Firing order

lxman said:

Well I had it parked in the garage overnight with a heater on. I tried to start it and the starter is still doing the fast clicking thing. Could my starter have just gone bad? Or is there a way to check it without pulling it off, or should i just pull it and get another one from the junkyard? Please Help!!!

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Check the battery voltage with a voltmeter and see if you have 12V. Pick up one of those battery terminal cleaner tools and clean the cable ends and posts really good. If you have a bat. charger leave it on for a few hours and charge the battery. Sometimes a (small) shot of starting fluid (ether) will get things moving as well.

lxman said:

Thanks i will definitley give that a try. I will hook my battery charger up tonight and try all that tomorrow. Thanks again!

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If that doesn't do it, try giving the solenoid on the fender well a tap with the handle of a screw driver or something. If the fast clicking continues you might need a new solenoid. Starters usually act up when they are hot, but you could pull it off and have it tested if you think it's bad. But that a lot of work unless you have tried everything else.

lxman said:

Well just to update everyone I found out what is wrong with my starter. I pulled it off and first i found that it was stuck so thats why it wouldn't engage. Then I found that the gear engages the flywheel is all chewed up and bad. So, I have to get a new starter!

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Wow, you mean the started had actually seized up ? That's strange. I hope the teeth on your flywheel are okay as well. Keep us posted.

lxman said:

Well just to update everyone I found out what is wrong with my starter. I pulled it off and first i found that it was stuck so thats why it wouldn't engage. Then I found that the gear engages the flywheel is all chewed up and bad. So, I have to get a new starter!

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As mentioned, make sure that the teeth on the flywheel are not ruined/broken. The gear on the starter is suppose to wear/give first (softer metal). But, sometimes, it doesn't always go like that.

The gear on the starter may have gotten chewed up because of a weak battery.
Make sure you have oil that is 10W-somethingW, and not 30W-50W.

If it's easy, keep the battery warm inside. That will help with starting.

A cold engine is also much harder to start. When a cold engine that's added to a battery that's ~50% down on it's max cranking ability, that could be too much to ask for an old/weak battery.

That's why they have battery heaters, along with block heaters for the extreme cold.

Also, you can try to put a battery charger on the battery for 3-5 hours before trying to start the engine. That will help top off the battery charge, and also "warm the battery up a very little" because it's charging.

Good Luck!