Damn you starter, why must you grind!?!?!

[Colby]

Ok, I give up. I can't deal with this any longer. My starter has finally worn on my last nerve. On startup, I ask myself "will the starter grind and terrify the poor ol' lady getting in her car beside me?". About 50% of the time, the answer is "yes". After a brief chuckle at the sight of a senior citizen yelling a shriek of terror, I come to the realization that had she been a hot young blonde, I would've been overwhelmed w/ shame and embarrassment, not juvenile entertainment. In a desperate attempt to resolve this dilemma, I have swapped out the starter, ring gear, alternator, and battery yet the starter continues to grind instead of crank every so often. What else can I do to resolve this before I chew up another ring gear? FWIW, I cannot link it to hot starts, been sitting for a few days, or any other pattern.

[Tim Walsh]

could it be some sort of alignment? I really have no experience with starters.
THe other thing that comes to mind is the problem GRM had. Their starter would grind the ringgear up because the starter was not disengaging all the way.
http://www.classicmotorsports.net/
I could be way off base though on these.

[jtf914]

Originally posted by l33t9eek
Their starter would grind the ringgear up because the starter was not disengaging all the way.

You could be missing some teeth now:

[Cerbin]

I have a similar problem. Mine grinds about 15% of the time i would say. On my car it is b/c we had to put a very small spacer b/t engine and tranny because the 'pilot' shaft (was some how sticking in the engine) was always turning the tranny so we couldn't get in gear with out real grindage.

I think maybe your engine and tranny are not perfectly aligned. OR possibly loose bolts some where around there...i.e. starter bolts. Just a few guesses.

Patrick