Can anyone link me to a definition of a "firm whack"?
- Thread starter newbury
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When I was young(1960) I worked in a shop for a summer repairing batteries,generators,regulators,starters-- we would sometimes get a call from someone who had recently purchased a rebuilt battery etc and I would go out to try and start the vehicle. Onnce the boss said that model has the starter below where it gets all the road salts and the connection to the battery corrodes quickly. just give it a firm whack with a small ball peen hammer and try again to start it. That worked at least 70 % of the time. then clean the connection. the next step was to pull the starter and it was usually old stiff grease in the solenoid or it gets more complicated from there.
2manyrocks
Super Member
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Some light tapping might actually do less damage while loosening things up. But if it has reached that state, why not take it to a rebuilder?
Surshot
Silver Member
it is a combination of two nouns or two verbs, they each are both. Meaning to strike without excessive force as used. Look up firm and whack then put the two meanings together. One of the reasons that learning English is so much fun for foreign students.
kenmbz
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I think you need to reference the three stooges as to different levels and the technology to achieve them. 
For my friends Pinto many years ago to get it unstuck in gear. A 12" pipe wrench to the shaft was the working reference point of firm whack vs. very PO'd whack where the whole car would move.
For my friends Pinto many years ago to get it unstuck in gear. A 12" pipe wrench to the shaft was the working reference point of firm whack vs. very PO'd whack where the whole car would move.
Ed Weber
Bronze Member
The main reason a "firm whack" is difficult to quantify, is that is a combination of art and science. While technically it should not make sense to hit something with a hammer, it works often enough to consider it a viable alternative to a proper R&R of the stubborn part/s to be struck.
This should not be performed by amateurs, only those professionals who've completed the training can provide this highly skilled and nuanced balance of precise hammering. or as the OP called it, a firm whack.
This should not be performed by amateurs, only those professionals who've completed the training can provide this highly skilled and nuanced balance of precise hammering. or as the OP called it, a firm whack.
hube2
Veteran Member
When I was in my teens I learned the art of the firm wack from my father who was an aviation mechanic in the navy (1961) and I have given many starters a firm wack with a ball peen hammer over the last 50 or so years.
Usually followed by replacing the Bendix or the starter as soon as possible so I didn't need to crawl under the vehicle to many more times.
manzer7
Member
When my 1946 Willys Jeep CJ-2A starter stuck last year - I hit it with a hammer as hard as I could - and - it would not dislodge the starter. I had to loosen the bolts and then heard the click when it (the bendix) let go ! It did not hurt the starter - but - I did tear it apart and oiled it good ! Starter fixed !!
dodge man
Super Star Member
A firm whack requires sufficient force imparted at the correct vector with sufficient mass and velocity to result in a auditory detectable sound similar in nature to a 3 pound duck flying into a glass patio door.
24mph
New member
It depends on which hammer you're using: The "tinker, the "tunker" or the "Smash it All To Hell"