starter grind, whats wrong Options

[Hanyo]

Today my celica's starter solenoid went out and did not disengage while the engine was running.

I went a head and replaced the starter with a re manufactured one at kragens.

The problem I am having now is, the car starts just fine; but it grinds right when the engine comes to life. So it would crank nice and smooth all the way until the engine turns on.


normally with a broken flex plate; a chip teeth on would sound like errrrr *crunch* errrrr *crunch* errrrrrr

But this one is throwing me off, it only grinds right when the engine comes to life.

I'm either thinking 1) my starter wires are fried and its not sending enough amps to the starter so i have a messy engagement. OR 2) worn out flex plate and lastly 3) bad starter.


I'm gonna remove the cover and inspect the teeth later today. Any other suggestions?

[GriffGirl]

Bad starter - there are bearings that go out that cause that noise you're hearing. You can rebuild the starter, but for about the same cost, you can just get a new one (or depending on where you go, have a new one put in) I think mine was $130 installed.

[Hanyo]

yea i am thinking the same thing. even though its a rebuilt starter they are rebuilt poorly.

[Bitter]

sometimes the gear on the bendix does not retract correctly, i've seen this 2 times in a row on a rebuilt starter for a nissan.

[Hanyo]

sometimes the gear on the bendix does not retract correctly, i've seen this 2 times in a row on a rebuilt starter for a nissan.

i was hoping you would reply.

inspecting the flywheel is no easy task. But from the sound of it is does sound like a bad starter.

[Hanyo]

how are the starters from "1st toyota parts.com" ?

parts from autozone/napa/kragens/advance does not inspire confidence with me.

[Bitter]

rebuilds are always a crap shoot, you can try pulling the one you got and lubricating the bendix with some spray grease or penetrating spray heavy lube (chain lube).

if not then see if you can return it and get your old core back, rebuild the starter contacts inside with the $15 kit from the toyota dealer. assuming it was doing the 'single click no start' thing.

[Hanyo]

rebuilds are always a crap shoot, you can try pulling the one you got and lubricating the bendix with some spray grease or penetrating spray heavy lube (chain lube).

if not then see if you can return it and get your old core back, rebuild the starter contacts inside with the $15 kit from the toyota dealer. assuming it was doing the 'single click no start' thing.

i actually opened up my starter and all the bearings did not look in good shape. I think i have the original starter with 98k miles on it. So its time for a newer one. I'll swap it out with another one this thursday. Hopefully it will fix my grind problem.

[Bitter]

how did they not look good? the front bearing is a sealed ball bearing and the rear may be a copper or brass bushing. did it whirr loudly for a second after starting the car?

[Hanyo]

When I opened it up, the bearings where covered in this gray mush. I just assumed it was metal shavings mixed with grease. The old starter gear never retracted and the car was driven a couple miles with the starter engaged. Since the starter was on the entire time it heated up really badly smelled like burnt electronics. I'm not sure if that smell as from old CV axle grease covering it or the starter itself burning.

The car would actually start just fine with the old starter but the bendix doesn't retract so the "assuming it was doing the 'single click no start' thing" wasn't my case.

[Bitter]

ah....well yea that old one was pooched. uh if you drove with the starter grinding against the fly wheel like that it could have damaged the fly wheel teeth...

you need to pull the starter and have someone turn the engine by hand and inspect them.

[Hanyo]

teeth on the flex plate look in decent shape. They have worn quiet a bit. I exchanged the pos starter at Kragens for another one. It now starts fine; however it does not start as well as my old starter. The re-manufactured starter is louder and doesn't seem to spin the engine as fast.

You get what you pay for and I sure hope this thing last for a couple years.

[Bitter]

hmm...my reman from autozone (knock on wood) works as good as the one I took out that went bad. be sure to double check the connections and cables for corrosion, looseness, problems. also make sure its sitting flush, no corrosion or build up around where it mates to the bellhousing.