Burned through two starters! Can't Afford More Misdiagnosis's! Help Please!

[lewishamilton]

Like the thread title says, I've been burned through two starters already since I've owned the car (97 GST). The car (according to the seller and my mechanic) has an aftermarket flywheel. Each time when the starter is at the end of it's life, it will grind increasingly longer before finally starting until it won't start anymore. My mechanic also said the starter solenoid is no longer attached for whatever reason.

Anyways.. My question is what should I be telling my mechanic to check?

P.S. After searching I suggested to him to test the amount of power going to the starter etc, but he said that likely wasn't the problem. I'd check myself but I don't have access to it, since it's at the shop and i'm without vehicle.

Is this most likely a mismatched (AWD) flywheel problem? and is there a part number he could locate that would confirm this before I go out and buy a new one?

 

[ktgurl87]

I would lose the aftermarket flywheel anyway, seeing is how its causing such grief. That way you know the flywheel you buy is correct for your car.

 

[lewishamilton]

I would lose the aftermarket flywheel anyway, seeing is how its causing such grief. That way you know the flywheel you buy is correct for your car.

Thanks for the quick response. No offense, but I wanted to be as sure as possible because I really don't have anymore money to put into the car unnecessarily. Do you think this is most likely the issue? Or could it be power (wiring) related?

 

[ktgurl87]

How long have you had this car?

 

[bryanwheat]

Check to see if you are for sure running the starter plate between the engine and transmission. It isn't a problem with an awd in a fwd or vice versa, it would not of worked in the first place. I would also inspect the teeth on the flywheel. I would also find out what he means about the solenoid not being attached. That would be a fault with the starters if that is the case.

 

[stars]

Get another opinion, have it towed it to another shop. I don't think that mechanic knows what is wrong because he cannot accurately explain it to you. If that's his best answer I would definitely be questioning.

There is a fine line between the person working in the automotive repair industry in being a "mechanic" versus the person being a "technician". Your going to have to pay probably but you need answers, and yes one way or the other it is going to cost but in the end you will rest assure you got the problem fixed and won't be on starter #3 replacement.

 

[ktgurl87]

And you shouldn't have to be telling the mechanic what to check next. He should be explaining to you what his next steps are.

 

[lewishamilton]

How long have you had this car?

Approximately 4 months, it's only been registered and insured (driven) since December, though. The starter problems happened almost as soon as it became a DD.

Check to see if you are for sure running the starter plate between the engine and transmission. It isn't a problem with an awd in a fwd or vice versa, it would not of worked in the first place. I would also inspect the teeth on the flywheel. I would also find out what he means about the solenoid not being attached. That would be a fault with the starters if that is the case.

I'll check the starter plate asap, that was one of the things I didn't check that was suggested in other similar threads. Does the transmission need to be dropped to get to it? And the teeth on the flywheel are great according to the mechanic, and when i replaced the starter myself the first time it seemed to be okay from what I could see. I'll look into the solenoid.

Get another opinion, have it towed it to another shop. I don't think that mechanic knows what is wrong because he cannot accurately explain it to you. If that's his best answer I would definitely be questioning.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be going down that road as soon as I can get this problem solved. I've brought the car before and he never seems to really diagnose any issues, just goes off of what I recommend myself (thanks to searching DSMtuners). He just has the tools.

Okay, Monday I'm going to verify the part number on the flywheel, and also verify whether there is a starter plate installed. How can I do this without having to pull the tranny? I've seen that you need to pull it to install the starter plate but is it clearly visible in the engine bay?

 

[luv2rallye]

The FWD flywheel is bigger (110 teeth) than the AWD one (106 teeth) and starter plates are also different - you may have something mismatched. Count the teeth and read here: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/mai...64-after-few-starts-whizzz.html#post152565587.