Being prepared is only a piece of the battle as proven today by my mule moment. I stopped at the Co-op to fill a tire this afternoon around 1:30. When I went to leave there was no
*kaboom*. Although I still had power to everything and the new battery was charged just fine. I began to suspect the starter as it had been acting a little funny every once and a while. After a brief pause and cursing session I took the challenge presented and decided to change the statrter in the parking lot. After all, like a goood Mule driving Boy Scout I had a vintage toolbox with wrenches and sockets, the OG GM Jack, axle stands, some cardboard to lay down on and yes, even a spare starter (replaced in a mis-diagnosis during the skelator days) all right there in the trunk. So getter done son.
Phase one went well and i had the car set on stands and the starter out in under 15 minutes.
The old starter went in just as easy and I had the Mule's wheels back on the ground in less than 1/2 hr. As I was reconnecting the wires to the solenoid one came disconnected from the female spade connector, but like any good boyscout I busted out the gator clip and we were ready to fly.
Now there was a bit of for-shadowing earlier on and here's where it comes back to bite me in the ass (pun fully intended). As prepared as one is for such breakdowns you first need to properly troubleshoot and diagnose the problem because if the issue turns out to not be the starter at all you may end up now twice replacing a starter that does not solve a damn thing. So at the time of writing this post the Mule still sits in the parking lot of the Co-op waiting for a bump start or tow. Blah!!!!
its not just you, boy scout. we all of us fix what aint broke at some time or another. i would pour whiskey on it. your pride, not the mule. if ya cant tell em apart, get em both just to be safe.
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