Hi-Torque starter issue

[GaryR]

I just put my engine back together (bent valve, bad valve seat) and now when I start the car the starter makes a hellacious noise when engaging. It has worked fine for a year prior to this. The only thing that happened was it dropped about a foot but landed on the mounting plate (which is soft aluminum). I suppose it's possible that the mounting flange is out of square but I would think the clamping force would straighten it out as it can only go in so far no matter what. A friend said he had to put spacers on his but this one just bolted right in from day 1, no problem at all! And I did not touch the flywheel/pressure plate when I had it apart.. I am yanking it to take a look but as it can only go in one way, only so far in, etc. it has me scratching my head. I have the OEM starter so can always toss that back in if I need to, just have to find a barrel nut.

Thanks for any ideas.

[James Brown]

pull that starter and look at the teeth on the ring gear, see if it making metal shavings or there is a lot of wear showing. if you let this go on, might be a engine drop in your future.

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by James Brown

pull that starter and look at the teeth on the ring gear, see if it making metal shavings or there is a lot of wear showing. if you let this go on, might be a engine drop in your future.

Thanks James. It's coming out, just wondered what the heck could have happened!

[James Brown]

might be the bendex not fully engaging

[911pcars]

Remove and bench-test, then observe.

Measure how far the starter pinion gear extends from the housing mounting surface, then compare with the distance from the flywheel ring gear to the starter mounting surface on the gearbox. The two should be complimentary to confirm adequate engagement.

Sherwood

[KTL]

Check this out.

starter ring failure twice in 3 weeks. HELP!!

[GaryR]

Thanks guys

[Scooter]

We just pulled a high torque starter last weekend. It failed after two years of light use. The gears on the starter were completely warn about an eighth of an inch from the end of the gear shaft. It obviously was not fully engaging. Luckily, no damage to the flywheel. I was a big fan of the high torque starter prior to this issue. I am now re-thinking this position. Oh, and the starter motor appeared to be on its way out as well. Look and smell appeared to be pretty burned up.