And she's down again!

[ladeeda3]

I swear... she's just like a woman... she throws a tizzy if she thinks she's not getting enough attention.

I did a search on this site but didn't see the info I am looking for.

My '98 ti manual is maybe having starter issues. Last Wednesday, she made a ferocious racket when pulling in to my parking space at work. I turned off the car, restarted, seemed to have calmed down. I was late so I pulled a Scarlett and decided to worry about it later. The racket was louder when I started the car up to go home. I lifted the bonnet to see if maybe a pulley was loose and a belt was flinging around in there. I couldn't tell what the trouble was. Turned off the car, restarted, it was still making noise but not as bad. Since I was again late, this time for the dentist, I took off. When I tried to leave the dentist the car wouldn't turn over but it made whirring noise like the starter wasn't engaging the flywheel.

I dont know if maybe the teeth are broken on the bendex or on the flywheel. Is there an easy way to inspect the flywheel?

Thanks for any input you are willing to give me.

[Xenocide]

oh geez, that doesn't sound good.

I'd go ahead and replace the starter, no easy way to check the teeth on the flywheel without pulling the tranny off. If the new starter doesn't take care of it, then its time to dive in.

[mgbman69]

Yeah, I'm with jeff.

I had a similar issue on a different make of car. Turned out the starter solenoid has gone bad and a new starter cured the problem.

Might not be your issue, but something to think about.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[pnosker]

Wait... aren't you a woman?

And what do you mean the belt was flinging around? Did you fix that?

[xxxJohnBoyxxx]

Originally Posted by ladeeda3

I swear... she's just like a woman... she throws a tizzy if she thinks she's not getting enough attention.

I did a search on this site but didn't see the info I am looking for.

My '98 ti manual is maybe having starter issues. Last Wednesday, she made a ferocious racket when pulling in to my parking space at work. I turned off the car, restarted, seemed to have calmed down. I was late so I pulled a Scarlett and decided to worry about it later. The racket was louder when I started the car up to go home. I lifted the bonnet to see if maybe a pulley was loose and a belt was flinging around in there. I couldn't tell what the trouble was. Turned off the car, restarted, it was still making noise but not as bad. Since I was again late, this time for the dentist, I took off. When I tried to leave the dentist the car wouldn't turn over but it made whirring noise like the starter wasn't engaging the flywheel.

I dont know if maybe the teeth are broken on the bendex or on the flywheel. Is there an easy way to inspect the flywheel?

Thanks for any input you are willing to give me.

There is not an easy way to inspect the flywheel. It does sound like the starter has come loose or missing a tooth on the bendix gear. Change that first and when you have the starter out you can look in at the flywheel and see about 4-6 inches of teeth but that's about it. I'm sure the flywheel will have some damage but should be ok if the starter is the one missing teeth or is loose. Just my 2 cents

[ladeeda3]

Originally Posted by pnosker

Wait... aren't you a woman?

And what do you mean the belt was flinging around? Did you fix that?

LOL Yes, I'm a woman.
No belts were flinging around. I thought maybe one had and I looked to see.

[ladeeda3]

Thank you guys for your replies...

I'll let you know how it goes.

[pnosker]

Originally Posted by ladeeda3

LOL Yes, I'm a woman.
No belts were flinging around. I thought maybe one had and I looked to see.

Just saying... you said your car was behaving like one... haha.

[ladeeda3]

Originally Posted by pnosker

Just saying... you said your car was behaving like one... haha.

LOL Yeah I figured I would catch some eyes with that one. But hey... dont some women have the reputation for being needy. My girl is definitely one who likes shiny new things to wear!

[aznlonewolf135]

when the started is pulled out you will be able to see a small portion of the flywheel...

[RedDog]

If you have someone with you next time it wont start than take a hammer or something with mass and hit the starter while you try to turn the car over. If the starter teeth are worn but not gone than it will start up. If this is the case than it is your starter. You don't need to dent the starter or kill the thing, just a descent hit. Be careful not to hit anything else and good luck.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by RedDog

If you have someone with you next time it wont start than take a hammer or something with mass and hit the starter while you try to turn the car over. If the starter teeth are worn but not gone than it will start up. If this is the case than it is your starter. You don't need to dent the starter or kill the thing, just a descent hit. Be careful not to hit anything else and good luck.

Yeah right, good luck getting your arm down in there with everything installed.

Lisa, there's also an access hole on the transmission bellhousing that you could look through to see the flywheel. Many shops use a boroscope to look into tiny spaces on the engine, you might be able to sneek a look at whats going on inside there without having to remove the starter or tranny. BTW, If you do end up replacing the starter, be sure to get one from a newer model e36. They have a threaded mounting bolt hole instead of a nut which makes the install 10 times easier. Also FWIW, realoem has the starter listed as the same part number for all e36's and even some 5 series' IIRC. So you're not limited to a starter from a 4cyl model which will improve your chances of finding a good deal on one should you need to replace it. Best of luck missy, LMK if you need any help, I'll be more than happy to get a little greasy

[RedDog]

I did not realize that the starter is that much of a pain to get too. I have worked on starter problems on other cars, just not a TI. Good luck figuring it out though.

[ladeeda3]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

Yeah right, good luck getting your arm down in there with everything installed.

Lisa, there's also an access hole on the transmission bellhousing that you could look through to see the flywheel. Many shops use a boroscope to look into tiny spaces on the engine, you might be able to sneek a look at whats going on inside there without having to remove the starter or tranny. BTW, If you do end up replacing the starter, be sure to get one from a newer model e36. They have a threaded mounting bolt hole instead of a nut which makes the install 10 times easier. Also FWIW, realoem has the starter listed as the same part number for all e36's and even some 5 series' IIRC. So you're not limited to a starter from a 4cyl model which will improve your chances of finding a good deal on one should you need to replace it. Best of luck missy, LMK if you need any help, I'll be more than happy to get a little greasy

Thanks Jess... I appreciate the info... It will be very useful. I also appreciate the offer of help. I'll let you know!
(BTW: I haven't had a chance to get pro-active about it yet. There always seems to be something to do in the evenings when it isn't 4200 degrees out. Plus it was too much fun driving the Z3 Coupe today!)

[ladeeda3]

Thanks again guys for the input. It's all appreciated.