2007 Mazda 3 starter dragging

SWINDLEROSO

MEMBER
2007 MAZDA 3
2.3L
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
153,000 MILES

Replaced broken tranny with salvaged one. Everything went back together fine. The starter is starting the car fine, but not wanting to disengage. Its about an eighth of an inch off of coming free of the drive train. Any ideas?

Saturday, July 4th, 2015 AT 3:04 PM

3 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,867 POSTS

It sounds like you need to shim the starter. Basically, moving it further away from the flywheel by adding steel shims where it bolts on to the trans.

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Saturday, July 4th, 2015 AT 9:40 PM

SWINDLEROSO

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks for your response. We didnt think we could shim the tranny because of the way it engages the flywheel. We figured something out though. Problem solved. Now it will start but will not go into gear. I did get the tranny from a salvage and trying not to fear the worst that its a bad one. The shift lever has been adjusted properly. Out of ideas. Maybe you have one.

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Sunday, July 5th, 2015 AT 11:46 AM

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,867 POSTS

No, you don't shim the trans, you shim between the starter and where it mounts.

What s happening when you place it in gear? Are all connections clean and tight? Is the fluid clean and full?

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Sunday, July 5th, 2015 AT 6:29 PM