VT wont start ??? starter motor ??

[Miss L]

tried to start my 98 Vt on Wed in drive..thought u fool Miss L..put it to park no go. battery all ok..thought hmmm crank angle...left if came back still no go..flattened battery (thinking somehow it would start)...had another go nxt day still no action..Im sure its the starter making a clicking type noise still full battery power....when i bought it 5 weeks ago told would need alt in 6 months...any ideas ?? i live pretty rural and its stuck up my driveway (yeah now would be the time to have roadside assistance really ) just want any thoughts so i know what im up for $$...thanks trekking off on foot now to see when the local mechanic can fit him in *sigh*

[VTLS1]

ok,if the cars making a clicking noise & wont turn over its generally the starter motor(providing that your battery is fully charged). if the car turns over but dorsnt start then you have other issues. being told you will need an alt in 6 months?? how did they come up with that. there is no real way to say when an alt will or wont pack up within a certain time.
if your starter is the problem & you know the battery should start the car what you do is this. get a hammer(you might think oh god at this stage) & smack the side of your starter motor with it. what usually happens is sometimes the internal ring gear inside the starter motor jams up. a smack with a hammer usually fixes this problem allowing the car to start. it make take one or 2 belts with the hammer & may not work the first time but it should free up the internals allowing it to start. just make sure you dont short out the starter motor connections,if your concerned with this disconnect your battery. mechanic costs depends on what the problem is but you will be anywhere up to 100 bucks for diagnosing the problem exactly.

[Miss L]

awesome...thanks !! i am armed with hammer now and will go and smash it....dunno bout the alt prediction...the mechanic that tested it came up with that....i figured its a 12 yr old car im gunna have to spend some cash no worries alt/starter pfft not a major drama ....just a pain in the butt as live in small "village" nearest mechanic is about 5 mins away but cant be fagged pushing it there (lest i break a fingernail !!) just spewing when it happened was on nite shift and bus/train 3.5 hrs to work....and around here to blokes think ahhh its a chick what would she know so lets fleece her !! fingers crossed i dont hit the oil filter with my hammer...but will post photos if i break something...thanks again

[VTLS1]

no worries. unless your mechanic has a crystal ball or a clairvoyant there is no real way to b accurate on when somethings gunna fail on you.
theres usually a few alt/starters on evilbay brand new going fairly cheap. i think i would rather live in a small village,a bit more peaceful but as you say can be a pain in the bum sometimes. yeap,your world may cave in & all hell will break loose if you should break a nail pushing it anywhere,lol
unfortunately your right,theres a few tradies that see a chick & think time for a rip off,its almost the same everywhere but not all places. know a bloke who works in the mines,his missus rang me & was telling me her mechanic was charging her 200 bucks for a battery. i went in there asked how much for the same thing & it was 60 bucks,needless to say not long after i ripped a new bumhole in them,lol. where the extra money was sposed to go i do not know. just take your time,dont get frustrated & watch what your doing. all should be sweet

[Miss L]

thank ya sir u made me smile...hammer didnt work goddamn it ....its a job for monday i think...off to reseach the bus situation it seems...gotta get to the gym and work off my frustration grrrrr.....only good point of it exhusband has offered to pay for it so sweet as i say rip me off ooops was that wrong ?? i did condemplate fixing it myself but somehow thought my skills as a hq pit bitch are one thing...amatuer merchanic nah better not i can only imagine what damage i will inflict on my poor broken but much loved vt..... u have a good weekend now and think of me on my bus adventures LOL

[VTLS1]

all good sir,only hear that when someones trying to sell me some rubbish i dont want,lol.
sorry didnt work for you,its just a pot luck thing if it does or doesnt. hit the old punching a couple of itmes usually works.
if your ex is willing to pay for it,nothing wrong with that,more dollars in your pocket as for damage inflicted,i dunno no harm in having a go.
thanks will try to have a good weekend & i hope you do as well. think of you on the bus,muttering to yourself "bloody car" wont be a problem,lol

[Miss L]

well the nice lubemobile man can to fix my starter motor and yep it was the starter motor making a noise....but perhaps that was because of the coroded battery terminal !!!!!!!!!!!! Oh Miss L why do you always look for the big fix rather than the simple things....first my wheel nuts stolen at the poice academy = stone in brake calliper....dear god chicks like me should not be allowed out needless to say my vt and i are back on the road and indulged in a lil retail therapy (god knows i budgeted $700 to fix him).....and how do you wonder, that I manage to be pit bitch on a HQ alls well that ends well in Miss Ls world !!

[graham7773]

Good post, this.Just a word to the wise, anytime a problem comes up, always look at the simple things first eg electrical? Battery cables and terminals as you found out. It's not always the motor falling out.

[Rusty]

well the nice lubemobile man can to fix my starter motor and yep it was the starter motor making a noise....but perhaps that was because of the coroded battery terminal !!!!!!!!!!!! Oh Miss L why do you always look for the big fix rather than the simple things....first my wheel nuts stolen at the poice academy = stone in brake calliper....dear god chicks like me should not be allowed out needless to say my vt and i are back on the road and indulged in a lil retail therapy (god knows i budgeted $700 to fix him).....and how do you wonder, that I manage to be pit bitch on a HQ alls well that ends well in Miss Ls world !!

Slightly off topic but did you get far down the road before you realised you had no wheel nuts?

[Miss L]

dont i know it story of my life looking for the difficult not the easy as to the wheel nuts that was HILARIOUS really...heard a noise...sounded like a stick or something...nope checked...took to merchanic....stone in ya calliper....drive it really hard round the windy corners it will come out !! ended up my good dad took it to the bloke i bought it off (had it 3 days) and they found it..again a case of Miss L looking for the hard things.....OMG I am such a fruitcake...note to sef from tomorrow onwards look for the simple things in life...but hope uve all had a laugh
ps there was 1 wheel nut...obviously they had loosened the other 4 and then i musta disturbed them flogging my wheel....but the best bit was it was in the police academy car park !! love it