carey83gsl

okay, quick background. i got my rx-7 from my uncle for free, so i figured i'd fix it up. main problem: about one in every three times you start the car, there's a loud grinding (presumably the starter against the flywheel) and the engine itself doesn't move. he got it checked out by a mechanic (after going through several starters), who said that the teeth on the flywheel must be worn and that it needs a new one.

well, i had a new flywheel put on, which resulted in the grinding occurring again. so, i had a new starter put on, thinking the pinion on the old one was worn. seemed alright, i took the car home, and after i got home, the next time i went to start it, it 'grinded' again. and after that, about one in every 10 or so starts resulted in a grind. if i just cranked again right afterward though, it'd fire up.

so, i took it back to the mechanic who put ANOTHER starter on, thinking the one that was on there was faulty, and he started it about 10 times with no problems. then i get it home, and it grinds again.

now, i don't want to drive it for fear of wearing down the pinion on the starter as well as the teeth on the flywheel, but i am at a total loss. what else could be causing this?

sidenote: thinking it was electrical, i cleaned the eyelets on the cables connecting to the starter, and that didn't help. any ideas?

esmith972

I have the same exact problem. And I know for a fact, my flywheel wasn't installed right because sometimes when I leave from a light I can feel the shifter shaking pretty hard, then it just kind of goes away. Also, since I don't have the clutch safety switch, if I start it without the clutch in, it does it more frequently.

carey83gsl

actually, i've noticed the shaking too...lovely. not something i can fix on my own. but i'm curious how a flywheel can be installed wrong? i thought it was just on there and the nut was torqued on ridiculously high and that just held it.

OneRotor

iTrader: (3)

It sounds like your starter solenoid isn't getting enough juice or a good signal. Check your wiring heading from your starter switch to your solenoid. Mine is doing the same thing, and I'm positive it's the wiring because i can jiggle the wires (small ones) and it stops being a PITA.

esmith972

Well if that's the case, then maybe my e-shaft is fucked? I can see the flywheel shifting back and forth when it's running through the inspection window. I need to check the pulley in the morning.

You might just need to do what whitey said.

Sorry for the thread hijack. :P

carey83gsl

haha np. i guess i'll check the wiring going to the starter and then update. that is, after i get it running in the first place..

bliffle

Shifting along the axis? How far? Is it shifting around the nominal location or is it shifting backward or forward from the nominal position?

esmith972

Wobbling, I mean. And yes, my e-shaft is fucked. The pulley is wobbling too.

Oh well! I haven't had a problem with it so far.

bliffle

Wobbling like it's mounted crooked or the shaft is bent?

esmith972

The pulley and flywheel both seem to wobble at the same rate, so my guess is the shaft is bent.

carey83gsl

alright. now that i've gotten it running, it's been starting up no problem. but, as i said earlier, there's a bit of a shake on takeoff in first / reverse. could it just be that the new clutch and flywheel need to wear a bit and match up better, or is that just the flywheel on wrong?

if the flywheel was on slightly crooked, that could also cause the grinding, huh?

esmith972

Possibly. If you're looking at the flywheel from the side, it would look like a \. If that's the case, the teeth won't completely engage and that will cause the grind. My old starter would take about 5 or 6 tries to start up, unless if i physically moved the car.

Kentetsu

For the grinding starter, replace the positive battery cable. The originals are aluminum, and start corroding internally which reduces the amount of juice that the starter can access.

For the shaking shifter on takeoff, you'll want to take a good look at the transmission mount.



.

OneRotor

iTrader: (3)

start looking for a new motor, sounds like your main bearings are gone.

carey83gsl

Kentetsu: thanks for the tips. do you think the whole cable should be done, or just the terminal? and i'll definitely check out that transmission mount.

the shaking itself is odd and doesn't seem to follow any pattern...well, maybe it does. i guess if i were to do a slow take-off, slowly letting out the clutch with the engine starting around 1500 rpm, it shakes. but if i let the clutch out at almost idle, or if i rev up to 2000 and start to let it out, little to no shaking.

anywho. i'll check and report back. thanks again.

Kentetsu

Replace the entire cable. You can find universal cables at most parts stores, you'll just need to have some idea of how long of a cable you will need. I think I paid like 10 bucks for mine when I did this. I also had issues where I'd have to try 3 or 4 times before the starter would engage. No problems since I replaced the cable though. Hope this helps...

carey83gsl

yeah, i hope it helps too. of course.....if it does....then i have to live with the thought that it's a possibility that i just spent a lot of money on attempting to fix a problem that a $10 cable would have fixed.

damn...

thanks again for the advice. i'll let you all know how it goes in a day or two.

bliffle

It's pretty easy to find a bad cable connection with an inexpensive voltmeter (I saw one for $5 at the autostore). What I do to test for a bad cable (or more likely, corrosion at the clamp or the screweye) is to use my power drill to drill a small hole about 1/16" diameter and 1/8" deep in the middle of each battery post then screw a small sheet-metal or machine screw in there. That gives me a place to hang an alligator clip for convenience. Then I just attach the black voltmeter clip to that negative screw and the red clip to a convenient chassis ground, like a screwthread on the shock tower and turn the key. You shouldn't get more than about a half volt between those two spots, or you've got excess corrosion.

James Petrovitch

I had the exact same grinding upon start-up that you describe. Every third start would result in a horrific grinding noise. Here's the question for you: when the new flywheel was installed, did they re-use the old ring gear, or did the flywheel come with a new one? All I did was replace the ring gear on the original flywheel, kept the original starter, and voila! No more noise. The only part I replaced was the worn ring gear that had teeth worn away along 20 - 30% of it's circumference. Just something I'd check. Worked for me. Good luck with it.

carey83gsl

yeah, i had a complete new flywheel WITH ring-gear as well as a new starter put in. maybe overkill haha

and an update: i plan on replacing the battery cable tomorrow (happened to have a new, never-used one lying around..handy)...but in the meantime, i've just been driving it tonight, and the shaking on takeoff was nearly non-existent.

is there anything that would cause the shaking that could POSSIBLY be intermittent? i guess i do notice it more when the car is warm-started and run after that vs. starting cold w/ choke etc., but tonight was especially shake-free.

but i will still take a look at the tranny mounts tomorrow and update.

Kentetsu

Could be clutch chatter. Maybe the clutch wasn't properly aligned when the flywheel was replaced? Or, if oil was dripping in that location it could chatter a bit.

carey83gsl

forgive me for not searching, but is clutch chatter something that necessitates the clutch being realigned? or will it kind of 'wear-in,' and the shaking will dissipate over time (as seems to be happening somewhat)?

edit: searched now, and looks like the tranny / engine mounts are a good place to start. it has a resurfaced flywheel and a new clutch kit, so unless it was misaligned when it was put on (which i doubt, mechanic seems knowledgeable enough not to make this mistake), i can't imagine one of those is the culprit. but i'll update when i check on the mounts.

and also, grinding when starting has lessened lately, but i was thinking it may have something to do with my ignition switch? in any case, i'll be replacing the positive battery cable and see if that helps.

carey83gsl

Replaced positive battery cable today. hopefully that will help eliminate the grinding.

checked the transmission mount, and it was completely shot. it's a relief that the shaking is not (well, hopefully not) a problem concerning the new clutch / flywheel. anywho. i'll be getting a new mount tomorrow, and hopefully this will fix that!

thanks again for everyone's help.

carey83gsl

update:

replaced transmission mount, and the shaking is still there.

i was going to check out the engine mount next, does that seem like a good place to start? i have A/C, so i know that complicates the process, but is a motor mount replacement significantly more challenging than the transmission mount?

thanks!

Kentetsu

Have someone rev the motor while you look at the motor mounts and watch for movement. They should be simple to replace, but I doubt that is your issue. Sounds like a clutch problem of some kind.