the Mitsu starter fit an older style setup? Or would you have to change out the housing under neath there?

[BobBarry]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JERRY88GW:
Would the Mitsu starter fit an older style setup? Or would you have to change out the housing under neath there?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmmm, I don't know; the engine and tranny are the same, but I don't know if the new starter calls for a different size ring-gear. I've got one of each on my trucks, and I don't know that switching from one to the other is really worth the effort, unless you've got all the spare parts just sitting around anyway and you don't have much else to do. You'd really only have to add a jumper from the big (+) lug to the "S" terminal on the starter to use the Mitsu starter with the earlier wiring setup.

As an aside, when I went to buy a positive battery-to-starter cable for my '88 GW, I found the one from Jeep was only about $16. I figured that wasn't much more than a generic aftermarket cable, and it would fit right, so I ordered one. When it came in, I found it included not just the cable, but the wire that goes down to the "S" terminal, some nice heat-resistant wrap, and a factory-style retainer that clips to the fenderwell. It's really a starter wiring-harness extension. Not a bad price, if you need a replacement. Jeep can do that with some parts; of course, it makes up for that with the $6 clips for the window tracks... http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~zeimet/ubb/frown.gif

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Bob Barry<UL TYPE=SQUARE>* '78 Cherokee 4-door
* '88 Grand Wagoneer[/list]http://studentweb.providence.edu/~rbarry/wheels/