starter grinds every so often

Hey guys. Every 5-10 starts, the starter will grind making a metal on metal sound. It first started doing this in 2006, a year after we bought the car. My dads first impression was something to do with the shift interlock, so he would put in the ON position, press brake, and shift the shifter back and forth a couple of times. It worked. We did this every time. The car had a new transmission put in last year because of bucking, and the starter never grinded. So my dad thought the problem was solved. It wasn't. 2 months later, it started grinded again. This is when i brought it to my local garage, and the first thought is a bad starter. I was mad because they didn't check anything else, but they installed a new one anyways. It cost $297 for the starter (expensive considering it came from napa), and $100 for labor. That didn't solve a damn thing. Same problem again. Back to the shifting back and forth to solve it. My next impression was something to do with the PATS system, because sometimes we would jiggle the key and that would make it go too. The old keys were getting very worn, so maybe the car would think it was a fake. I bought a blank off ebay, (yes it is an original ford part), cut and programmed it, and still grinding every so often. Thats where i stand today. It grinds every 5-10 starts. Thanks for reading the long story, i just wanted to include what has been done to the car relating to the problem. If anyone has any suggestions, your input would be appreciated.

Mine does this too, but I never really worry about it. I dont shift back and forth, i just pump the clutch a couple times and maybe move the shifter to neutral.

I believe the problem is just the starter design itself. If the teeth of the starter gear and flywheel dont mesh by the time the solenoid starts the starter motor spinning, they'll just grind together. I get it every now and then and it usually catches me off-guard. I wouldnt spend any more money on it. It is definitely not the PATS system or shift interlock. The PATS system is strictly an immobilizer. the starter wouldnt even spin if there was an issue there. The interlock is just there to prevent a "miss-shift" into reverse, especially during spirited driving

greasemonkey1489 said:

Mine does this too, but I never really worry about it. I dont shift back and forth, i just pump the clutch a couple times and maybe move the shifter to neutral.

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actually mine is an automatic, so would there be a more serious problem?

My '99 Mystique had the same issue. Im betting your flywheel(ring gear) is a bit chewed up which requires engine/trans pull and replacing flywheel(ring gear). You can check this by getting underneath and find the inspection plate/hole on the bottom where the trans mates up with the engine. Perhaps someone will chime in with more info on this and confirm.

Well.... that completely changes what I said.

It's common for the starter to get gunked up and to stick, causing it to get stuck when starting, or to keep it from starting at all. Simply remove starter, take it apart, and properly clean and lubricate it, and reinstall it.