Starter motor just spins

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This is in the newbie section because its a pretty basic problem that i cant figure out...

Every once and a while the Starter will not engage the flywheel. It spins freely after hitting the flywheel just briefly. It used to happen rarely but it took me a few tries to start it yesterday and maybe 10 tries this morning.

I have just begun searching but have not done a ton of looking in the engine bay yet.
Here is what i do know:
It shouldn't be the teeth on the flywheel because it eventually does catch and if i try to start it in gear it kicks hard for a split second every time. I don't think the fly wheel would be loose because i don't hear any abnormal sounds from the tranny and because it seems to hit the flywheel in the teeth briefly each time.
^sound reasoning????

I guess most suspect at this point is not the starter it self but whatever moves it in contact with the flywheel. I have not really been able to check wires or grounds yet because its a tough location to get to.

Also relevant...
The car sat for most of the summer because of a failed clutch master and slave cylinder and a broken key ignition. I have rewired the ignition to a new unit and it all seems to be working fine. could some wiring issue here be suspect?

 

[black_gst]

if it is just spinning you may have some broken teeth on you FW.. does the car move at all when your trying to start it?

 

[endeffect0]

Its not likely to be broken teeth. IMOP.
the car will start w/o me rolling it. if it were broken teeth it would not wanna start randomly and i would need to roll the car to get it to line up with some good teeth in order to start. correct?

I can and will check that when i get the next opportunity.

If i try to start the car in gear it kicks hard, trying to walk on the starter. but the starter jumps back off of the FW so quickly that it does not catch spark.

 

[black_gst]

i would say it has to be the starter itself... either the gears inside the starter are worn or they just arent engauging like they should be... new starter should fix it.. or have it rebuilt if you have a local starter/alternator rebuild shop

 

[Side_Show]

yea it's definately your starter, because if it's spinning then it's getting signal from the ignition. It's just getting stuck and the gear isn't popping out. It happens alot to old starter. I just replaced mind after 20 yrs of being on the car from the factory. You hitting it, is freeing it to kick out and engage with the flywheel. I'd just replace the starter and call it a day.

 

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Is it the starter or the solenoid then. Or are they both in the same unit. the starter it self is strong and has started well when ever it catches. My suspicion is that its the solenoid that is failing.

 

[Side_Show]

it's the starter motor that's getting stuck. the solenoid should but fine but either way when you go buy a STARTER is comes both the solenoid and startermotor as one unit.

 

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excelent that is the info i was looking for. thanks guys. I will let you know what i find.

 

[Beemer92]

Sounds like your starter isn't engaging properly. No way to fix it. Your gonna need a new, or rebuilt one. Turn that flywheel once you get the starter to check for broken/missing teeth. Good Luck

 

[jdodds]

+1 on the starter. If you wanna save yourself some time figuring it out, pull your flywheel inspection cover and rotate the engine over by hand while looking at the teeth to see if theyre chewed off. If they look fine, pull your starter. Odds are, the solenoid isnt kicking that gear out to touch the teeth.

 

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yep. it was the engagement arm on the starter. replaced the whole unit kinda goofy process because basically your just reaching behind your intake manny blind the whole time, but it wasn't too tricky and everything worked out. it was not a loose flywheel or bad teeth on the flywheel, just the starter.

just wanted to post that in case any one searches for it.