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Grinding sound when starting

Muddy Beast

Muddy Beast

NAXJA Forum User
Location
WA
I had this problem awhile ago, pulled the starter, cleaned it, and reinstalled it. Well two weeks later after having no problems my starter motor seems to make a loud grinding sound like it's slipping or something while cranking. I can't figure out why but it's one of those "perfect storm" type things where it will only do it sometimes, but when it does happen I can stop cranking, try again and it will continue to grind till it finally starts.

The starter was new about 6 months ago, and the battery has 13-14 volts at all times. I searched but found nothing. Why is it grinding? And what is causing it so I can fix it?

~Scott
 
Sounds like the teeth aren't meshing properly clean the startermounting surface and bell housing take a look at your fly wheel teeth! If all looks good teeth are sharp and everythings clean and the starter is sitting correctly in the bell housing the starter has a bad bendix...
 
Well, congratulations on being a mechanic! Nice to hear from people that try and fix things without just changing parts.

Your voltage is good, but will the battery handle a load?

I would have the battery load tested, inspect the teeth on the flywheel/flexplate for damage, and if they are both Ok I would then consider that your starter/solenoid may just be beyond their time.
 
Well when I pulled the starter last time I spun the flywheel and it looked perfect, no sign of wear at all...and that was after it had done this a dozen times. And the starter looked just as good, that's what I don't get. I suppose it's possible only on small spot of the whole flywheel was damaged (I didn't spin the whole thing...part way was hard enough) but I would assume that would spread quickly. Also the starter was tight and flush (I'd read the bolts might have gotten loose). Lots of grease/oil around the starter (a leak I've yet to find) but under where it's bolted is fine.

It's also possible the battery can't handle the load, but it's a costco one I had swapped probably 6 months or so ago as well.

~Scott

P.S. Well I appreciate the mechanic comment, I just try and do what I can to fix things without buying useless/pointless things that will just break again. After all, I'm still paying for my axle swap.
 
Muddy Beast said:
Well when I pulled the starter last time I spun the flywheel and it looked perfect, no sign of wear at all...and that was after it had done this a dozen times. And the starter looked just as good, that's what I don't get. I suppose it's possible only on small spot of the whole flywheel was damaged (I didn't spin the whole thing...part way was hard enough) but I would assume that would spread quickly. Also the starter was tight and flush (I'd read the bolts might have gotten loose). Lots of grease/oil around the starter (a leak I've yet to find) but under where it's bolted is fine.

It's also possible the battery can't handle the load, but it's a costco one I had swapped probably 6 months or so ago as well.

~Scott

P.S. Well I appreciate the mechanic comment, I just try and do what I can to fix things without buying useless/pointless things that will just break again. After all, I'm still paying for my axle swap.
Click to expand...

It would be best to inspect all the teeth on the flywheel--pull your spark plugs and it will turn a lot easier.

The grinding may just be failure to engage and you might have caught it before any damage.

Fully charge your battery and then load test. Make sure your terminals and cable ends are clean and tight. Good time to renew your grounds too.
Sometimes corrosion gets under the insulation and your cables are toast but look fine. With the proven good battery you can jump across the starter solenoid from the battery main to the spade where the starter relay positive connects to the solenoid. Make sure you have the brake set and the key OFF, and someone with their foot on the brake would be best. If you get a good crank when jumping, then your starter and solenoid is good and you need to chase the cables/starter relay (which has its own ground on the fenderwell.
 
Battery was fully charged 2 weeks ago, as my rig just came back from a month rest during my axle swap. Terminals are clean and tight, and I've added an extra ground as well.

However last night it seemed to be bogging down at start, sounded as if the battery was dying. So I'm considering just getting my battery swapped again if I don't have time for a load test. (I started a load test but the guys load tester died and I didn't have time to pull the battery and bring it inside)

~Scott
 
Muddy Beast said:
Battery was fully charged 2 weeks ago, as my rig just came back from a month rest during my axle swap. Terminals are clean and tight, and I've added an extra ground as well.

However last night it seemed to be bogging down at start, sounded as if the battery was dying. So I'm considering just getting my battery swapped again if I don't have time for a load test. (I started a load test but the guys load tester died and I didn't have time to pull the battery and bring it inside)

~Scott
Click to expand...

Murphy's Law, when you need it, it will fail. Yeah, if your battery is good then I would be eyeballing that starter/solenoid.
 
joe_peters said:
Murphy's Law, when you need it, it will fail. Yeah, if your battery is good then I would be eyeballing that starter/solenoid.
Click to expand...

I think I'll charge my battery over night and try again to see what happens and hopefully tomorrow see if schucks will swap my starter and see if it makes a difference. For now I parked the Jeep and will drive my van to figure it out.

If any other thoughts come up let me know. :thumbup:

~Scott
 
Had the battery and starter checked, both are good. I suppose the last possible thing is the flywheel has a missing chunk?

Ok checked the flywheel, and it seems to be that some random spots are indented, that is to say the ends of the teeth look fine but the flat side of the flywheel up against the starter looks like some spots the starter chewed out the sides of the teeth, but not much at all. I went through a good portion of the wheel at it's every so often I'll see that. Is it plausible that the flywheel is spinning crooked, or bent?

~Scott
 
Last edited:
I'd pull the starter and check the teeth on the bendix. Could be the bendix is bad and not meshing properly.
 
Saudade said:
I'd pull the starter and check the teeth on the bendix. Could be the bendix is bad and not meshing properly.
Click to expand...

Bendix is good. The flexwheel not so much though, it's starting to show signs of wear. See post above.

~Scott
 
That's bad news on the flexplate. I've seen it before where it will start to tear up the Bendix gear too. The one I saw was on an old Chevy V8. After a while, it was kind of like Russian Roulette. If it landed in a good spot when you stopped, you were good to go. On that one, you could rotate it off the bad spot by pressing on the fan belt and turning the fan a little. Until one day...........
 
So what should I do? Replace the flexplate?

~Scott
 
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