My 91SP83 Hijet now sometimes makes that grinding sound (like you would get if you turned the ignition key while the motor is running) when starting. Not all the time, not with any patter. It might start normally many times in a row, then make that sound 3 or 4 times in a row, then be normal again. I don't know much about the starters on these. Could this be damaged teeth on the fly wheel or starter, or some solenoid power problem, or sticky bendex thing? Am I damaging the truck by continuing to use it? What order of things should I try to identify the true nature of the problem? If it is the flywheel, or the starter, are there any parts available, and how difficult are they to install? If it is something sticky or flakey, is there a way to free it up? I'm a bit out of my element here, I have no experience yet with starter motors/flywheels.
Your ring gear has a badly worn spot on it. When you shut off the key, the engine will most often stop at a spot dictated by the position of the piston with the highest compression as it is coming up on the compression stroke. This will eventually cause the starter to engage within a range of a few teeth around the circumfrence if the flywheel causing the most wear on those few teeth. Each time you hit "start", the starter gear nudges the ring gear a bit more of a revolution until it finally hits a good enough tooth so it will go into engagement. The longer you wait to either replace or flip the ring gear, the more damage you are doing to the starter teeth too so is best to do something ASAP. Fred
Same issue, however have tried 3 different starters, 2 new 1 rebuilt. Any idea where to go from here?
Ok, the problem is that for some reason the teeth on the starter aren’t getting good engagement on the ring gear. step by step Pull the plugs, and the starter This will give you a good view of the flywheel, and having the plugs out makes it easy to rotate and inspect because there is no compression. Look at the ring gear and see if there are any spots where the teeth are markedly different, or missing. If there are ou will need a new ring gear or flywheel. If you have to replace either the ring gear or the flywheel you will have to pull and separate the engine and transmission. So, turn the flywheel, and do the clutch, spigot bearing, and throw out bearing while you’re in there. No point in tearing things apart in a year or so. Unless you enjoy wrenching on the truck, and then by all means leave yourself future projects. Then inspect the starter. Basically look at the teeth, the solenoid, and how free things move. My first guess would be a corroded spot on the solenoid disc. My Chrysler minivan, has teh not fully engaging issue anytime it gets below -20F, because the grease they use goes solid. I solved that by adding a stick on heater to the starter motor and the oil pans for the engine and transmission.
