Another (and MUCH faster) TEMPORARY solution is to do exactly what is suggested in the Haynes manual to determine the problem, and that is:
Leave the car in first, or Park.. disengage the E-Brake, and then open your driver's door and stand between the open door and the car. Use your hands on the A pillar, and rock the car forward until the transmission catches the car, and then back, until the car catches again. Rock this way back and forth 3 or 4 times, and then start the car. This shifts the flywheel back and forth, and causes the starter and flywheel to engage deeper than normal where the flywheel was chewed up. This will be a TEMPORARY fix, and will get you from point a to point b.. but I would not recommend leaving it this way... once it goes, you are stuck. (unless you pop the clutch everywhere you go..)
Hopefully it isn't your flywheel, and is just the bendix on your starter. I had the same problem, and a starter replacement was all I needed. You have a chance of it being either reason, but I would replace the starter if you have that many miles on it. It is no more than a 3 hour job if you don't know what you are doing. Definitely a DIY job. A small pair of hands speeds the process up alot, as you can skip removal of a couple things, since smaller hands can reach between things (thanks, Jenna!!!!)
Anyway.. check out Bill Jenkins at Signature Lincoln Mercury for parts..
Parts Express Look up parts and numbers, then Bill Jenkins, or Steve Mullins at SLM for a CEG discount price of 30-35% (rumoured to be 33% right about now....)
Let me know if you need anything, or a walkthrough..
Ray
