93 jeep starter problem? ...yes another thread

[naps]

there were SO many threads about jeep starting problems, that i just became confused. if i could tell you my problem;
my car has been starting rough lately. makes loud knocking sounds in idle. i think this might be related to the fact that my rear seal is busted.

well, my car would not start at ALL yesterday. battery is fine, a little corrosion on the terminals, but i did the coke trick to get by for now.

rear seal is broken...oil is all over the bottom of the car. i think that possibly the starter may have taken on a bunch of oil.

when i turn the ignition i hear a loud click-like buzz....what is that? starter?
the engine does not turn over. if i am hearing that buzz, that makes me think that the starter is working just fine. but the engine never turns over.

thank you in advance for any insight or help.

[[Fe]weapon]

yup the solenoid is not engaging the starter drive gear to the ring gear
not very likely an oil bath would cause that though chances are the solenoid is just gone bad

[Saudade]

You definately need to take care of the seal problem but I agree with Fe that the two are most lilely not related. Check your oil level and make sure it's correct. Check your oil pressure too. If the knocks go away at higher RPMs you may be very low on oil.

[naps]

OK, I put in a new starter and solenoid. Hooked the battery back up and STILL, same problem.
The Jeep clicks for a second then goes dead and no power. I have to disconnect the battery and reattach the wires before I can try to start the car again.

I have tried starting the car in both neutral and park, and even tried rolling the car in neutral and starting, but always get the same result, loss of electrical power.

I have come to understand that a lot of Jeeps have significant electrical problems, and I am not very knowledgable about cars, so any CLEAR and STRAIGHTFORWARD advice is much appreciated.

[Saudade]

Sounds more like a bad ground or bad battery cables now. That assumes your battery is OK. Does it start OK if you jump it?

[naps]

Saudade, I appreciate your reply. It's funny, tonight one of my buddies told me he was sure that is was a ground problem or the cables, too. Thanks. We'll fix this.

Then it's on to replacing the Rear Main Seal yeahh!!!!!

[Saudade]

No prob. Post back and let us know what you found.

I've already done the rear seal in my '88 (152K at the time). What a PITA! Everything was rather simple except I had a lot pf problems getting the pan off the block. It was really stuck on.

[naps]

ok, my fiancee jump started my jeep and it started right up. weird.

the problem may have been that the terminal bolts were not tightened enough.

my feeling is that the battery may have a bad cell.

but so far it has started 10 times in a row with no problem.

thanks for your help!