High Torque Starter Noise
 

Hi Folks. I’m new to the forum and any help will be appreciated. My old starter went out so I decided to upgrade to a high torque one. Install went fine no issues but I just want to confirm that it sound correct or something is up. I have read number of posts but could not find a good video of how they sound so looking for some assurance before I take it apart again to check if something is up. I did read about some people using shims and stuff so that might be might next step to see if the gear is lining up. Here are some videos of the start. Also the small rattle/squeak after start is new as well so not sure if this might be that something gets stuck or anything. Overall the car starts fine and drives fine besides the odd noises at start up.

Some info on the car. 1975 911 with 3.2 and a 915 running megasquirt, COP. Soon will be posting a bit more on plans for it and some small things I will try to work on.

https://youtube.com/shorts/CO7nLgHkLQQ?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/8qc-WkACHuU?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/u3qudXdT5d8?feature=share

Sounds like mine. Spins faster than the original.

Sounds just like my Accord's.

What odd noises at startup? That sounds completely normal....don't freak yourself out.

I guess I’m more concerned about the noise just right after the startup. Seems like the gear does not disengage fast enough and there is an inconsistent rattle at the end. You can hear it in all videos.

I hear it. There is an over-running sprag clutch on the starter pinion which allows the pinion gear to not overdrive the starter when engine first starts and gears are still engaged. It sounds to me like this clutch is not functioning properly and is possibly locked up. I would suggest removing the starter and check - should be free rotation of the pinion in one direction and lock up in the opposite direction. If pinion is locked up (or difficult to rotate) in both directions, the sprag clutch is defective.

Hope I explained this clearly.

Looks like I will be taking it out to check and inspect. Thanks

Did you ever find a solution to the noise? I recently installed a WOSP high torque starter and I am getting a similar grinding noise just after the engine starts.

I just rebuild my old one and returned the new one. It looked like the WOSP was not engaging completely. Installed the rebuilt one and no problems. But when I took out the WOSP you can see some weird looking wear on the gear.

Thanks for the reply. I called Pelican who put me in touch with WOSP. They suggested shims and shipped me a couple to try out. We’ll see if that solves the issue.

Did you get this figured out? I just bought an 85 that has a WOSP starter installed and I’m getting this same noise on startup. Not sure if it’s really an issue or just something to deal with.

I contacted WOSP, took off the starter, applied some paint and sent them pictures including a video. All was determined to be normal just sounds different than stock.