Hi All,

This is in regards to my series III 1986 XJ6. 4.2l

A few months back I installed a new starter. About 1 week ago, the starter began to slowly crank and as it was turning over, a horrible grinding noise came.
Now, about every 5th time the car starts, it makes that horrible grinding noise and wont even crank! It sounds as if I am trying to start the car while it is already running. If I push the shifter harder up into park "P", and try again, it will start normally. Sometimes, still cranking slowly.

Any advise? BTW, I have NO mechanical experience. :-(

 

Some ideas,
Is the battery good? Have it tested at your local motor factors and replace if weak.
Make sure the connections are tight on the starter.
It could be that the bendix is dirty and needs cleaning. Take it out and clean it and re-oil it.

 

Sounds like an issue with the bendix, if it sounds like the engine's already running. If this starter has a warranty, it might be good to contact your supplier. The problem is each time you hear that noise, it's possibly taking metal off at the flywheel teeth. Once they've been eaten enough, the engine or transmission has to come out to replace. If you're not going to do the removal, have whomever is pay special attention to the flywheel ring gear. If there's a bunch of damage to the teeth, that's not gonna be cool.

 

Thank you for all the advise! Battery was tested at AutoZone, it is good. The bendix is inside the starter or??? Keep in mind I am not a mechanic, nor do I have any experience. Is cleaning the bendix something I can do on my own?

 

If you can take the starter off then the bendix is the part that sticks out the front and moves forward to engage the flywheel teeth. Should be doable.

 

The torque converter drive plate is probably already TOAST.

The engine stops in one of 3 places when it is shut down. (rarely at TDC)
You could remove the drive plate and swap it 180 degrees so it will stop in 3 different places on shutdown. The bendix will engage the NEW TEETH and hopefully glide over the damaged ones????

The plate has a ring of mount holes to the crank but only 2 opposite holes are for the dowel pins. They are slightly different and must be used for the dowels.

It could also just be LOOSE starter bolt(s).

bob gauff