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Starter Grind On Start-up - a closer look

35K views 77 replies 42 participants last post by  vmxjia 
#1 · (Edited)
I have had a grind issue on start up at cold temperatures. Right after the engine starts, I heard a loud screeching sound similar to turning the key for too long. This issue only occured when the car cooled down for a long time (like starting it first thing in the morning).
So I replaced the starter and decided to disassemble the old starter to attempt to figure out why it grinds in clod temperatures. In short, I think it's pretty clear that it's the solenoid.

Ready to be taken apart:


Closer look at the gears inside. Normal wear and tear, teeth are still good (on all gears). Surprised to see them in good shape.


Looking at the rotor, brushes, housing. Nothing out of ordinary, everything is good!


Taking off the solenoid:



Solenoid seems to be working well. But as you can see, there is some wear on the sides of the piston, showing something is not right.


I put it in the freezer for an hour to duplicate the cold start condition. After trying to compress/release it a few times, I noticed it produced screeching noise, as well as hesitation to pull back. So I believe I found the problem here...



Note that when starting a car, the engine relies on the starter to immediately pull the gear away, and if the solenoid hesitates at all, it would in fact produces screeching noise forcing the gear back into the starter housing. Also playing with the gear that engages with the flywheel has made me to believe that even if solenoid fails completely, the rotation of flywheel would force it back into the housing.
 
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#2 ·
Before taking this apart I also thought that the failure might be due to the hardware inside the starter: like maybe gears grinding inside or something. I was wrong, the gears are permanently engaged inside and even the main gear slides back and forth on yet another gear, here are pics:

The main gear is on the right (engaged):


Gear is to the left (retracted):



Just for fun, here's the solenoid lever:
 
#15 ·
No easy way to buy it, the starter is usually sold as assembly. But I'm sure you can find just the solenoid if you look hard enough. It may be just as expensive to buy a new solenoid as to buy a remanufactured starter.
 
#23 ·
I didn't get this question answered on the other post about grinding on start up.

But does procrastinating the fix have negative repercussions such as the starter gear chewing the teeth off the flywheel? or is it more negative for the starter than the flywheel?

And is it possible for me to merely purchase the solenoid and save myself fifty bucks or so?
 
#24 ·
I didn't get this question answered on the other post about grinding on start up.

But does procrastinating the fix have negative repercussions such as the starter gear chewing the teeth off the flywheel? or is it more negative for the starter than the flywheel?

And is it possible for me to merely purchase the solenoid and save myself fifty bucks or so?
Good question, I did actually look at it as I was wondering myself. It appears that grinding does have affect on both the flywheel and the starter gear. However, it was minimal in my case. The wear is mostly on the sides of gears and not the actual teeth. So the flywheel had slightly noticeable wear on the side, and the starter gear was a little more noticeable but again, only on the side.
In my understanding, the gears are not meshed when you hear grinding, just rubbing on the sides of each other.
The thing is that starter gear is made of high quality material and does not wear very fast. I actually had this problem since I got the car in 2007, who knows how long the previous owner had the issue.
One thing to keep in mind is that not all starters are the same, so your grind may or may not be the same as mine. It is very likely it is, but I think it's best to replace it.

As for saving money - so far I didn't find where you can buy just the solenoid. However, stumbled across this forum http://www.hondacarforum.com/acura/3484-integra-starter-solenoid-rebuild-experience.html where a guy repaired his solenoid for like $25. It's cheap because all you have to replace in the solenoid are the contacts and the plunger (the part that sticks)... Might want to try that, though the solenoid is sealed, so might have to get creative how to repair it (or ask the guys before ordering from them).
 
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#29 ·
my car only makes the noise when its cold and the car has been sitting for a while. it's been grinding for the last 3 winters.
since spring is coming up, and the car doesn't grind in warmer weather, do you guys think i can wait till after the summer to replace the starter? there's a few other maintenance things i need to do and this was not at the top of my list.
 
#30 ·
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