Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Starting Noise Clarifications...

Alright, I've done a some searching for my problem. On cold starts, my car makes a loud grinding noise (like when starting a car when already running). Now, from what I'm reading, it seems that the starter plate isn't perfectly grabbing the flywheel and they are grinding over eachother? Does this mean that both those plates are wearing down everytime I start my car and the teeth on the flywheel are being worn down?

I question this because why would the sound go away when the car is warmed up? Also, I had my starter replaced 2 years ago because of this sound and it successfully got rid of it for 2 years, but now it's coming back again after the second winter since the fix. So, this is why I question this diagnosis.

My next question would be how to fix this, and/or if it is that big of a deal or not. Car starts fine with no trouble so I really don't want to have to replace the starter plate and the flywheel, as that would be quite expensive, but I am worried about wearing down the teeth on the flywheel. Tell me what you guys think about all this, because this seems to be a common problem and through my searching it doesn't seem like a good solution has been found. Thanks!!!!

David

There is a TSB about this for the 99 and 00 V6, but it was for the automatic trans cars. It gave new part numbers for the starter AND the flywheel (flexplate).

Not even looking at this TSB, and only looking at your description from general knowledge, I would guess that you may have a damaged flywheel ring gear and probably a damaged or perhaps incorrect starter or starter drive. It is highly likely that you have a damaged flywheel ring gear.

You can pull the starter and turn the engine over by hand to inspect the flywheel ring gear. You can also inspect the starter drive while the starter is out. It may or may not show anything.

In this case, you want to be very careful about the parts you use. You want to make certain that they are absolutely correct.

Thanks for that advice!

I have a '98 CSVT, so would the parts have changed for my car too. I [censored] load was paid to the dealer to replace the starter 2 years ago, which fixed the problem up until now. So would bad parts be something I'm experiencing.

Also, is it that big of a deal to just pretend the sound doesn't happen? I still don't understand why it would only happen when the car is cold. Seems temperature shouldn't affect the operation of the starter grabbing the flywheel...

so is this a problem or can I grit my teeth on all cold starts and otherwise ignore it?

There is no telling how long it will continue to start. It may go on for a long time or it may get worse and not start.

If I were in your shoes, I might be inclined to see if it gets worse.

Take the access cover to the flex plate bolts on the bottom of the car and have a look at the ring gear. Check for rounded or missing teeth, if everything looks fine I would have the starter replaced so as not to damage the flywheel if it is hanging up on the teeth when you crank. There is a revised flex plate at the dealer, as I had to replace mine as sections of teeth in several spots were all but gone. Check it out from the bottom of the car...before you do more damage.

I actually had the same problem. Is it just on cold starts that it makes the noise and then goes away right away? if so, the problem probably lies in the bendix gear within the starter. If you had the starter changed two years ago, it probably had a warranty. Either get your starter rebuilt with new bendix or replace it entirely (bring your core). hope this helps. when you change it, check for damaged flywheel teeth as well.

This thread could be helpful as well...check it out.

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1032261&Forum=trouble&Words=starter&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Old=1month&Main=1030584&Search=true#Post1032261