my starter just went out so i went to kragen to get a new one. when i put the new one on the car the gear on the starter would grind on the fly wheel. does it matter what year the motor is. i have a 83 motor in my 1980 rx-7. ain't the 12a flywheels all the same? what could be causing the starter gear to grind on the flyewheel? any 411 would help alot. thanks

 

not all the 12a flywheel sare the same (i think)...
IIRC the 79-82 12a's had one flywheel.. and the 83-85 12a's had a slightly different one...

do a search and see what comes up...

with the starter motor... i got no friggen idea

-Cheers

 

the starters from a 79-82 are the same and the starter from mid 82-85 are the same. it goes the same for flywheels, 79-82 and 83-85 being different. the starter gear probably grinds because it is either not kicking out far enough to reach the teeth on the flywheel and it spins on the outer edge of the teeth on the flywheel or it may grind because the teeth on the starter don't match up with the teeth on the flywheel. i.e. the starter teeth are bigger than the teeth on the flywheel and they can't catch, they just grind. let us know what you find.

 

mine grinds every once in a while.. it's a farely new starter (last summer). I just grit my teeth and turn it over again...

 

I've tried a '74 and an '87 NA starter on my '79-'80 tranny with a '74 REPU flywheel. If that spread of parts can work succesfully, then you have very little to worry about. Just don't mix turbo and NA stuff.

 

right on for the help/411 guys. i'll have to wait till tomorrow for the new starter. i'll keep yall posted

 

Rebuilt starters from major auto parts chain stores are often really low-quality rebuilds.