Occasional Starting problem V6 2.5L

[ottoschutze]

We have the 1999 Mercury Misty LS 2.5L . Every so often, almost like Russian roulette, the starter does not fully engage and instead makes a very loud whirring.screeching sound , then on the 2 nd or 3rd try all works fine and the car starts up perfectly . I have smacked the starter a little bit ,as someone suggested ,cleaned all the wire /cable connections . A week or 2 goes by ,it repeats the
loud noise, Could it be a bad spot on the flywheel? .I have looked up the starter replacement issues ,do I need to get a new Starter or Flywheel or maybe both ? What is the easy and cheap thing to do first?
Thanks for you help .

 

[AliasJerk]

its very possible you have some broken teeth on the flywheel. But a new start would be my first fix, as they say "Do the cheap and easy ones first. "

 

[starjammir]

I had this problem once, and so did another NECO member. I came up with a solution which I use all the time now. Turn the key to the on position, listen to the fuel pump, when it stops start the car. Works like a charm. Give it a shot and let us know what happens.

 

[AliasJerk]

I had this problem once, and so did another NECO member. I came up with a solution which I use all the time now. Turn the key to the on position, listen to the fuel pump, when it stops start the car. Works like a charm. Give it a shot and let us know what happens.

sounds iffy IMO, I mean... if it is the flywheel/starter what would the fuel pump have anything to do with it?

I mean, if it solved your problem then more power to you, but still I suppose it couldnt hurt for him to give it a shot. I myself always allow the fuel pump to finnish primeing before I start the car.

 

[Beans]

I can have mine do this every time, if i hop in the car and turn the key as fast i can it will do it if i wait a second it will start fine every time (like starjammer said)

I might take off the starter see what the teeth on the flywheel/starter look like..

 

[starjammir]

sounds iffy IMO, I mean... if it is the flywheel/starter what would the fuel pump have anything to do with it?

I mean, if it solved your problem then more power to you, but still I suppose it couldnt hurt for him to give it a shot. I myself always allow the fuel pump to finnish primeing before I start the car.

WTF did I say the fuel pump had anything to do with it? I said wait for the fuel pump to stop, nothing about it having anything to do with it. My thing is maybe the solenoid is sticking and it takes a few seconds for it to engage. Next time you want to criticize one of my posts make sure you have a degree in the subject.

 

[AliasJerk]

WTF did I say the fuel pump had anything to do with it? I said wait for the fuel pump to stop, nothing about it having anything to do with it. My thing is maybe the solenoid is sticking and it takes a few seconds for it to engage. Next time you want to criticize one of my posts make sure you have a degree in the subject.

no no no, by all means if it seemed like I was criticizing, that was not the intent, it just seemed odd to me. I didnt say that it was impossible, I did say it seemed far fetched, Its nice to know the additional information now for the reasoning behind it.

 

[Tony2005]

Change the starter.

If you don't want to do that, spray the starter gear with WD-40 or Power lube (or something similar). Sometimes the "piston" on the gear is rusted and won't push out to the flywheel enough. Sometimes the solenoid is not up to par, and can't push the starter gear far enough to the flywheel.

 

[FavoriteMystaque]

Replace starter, I had that problem (actually on my sister's car).

 

[twocontours]

Letting the fuel pump finish reduces the starting load on the battery and makes more current available to the starter. You might have a wiring corrosion problem or a poor connection but most likely a failing starter. Don't ignore this problem or you might damage the ring gear from poor engagement which takes it from an easy job to an engine removal.