Really Horrible Sound.

[74rally200]

I have been helping a friend with her Spider. The current problem is that when the starter motor is engaged, the car emits a very very horrible sound. This happened a few times and then the starter would simply spin freely without turning the engine at all. I pulled starter and thought there was a chance that the gear might just not be throwing out far enough to engage with the flywheel completely, causing the above symptoms. The problem is that I just installed a new starter, and it is doing the same thing. Is there a chance that the flywheel could be misaligned or bent? Any other ideas?

[criler]

the gear on the starter probably bent some teeth on the ring gear (flywheel)
so they dont mate corectly.... that will cause the new one to spin freely as it does

[conedriver]

You may have worn an area of teeth on the flywheel. Try this old Giulietta trick: put the car in 4th gear and push forward or backward several feet. This will rotate the flywheel and put a fresh set of teeth for the starter to engage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 74rally200 I have been helping a friend with her Spider. The current problem is that when the starter motor is engaged, the car emits a very very horrible sound. This happened a few times and then the starter would simply spin freely without turning the engine at all. I pulled starter and thought there was a chance that the gear might just not be throwing out far enough to engage with the flywheel completely, causing the above symptoms. The problem is that I just installed a new starter, and it is doing the same thing. Is there a chance that the flywheel could be misaligned or bent? Any other ideas?

[aldo]

Installing the shoulder bolt wrong or in the wrong location will cause the starter to grind.

[Roadtrip]

What Aldo said. The special shoulder bolt must be installed in the correct position (middle position) to position the starter correctly. Otherwise it can exhibit the symptoms you describe.

[74rally200]

Ah, so if a previous owner had ditched the original mounting hardware, then it may just be that the starter motor itself is misaligned? That seems to make sense. Thanks. I'll give it a try.