I see you have been waiting quite a while for a reply, so I will stick my nose in here. First, pull the starter off so you can inspect the teeth on the ring gear. Next, check the shaft on the starter the drive gear slides on. If that becomes rusty, the solenoid may not push the gear into full mesh with the ring gear, but it can go far enough to turn on the starter motor. Often that is solved with a little Engine Degreaser followed with some light grease on the shaft. Do not use something heavy like axle grease. That can become too hard in cold weather to let the drive assembly slide freely.
The over-running clutch can be bad on the drive assembly too. It will sound exactly like the teeth are grinding on the ring gear's teeth. A potential clue is sometimes the drive assembly will suddenly lock up, and it start to crank the engine if you hold the ignition switch long enough. Typically we release the switch right away so we rarely see that clue.
I cannot get into the online service manuals to find the procedure for replacing the flex plate. My preference is for a paper copy of the manufacturer's service manual. That will list all the steps over many pages, with line drawings and torque specs. There is also a section that shows any special tools that might be needed. EBay is a good place to find original manuals.
Also, consider visiting a Mitsubishi dealership. When I worked for a very nice family-owned Chrysler dealership, the service writers had the dealership owner's blessings to photocopy pages out of a manual for customers and other repair shops, as long as they were not busy with other customers. At times they would also give away older manuals to good repeat customers. We also borrowed service manuals and tools among a half dozen other dealerships, and we would fix each other's trade-ins. You might be able to borrow a manual for a few days.
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Sunday, April 8th, 2018 AT 6:52 PM
