Ford Explorer: If your Explorer won't start...

I just wanted to quickly tell you guys about an experience I had with
my Explorer, just in case it happens to any of you. Not a big deal,
and I'm sure most of you would know what's going on immediately, but
for a mechanical rookie like myself, it might save some time and
money.

About seven months ago, while buying groceries, I came out to my '93
Limited and was hurt to discover that it wouldn't start - no engine
turning, no dimmed lights, nothing - just a click from under the hood.
The lights and radio worked beautifully, which left me more confused
than ever. A kind soul in the parking lot suggested I give the starter
a whack or two with something like a wrench, which I did, and voila.

As a testament to Ford quality, that method has been getting my truck
starting until this past Sunday, when I finally had to have it towed
to a local garage to have a new starter put in. Why did I wait seven
months? In part because I was a complete idiot, and partly because the
Ford dealership quoted me $740 CAD for the job (my new mechanic
charged me $399 CAD including the tow.)

So, just a heads up...if you turn the key, and only get a click in
response, that just might be your problem.

As a sidenote, the purple beast as I like to call it has been running
without fail through all these years, and 320,000km - and is still
going strong. I have an '03 sport, but I can't bring myself to get rid
of the '93. I'm thinking of slowly converting her into a more robust
off-road solution - maybe raise her and toss on some mudkickers.

BTW, has anyone had success finding an aftermarket solution to mount
the spare tire on the back of the Explorer, Jeep style?

As for the external spare... I found a receiver hitch spare tire carrier
(for a Jeep, as if it matters) that works out quite nicely. Even has a
pass-thru receiver so you can still tow, and variable tilt-down so you can
still access the back of the vehicle without removing it from the hitch.


"SillyMonkey" <ca> wrote in message
news:google.com...