Grindy Starter

[Redtail]

Hey,
My starter makes a grinding noise sometimes when i start the roadster. sounds to me like the starter gear is grinding on the ring gear some. soooo, do you think I can just replace the starter, or will i probably end up having to replace the flywheel and the starter? suggestions?

thanks!

[FergO2k]

If you stop the grinding and replace the starter, the teeth on the flywheel will not be so ground as to need replacement. What may have happened is that the spring which activates the starter gear (sometimes called a Bendix) has gone soft, so you might be able to just replace it. Best bet is go for a new starter, and halt use until you install it, as you are in for an involved (and $$ for a new flywheel) removal if you let it go too long.
Question: Is it a never grind when cold, and then sometimes when hot, or is it not temp related at all?
Fergus O, 69 2000, HB, CA

[67 1/2 1600]

I have the same issues sometimes but only when I had my old battery it would not hold charge. So the started would grind when the motor would start. I got a new battery and no more grinding but it may be different for you.

Joaquin

[Redtail]

mmm, my battery is pretty crappy, so maybe that's the first thing i should change out. The grinding is not temperature sensative at all - it happens sometimes and doesn't happen others. I'll get a new battery this weekend and see if that helps matters. if not i'll put a new starter in ASAP!

Thanks!

[ppeters914]

Optima Red Top approx $100 at Costco. Sure looks purdy inside the engine bay.

[Redtail]

Bought a new battery today, hopefully that fixes the problem!

[Redtail]

okay, well now i think i have a drain on the battery somewhere. The starter grinds when I start after the car's been sitting for over 12 hours - if under 12 hours there's no problem.

I think i have a draw that sucks the juice out of the battery when it's parked for too long. Anyone have some suggestions on the best way to figure this out??

thanks a bunch

[ppeters914]

I thought this had been discussed recently....and I was right!

This was posted by datsunrides back in July regarding a similar issue Jorge was having:

Maybe you have a short or draw somewhere. You can check for a large draw with a voltmeter, but anything into the milivolt range can best be detected with an inexpensive tester.

Go to your local parts store and buy a pigtail and socket for a side marker. (any type will work so long as its for a small bulb-I prefer 1194 bulbs.) Attach a alligator clip to each lead and install it between the negative battery post and the negative battery cable. (positive connected, negative disconnected from the battery.) If it lights up, you have a draw or short. ( make sure ignition is off, lights off, door closed, etc...)

To find where it is, simply start pulling fuses until the light goes out and trace out that circuit. Since most systems are fused this works 95% of the time.

Good luck and let us know what the problem was.

[JoeK]

Is this with your old battery, or did you replace it? An old battery will lose it's juice pretty quickly, doesn't need a draw. It may charge up, but then slowly, or even quickly trickle out whatever voltage it was able to store.

[Redtail]

Okay guys, i think i've got it all figured out now.

Last night I started through the electrical system and cleaned all the important grounds. The starter-frame and the battery-frame grounds were both pretty nasty, but they're nice and shiny now!

Next I started checking seperate circuts for battery drain, and all the voltages were reading very strange. I found the problem in a pool of battery acid on my inner fender - the Optima Redtop I purchaced 3 days ago was leaking. I checked the battery and sure enough, the voltage was low, and it wouldn't hold a charge. Clearly this was the source of my troubles.

Everything seems to be working A-O-K today with a fresh Optima battery and cleaned grounds.

Thanks for all the help!

[ppeters914]

I bet the original problem was related to poor or no grounding, which may have contributed to early battery death.

However, a bad Optima right out of the box....that's definitely an odd occurance alright.

Now, go enjoy a drive and forget about those rolling blackouts!