Hey guys, having got myself a Z just over a week ago I have driven it around a fair bit. On purchase I was told that on occasion the starter motor had made a grinding noise and that the second time trying to start it the car usually would start up fine, as well as that the car had died once or twice in the winter due to an allegedly sticky idle control valve. After driving into Uni (approx 1 hour through various degrees of traffic) I came to a set of lights where I stopped, the car died completely (all gauges weren't working and no lights came up on the dash), I turned off the turbo timer (which had started to count down), and attempted to restart the car. When I turned the key in the ignition I heard an extremely loud grinding noise. I tried to turn the car on 3 times (with about a 10-20 second gap between each try) and it made the grinding sound each time. I gave it a couple of minutes and tried again and success!!! No grinding sound! Car started up and drove as per usual. I think it is probably a ground out gear in the starter motor, but from the little bit of research (google) that I've done there seems to be a lot of different opinions on what the problem could be. Is there any advice or similar incidents and other issues that are known about that could cause the grinding noise apart from one of the starter motor gears being ground out? If not, would the easiest solution be to simply replace the starter motor? I do have an apparently refurbished ICV unit as well, which I will try and test out and possibly replace depending on what the fault is with the unit I currently have in there. Any and all constructive advice is hugely appreciated!!
Ring gear on the way out..... You will find that your problem is with the ring gear. You need to drop the gearbox to fix it...... now you know why the previous owner didn't fix it
This happened to me, in the end the starter motor flogged out. Get another second hand unit, you should be able to get one for $30-$50. Post up in the wanted section for one Then see how you go from there. :zlove:
Based on its a grinding noise (and not whirring - which means it could be not engaging properly)) This leaves: Ifs it loose - this can do these things - wiggle it to see if it moves since its a quick test otherwise broken teeth on the ring or starter motor is flogged out as suggested - means pull it off and inspect the teeth all the way round - if they are all present then the starter electricals is your problem guaranteed Goodluck - hope it works out easy for you
Most things have been covered and may be a combination of things. The meshing of the starter and ring gear can be effected buy a few things. Weak battery could be a cause with a borderline solenoid, the solenoid thrusts the gear in to position with the ring gear, a good battery can help. Battery power can be lost from battery to starter motor, check for fraying at the terminals coming off the battery. I would check and replace in this order. Cable Bad Fraying - Auto electrician can fix. Battery - Check voltage across battery, with ignition off and while starting (post back), charge or replace. Starter Motor - Time to get greasy, ramps/stands and basic tools. Ring Gear - Time to get very greasy gearbox out or mechanic job. A little tip if you have trouble getting mesh at a set of lights again, in gear and rock car back and forward or on a slope dip the clutch and let it roll a bit and release clutch so the ring teeth position changes slightly and meshing may be easier. My Hyundai was not even grinding recently and a rock back and forth would get it going everytime, then I put the battery on a charger and now it works with out having to do a jig.
This happened to me before my major rebuild. Would occasionally grind and not start. If I played with the gears or rolled the car back/forward a bit it would then work. I ended up putting a new starter motor on with the rebuilt gearbox anyway. Keen to know what exactly your problem was?
Thanks to all who replied! Will try and get all electricals checked tomorrow as they seem to be the easiest thing to check, need to put a new clutch in as well, so if the problem is not with the electrical system then I might wait a little bit and save up some funds(still a uni student :rolleyes2: so looks like this is where all the $$$ are going to be going for the forseeable future) and do everything at the same time (clutch + starter), doesn't seem to make sense to drop the tranny twice imo. So the advice about rocking/dipping clutch on a hill is hugely appreciated! Will update tomorrow after checking the electronics!
Not sure if you have sorted this yet but also check the mounting bolts for the starter motor there should be a bolt on the bottom and a nu on the top. It is not uncommon for the bolt to strip its thread in the gearbox and allow the starter to move and cause starting issues. I would also look for issues with your connectors on the engine. When mine was randomly stopping and then restarting it was because the wire retainer was missing from the cas plug allowing the plug to make and break circuit with minimal movement
Hey guys, I'm having a problem with my starter motor not always engaging fully. Often it just spins and sounds like its running on dry bearings. Not sure if its the same grinding sound that everyone talks about. Anyway, I pulled it out and had a look. One of the first things I noticed was that the reduction gear that is always engaged to the starter motor gear is quite loose. I'm guessing its actually normal, it just seems odd. Other than that, the gears look fine and the solenoid and motor test fine and sounds normal when connected to the battery. Ring gear on flywheel looks fine too. One other thing I noticed was that there were 2 stacked washers (4 total) between the main 14mm bolts that hold the starter onto the transmission. Is this how it came from the factory or could it be that someone tried to space it out a bit from the ring gear by adding an extra washer for whatever reason? I wonder whether it would be wise to try it with just the one washer each side and see how that goes? Or not?
Sounds to me like a NA/Turbo gearbox flywheel mix. not sure what configuration is required to need it shimmed out but if you only have washers spacing it then there is a chance that its not mounted squarely or there is a small amount of flex causing troubles when it tries to engage. If this is the case I would recommend finding a more suitable spacer getting the flywheel to suit your gearbox - this may however require a new clutch assembly. someone more knowledgeable may have to give you a better assessment of the needs of your setup.
Sorry I dont remember which way around it is but I can say its not the engine/box combo thats relevant but the flywheel/gearbox. you can have a NA flywheel on a turbo engine - but as I said someone with more accurate knowledge will have to add some input.
The ring gear wearing is the end result not the cause. The starter solenoid being slow to engage cause its clogged with crap is usually WHY it happens. Get a stater motor rebuild and see if it fixes it. If it still grinds, the ring gear has been eaten away.
