1G Would this be the flywheel, flexplate, or the torque converter?

[Kettlar 91 laser rs]

The teeth are worn and i believe that is what is making my starter grind funny making a not so enjoyable noise. Wondering if you guys could tell me what the part is with the worn teeth, it is for a 1992 eagle talon awd with the auto trans. Will add a video

This would be the torque converter correct or am i mistaken? It is whatever the starter teeth engage to on an 1992 awd auto 6 bolt

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[dwb]

Flywheel. More specifically, the ring gear of the flywheel.

 

[Adam]

Flywheel. More specifically, the ring gear of the flywheel.

Flywheel is for a standard, he said he has an auto. So it will be the flexplate

This would be the torque converter correct or am i mistaken? It is whatever the starter teeth engage to on an 1992 awd auto 6 bolt

The starter engages the flywheel on a standard trans. The starter engages the flexplate on an auto. The torque converter bolts to the flex plate and rides on the input shaft of the trans. So in your case it will be the flex plate.
In the video the teeth don't look too bad but honestly I couldn't see it very good. SOME wear on the teeth is normal but obviously too much is too much. Did see what looked like some metal shavings inside the bell housing.
Make sure everything else is good. I.e. the flex plate isn't loose. The starter itself is good - potentially the bendix gear isn't popping out far enough anymore. (I've had the starter bendix gear literally break in half before). Make sure it's the correct starter .. if you just got the car you never know what the PO did.

 

[steve]

I thought the flexplate connected the flywheel and the torque converter on a DSM Automatic. And doesn't the starter engage with the ring gear on the torque converter rather than on the flywheel on a manual?

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[Kettlar 91 laser rs]

Thats what it looked liked to me. Since i could see the roundness of the torque converter.

 

[steve]

Looking closer I guess the flexplate bolts directly to the crank and then to the TC. I wasn't looking close enough earlier and forgot how it worked on the 6G72s I had that were autos.

 

[DSMPT]

How does the bendix gear teeth look like?

Like this happened to my 1g once. My 1g is manual though.
The car was running good without any issues, one day suddenly the starter started to grind a little but still cranking good. But the grinding was getting worse day by day, and finally the starter stopped engaging the flywheel ring gear and got hard to start the engine. Then I removed the starter and took a pic like your video, and found metal powder and rounded ring gear teeth.
The proper solution was replacing the ring gear and rebalance the flywheel or replace the complete flywheel (If one piece), but I really didn't want to drop the transmission. So I swapped the bendix gear with a taller tooth one to make better engagement to see how would work. IIRC the stock starter has 8 teeth gear, I replaced it with 10 teeth gear that I found in a local rebuild shop. This made the starter gear diameter slightly larger, like 1.5mm or so. This actually worked very well. The cranking speed changed a tiny bit since the gear ratio is changed, but it started engaging again with the flywheel that has rounded ring gear. I didn't have any issue until replace the flywheel. I still use the same starter on my 1g for more than 10 years with several different flywheels without any issues.

 

[97egl]

If the car has a replacement starter on it hopefully there is a part number. Look it up and make sure the starter is not for a non-turbo auto. The non-turbo auto cars used a different starter than everything else did and it can be confusing for the parts store to get people the right parts especially when you are a turbo auto.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

The teeth are mounted to the torque converter for the starter. That was one thing I didn't like about the auto design.

 

[Kettlar 91 laser rs]

This is what the grind sounds like and i have a replacement starter im going to swap in but it was running well from 48k-50k miles and it seemed like the starter bendix was wearing so i replaced it and it ran fine no complaints for another 3k miles and then i had taken it to a shop to get bodywork done where they said it wouldnt start and so i replaced the starter since it sounded like it wasnt engaging correctly. I swapped it and since then this has been the sound i have had ever since and i try to drive it every few months to keep driving it but the sound seems to be getting worse and i have a new one to put in and it is the correct part number MD172860 now this one is a reman but ive bought two new already and this was 67% off

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And that is the same part in the car currently

 

[dwb]

Do you still have the original starter that worked good for 50k? If so, take it apart, clean/degrease it really good, re-grease the friction spots and planetary gears, put it back together and install it. I bet the solenoid was getting bound up due to dry/crusty grease and not fully engaging in the ring gear.
Here's a thread where I did just that to my 275k mile starter. Works like new now. https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-intermittent-starter-issue.544123/#post-153889846

 

[Kettlar 91 laser rs]

I do, but the bendix was starting to wear a little i can post pics i just have to find it

 

[DSMPT]

According to my case, replacing the starter with new didn't work for long if the flywheel/TC ring gear are rounded. You would just keep killing the new starter's bendix gear teeth (and actually you would grind more on the flywheel/TC ring gear) and it would happen again sooner or later. That's exactly what happened to me. I replaced the starter with new a couple of times. It didn't work for long. The only proper solution was replace both the starter and the flywheel or its ring gear (if auto, TC), or replace the bendix gear with taller gear if you don't want to drop the trans. (This is not a proper way but it worked well for me that's what I meant above)