Sometimes when I'm starting my car the starter acts like it doesn't catch and makes a God awful grinding noise which is the best I can describe it.It's kind of the sound you get when you try to start you car after theengine is already running. I have to turn the ignition a few times to get it to work right. Is this the starter going bad? Improperly installed?

Thanks,

 

are you sure its coming from the starter, cuz when my battery is dead or dying, the solenoid makes a noise that sounds terrible, and makes me think there is something really wrong with the car.....

 

It's pretty hard to mix up the two sounds. The solenoid makes a buzzing or clicking sound, whereas the bad starter has a grinding sound. My advice would be to take the starter off and take it to a parts place and have it checked. It's only two bolts and unhooking the battery at the starter to get it out. Mine did that last summer, so I took it in to have it checked, and sure enough the bendix had gone south. Oh, and if you take the starter out, be sure you unhook the battery cable at the battery before you do.

 

Sounds like the Bendix on the starter is not allowing it to engage properly. I would replace the starter before your flex plate gets chewed up...

 

And, if you have a manual transmission, tell the clerk to give you one for an automatic. Trust me on this. Been there, done that. If you order one for a manual tranny, the casing will be too fat to fit in the hole. The nose on the two are the same. The one for an automatic fits perfectly. Yeah, I know that goes against the grain, but it is true.

 

You could get down there and check to see if its tourqued in correctly,, If its loose the gears might not be meshing right... Just check it.. if thats good then pull it and check it at a parts store... ok.

 

could be the bendix not engauging all the way

could be the starter has came loose

could be the flywheel / flexplate has a bad spot on the teeth (which you can inspect and see)

could be the starter needs a shim

my personal choice is in bold though

 

+1 on the flexplate having a bad spot. Intermittent as your problem is. Undo the inspection plate and take a look.

If you pop the starter off, it's probably caked with oil/grease. Use an electrical parts cleaner to clean it out. You should be able to pull the bendix out free hand unless it is "glued" in place. Spinning it is another story. Even new ones don't rotate that easily by hand.

 

So, where is the inspection plate for the flywheel? Can I see it just by taking the starter off?

 

I have had a broken tooth on a fly wheel before and it had the same symptoms. When you pull your starter you will be able to see the teeth on the flywheel. you may want to have a buddy turn the motor over by hand while you look at the teeth. Make sure you disconnect the battery.