2001 Ford Taurus Starter noise

MIKE0057

MEMBER
2001 FORD TAURUS
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
85,000 MILES

The starter occasionally makes a loud high-pitch noise when attempting to start. It does not appear to be a belt and stops when the engine is running. Car was taken to a transmission shop who claimed to have checked the entire flex plate and said it was OK. They stated the starter motor was bad. This was replaced (including the solenoid) but the problem still exists. I checked the flex plat (but only a single spot - didn't turn the trans) and it looked fine. Only a very small amount of shavings inside the old starter housing. I did notice that the battery cable had corrosion on it. I am told that the problem happens more frequently when very cold outside.

3 Replies

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

Hello
Thanks for the donation.

It sounds like it might be a defective starter drive or a broken tooth on flywheel.

To test, you can try to turn the engine manually (large socket on crankshaft) to see if it will start. If it does, problem is probably broken tooth. If not then the problem is probably a bad starter drive.

Hope this helps.
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Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 AT 1:02 AM

MIKE0057

MEMBER
2 POSTS

A follow-up question. If the transmission shop truly checked the entire circumference of the fly wheel as they claimed (I am skeptical), then it would imply that the replacement starter motor is also bad. What is actually going on in the bad starter? Does it simply not have the strength to engage the fly wheel? Or is something spinning inside the starter motor? Something else?

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Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 AT 10:30 AM

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

If the bendix (drive motor) is faulty then it will spin the starter normally, but will not engage flywheel. However, since this was replaced, it should be ruled out as the solution here. I have seen (rare) that new elec. Components such as the starter, will not work properly, even being brand new out of box. I'm assuming you just had your starter rebuilt? So perhaps the problem does still lie with the bendix of the starter.

You may want to add a shim to the starter. If grinding occurs after placing in a shim, you need to bring your starter closer. This is done by adding a 1/2 shim to the outboard bolt.

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Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 AT 10:54 AM