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Problems starting.

  • Thread starter Thread starter tcarollo
  • Start date Start date
T

tcarollo

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While I was working on the car in the garage over the winter I noticed that it was making a grinding noise every now and again when I attempted to start it. I was told by a friend that is sounded like flex plate issue and I'd need to check it out this summer before I got to driving it more regularly.

Well I just finished up my steering column rebuild the other day and decided it was time to start driving. I'm kind of getting a late start on my summer driving. Anyway, now about evey 10-12 times I go to start I just hear a clicky-clunky sound. It's almost sounds as if something is binding. If I sit there and try to start the car over and over and over, eventually it kicks over and starts. I won't have probems with it starting again for another 10-12 starts and then it's back to the same thing.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should check. Does this sound like a starter problem, flex plate, or other?

Any help you can give me is appreciated.

Thanks in advance, TC
 
It sounds like it could be a bad starter or a simple starter shim problem. I would look at the flex plate to see if there is any grind marks on the flex plate. There is a measurement you can do to check the starter-flex plate issue, I do not have that allowance, but most of the time when you buy a new starter, it is in there
hope this helps
 
It does sound like a bad flex plate or rather some teeth gone in one section. Whenever you turn the engine off there is a 1 in 4 chance that the flex plate will stop on the bad teeth.
 
Most likely your starter needs shimmed up ,could also be a bad bindex gear on the starter that doesen't allways engange.
 
Alright, I'm going to have to find out how to remove the cover that'll allow me to view the flex pate and check that out first. Thanks, I'll let you know what I find.


TC
 
i'm having problems with mine also. Its seemed to be good today tho, but lately, i turn they key and the engine will turn just a wee bit and then the starter will spin freely. I figure its the clutch in the starter.
 
Well, I crawler under the car and removed the dust cover to take a look at the flex plate and it looked okay. It's got a few teeth worn slightly on the outer edges of the teeth but no teeth were broken.

I then pulled the started and visually it looked okay, but after a bench test I noticted that it would not alway spin. It would come out, stick, sometime kinda spin, etc. I must have done something wrong though cause after a few attempts I burt the thing up. It was smoking pretty good.

Anyway long story short, I called Autozone since "they're open late" and they had a starter for my car in stock. I drove a hour to get there, an hour back, put it on, and it starts like champ.

I'm man am I glad I didn't order a starter online. I was seeing prices online around $130-$140 for a starter. Whether Autozone made a mistake or not I don't know but I picked up a new starter identical to my stock on for just $30. Can you belive that?

TC
 
I believe it. Check out autozone's web site. They also have some of those expensive starters, but like you said, you can pick one up for 30 bucks.
 

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