We’ve all heard the noise – a horrid metallic grinding as
the car’s starter tries to engage a running engine. What’s it mean when you hear that noise and
the motor isn’t running?
It could mean the starter is going bad. More often, it means there is a damaged spot
on the ring gear, the big gear on the motor that the starter engages to turn
over the engine.
In extreme cases, the starter can totally destroy itself and
the ring gear.
Sometimes you can make the symptom go away by fitting a new
starter. But the permanent fix is to
change the starter and ring gear, which requires removal of the transmission
for access. Here are some examples from
a Porsche 911 in our shop today . . .
For comparison, here is an undamaged starter gear . . . check out the difference
John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, celebrating 30 years of independent restoration and repair specialists in Springfield, Massachusetts. John is a longtime technical consultant to the Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, RROC and other car clubs, and he’s owned and restored many fine vehicles. Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665
Reading this article will make you smarter, especially when it comes to car stuff. So it's good for you. But don't take that too far - printing and eating it will probably make you sick.
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