Can anyone link me to a definition of a "firm whack"?

[Little Red Tractor]

To understand a "firm whack" you must first complete a full apprenticeship program, followed by several years of independent hands on work. You must be able to strike the faulty part, encouraging it to miraculously repair itself without damaging it.
Only then will you fully understand the art of the firm whack.

BTW on Fords, it's usually the Bendix, not the starter itself

Dude, you must be a union guy, or a government beaurocrat.

 

[edda]

As in "When my Ford F350 starter wouldn't work the tow truck guy told me to just give it a firm whack"
And how hard is a "light tap"?

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Ed Weber]

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.

 

[hube2]

To understand a "firm whack" you must first complete a full apprenticeship program, followed by several years of independent hands on work. You must be able to strike the faulty part, encouraging it to miraculously repair itself without damaging it.
Only then will you fully understand the art of the firm whack.

BTW on Fords, it's usually the Bendix, not the starter itself

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]

As in "When my Ford F350 starter wouldn't work the tow truck guy told me to just give it a firm whack"
And how hard is a "light tap"?

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]

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]

It depends on which hammer you're using: The "tinker, the "tunker" or the "Smash it All To Hell"

 

[IndyJay]

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.

It has a particular feel to it as well... when you let the hammer "coast" the rest of the way to the target once you give it just enough swing to establish the proper inertia. When it strikes you are simply supporting the hammer to bring it to a controlled state of rest. The French probably have a word for it but I don't speak French.

 

[Jstpssng]

Start with what you think is a "light whack", then gradually increase the dosage until the truck starts.
If it was mine though, I would crawl underneath with my 2 lb hammer and hit it as hard as can. If that doesn't work I will go back down with my 30" pry bar... either it will start or something will break and I will do a proper fix.
Patience a virtue? Hell, I can't even spell the damned word.
Fix it now, or eventually you will find yourself laying in a 2 foot deep puddle trying to get the starter to work.

 

[JasperFrank]

I could, but it would mess up your brower history.

 

[coast40]

Whack it until it works. That is the sufficient whack. If you whack it until it breaks, that is too much whack. My dad used to say "Come spin or bust."

 

[ranchito]

When working on a PM starter, it is somewhere between firm enough to seat the brushes on the commutator but not enough to crack the ceramic magnets rendering the starter useless. If it has field windings, swing away.

 

[CH4Ohio]

As in "When my Ford F350 starter wouldn't work the tow truck guy told me to just give it a firm whack"
And how hard is a "light tap"?

For me, and in this type of situation, the force of the "whack" is variable. It starts on the low end with a probing experimental "whack" and increases in intensity until results are achieved or I reach the absolute limit of knowing that I'm about to destroy the object being "whacked". The upper limit is directly proportional to the probability that the part is not-salvageable and will have to be replaced.

 

[WranglerX]

Hitting something hard enough with hammer that you don't want to have your thumb in the way....

 

[Smokeydog]

Whacking expensive equipment with hammers was frowned upon where I worked. Applying sympathetic vibration was OK.

 

[YanmarFever]

What a pack of WHACK JOBS.....

 

[oosik]

I looked and could find nothing - by definition.