Horrible grinding sound when starting engine

[jlach993]

Anyone ever have any issues with their starters or flywheel? I have a horrible grinding sound every 5-10 startups. I figure its some chipped/worn teeth on the flywheel. I’m not sure if the starter is maybe loose or if its the actual flywheel. Anyone have any experience with this? I did some research online and haven’t seen much in regards to this issue on LR4’s. My heart drops every time i start the engine and hear it lol.

 

[DaytonaRS7]

first guess would be your starting going bad.

Specifically the starter solenoid getting stuck open when started, causing the grinding [screeching] sound.

 

[John Robison]

Change the starter right now, if that is the situation, because every time it grinds you are damaging the flywheel, and if you let it go too. long, you will be changing the flywheel too, and that is a vastly greater job

 

[Quijote]

Change the starter right now, if that is the situation, because every time it grinds you are damaging the flywheel, and if you let it go too. long, you will be changing the flywheel too, and that is a vastly greater job

I'd agree. It takes two to tango. Unless one of the two was designed as the sacrificial part, the other component is being impacted as well.

 

[jlach993]

So what you guys are saying is that the starter is most likely bad and the flywheel is still “okay”? I figured once i start hearing the grinding noise, the flywheel is damaged already. I’ve been hearing this sound for the past 3 months or so....

 

[Kenneth Kahan]

If it still starts ok most of the time then the flywheel is probably still serviceable. The bendix (or the mechanism that kicks the starter gear on the starter motor) is not always fully engaging the flywheel so the starter gear is spinning against the edge of the flywheel teeth. Yes they have damage already but it takes a lot to actually ruin the flywheel. When the starter is removed which should be done on the next time you start the vehicle to take it somewhere, the mechanic can see the exposed teeth and could rotate the engine to see how bad they all are. Hope this helps. This problem is common to nearly all vehicles since the electric starter was invented.
Ken
2008 SSC

 

[John Robison]

If you remove the starter and turn the engine by hand, DO NOT turn it backward because doing so can cause the cam timing to slip, leading to destruction on startup