bad Starter or.....What?

A couple of weeks ago, I took my weekender 90 LX 5.0 out for a spin. Started right up made a few miscellaneous stops then went home. Later that day when I started the car move it to the driveway, the engine started right up, but a high pitched squeal was evident. I turned the ignition off and the engine stopped but the squeal did not. Had to disconnect the battery to get it to stop. I had to run it like that to pull it into the driveway then I again had to disconnect the battery to get the sound to stop. I had just replaced the starter relay a few weeks before and the ignition seemed to be acting OK, so I got a new starter. Well, I can't put the damned thing in. To be more precise, I can't get the old one off. The lower bolt I can reach just fine, but I can't even get my fingers on the upper one, let alone get a wrench on it. To those who have done it, how the heck did you get to the upper bolt. It's blocked from above by various engine and exhaust components and I can't see it from the side with the wheel off. Am I missing something here? Everybody says it's a half hour job. If you've done it, how the heck did you do it?

Also, to guard against a bad relay, I bought another OEM starter relay. Put this on first and fully charged the battery last night. I also replaced the battery ground with an OEM unit as the terminal was in pretty sorry shape. Now, with this new starter relay, the original starter (remember I can't get the new one on) just spins without turning over the engine. The engine will not turn over. All other electrical stuff is working as usual. I figure I may have burned out the last starter relay with maybe an undercharged battery or maybe it was just a bad relay. Any thoughts?

93 LX said:

I guess i am missing the point. How did you determon that you have a bad solenoid? Did the starter run on after the engine was started with the key released?

When I change my started I used a real long extention, I mean real long so i can come from the front of the engine to get to the top bolt. I do not know the exact length of my extention since i make it up with several 6" extentions but you get the jist.

Good luck.

Allen

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Thank you for your reply. It's very likely that this is exactly the suggestion I needed. I have not determined for sure that I had a bad solenoid. When the problem initially surfaced, yes, the starter did run on after the key was off - even when the engine was turned off. I know I had a bad one about two months ago when the power died to everything suddenly b/c when I replaced it all was well again until this new problem detailed above surfaced. I've read over and over about how some of these, even new, can be bad or go bad in short order. I also read one thread where the OP was saying that his problem (which was similar to the problem I had initially) was caused by a fused solenoid that he had just replaced. I don't run the car that often, as I mentioned, it's primarily a weekend fun to drive gig, so it's my battery may have been run down a bit. The relay is a cheap part, easy to replace, so I thought I'd replace it just to be thorough before I got into the more involved and bigger pain in the ass of replacing the starter. I didn't even think to put extensions on it and go at it from the front. I'll try again when I get the chance, which is likely next weekend. I really didn't realize how much I missed driving this car. I'd rather fix this myself, both for the experience, albeit frustrating, and I'd like to use the money to upgrade/replace other parts on this car.

UPDATE

OK guys. Here's the latest. I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is now. The extension suggestion worked like a charm. Got the old one off in 10 minutes. I withdrew the wrench and had to find my place again when installing the new starter. That wasn't fun. Somebody on suggested wedging the upper bolt in the socket with a piece of paper towel to get the bolt started. That worked great, BTW. New starter works, but just spins aimlessly everytime I turn to start. It's obviously not engaging the flywheel.

Now the bad news. I shined the light in on the flywheel and it looks like 2 teeth (that I can see) have been sheered off. So, that needs to be replaced and that's probably why the old starter was spinning without turning the engine over after I replaced the relay last weekend, though I haven't figured out why it started the car and stayed engaged that first time, but this is probably when the damage occurred. I'm pretty sure the original starter was toast (or close to it) as the teeth are chewed up a bit. Not real bad but there are shiny smooth places like somebody went after them with a dremel tool and a sanding drum. FWIW, the remaining teeth on the flywheel look like brand new. The place where the 2 are missing look like somebody snapped them off with a pair of pliers.

Looks like I'm going to have to call around next week or two to see about getting it towed and having the flywheel changed. I know the part is $100, but I have no idea how much the work will be. Anybody have this done? Pulling the transmission is beyond my capabilities. I'm wondering what (approximately) the going rate is for this repair? I'm really bummed out about this.

Nibbie said:

that is about a 4-6 hour job, not to mention the labor rate which could be $80.00 $100.00+ an/hr.

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Ouch! I was afraid of that. Looks like another $500 job here. Every time I put a car in the shop, it always ends up costing me $500.

HISSIN50 said:

Or just compression start the car every time it lands with the starter trying to engage the bad teeth (this is a joke). I had a starter with a flat spot once and did this for awhile. It was a Porsche and starters were stupid expensive.

Good luck.

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My grandfather actually suggested this. He told me to remove the spark plugs to release the compression on the engine and then manually advance it by turning the fan. Yes, I know the way the fan is set up won't allow this and I'm sure there is another way to do it, but to save aggravation later on, I'll just get it fixed so I won't have to worry with it. Just trying to get a ballpark for how bad it's going to set me back and maybe what my options are.