Moaning Starter

Hi all. I have a 1990 Honda Civic LX with 97,000 miles. Since yesterday, it has started making a strange noise when starting. After I release the key when the engine starts, something emits a brief, but loud, moaning sound. I believe it is coming from the starter, or that area in the engine compartment. The starter cranks fine and the car runs well after the moan. If it's something that is likely to cause further damage if I don't fix it soon I'd certainly like to head off trouble. Do I need a new starter or does this sound like something else?

Thanks for any replies, Spudston

Reply to
Spudston
Loading thread data ...

Maybe the drive on the starter is hanging up. If so it will get worse. You have enough mileage for a starter to be gone. The damage you want to prevent is chewing up the teeth on the flywheel/flexplate. If you hear any failure to engage or loud noise when starting, get a starter. PS. Even a fairly bad flexplate can be saved by carefully grinding the burrs off the teeth as long as none are completely missing.

Reply to
WasteNotWantNot

I don't know anything about Hondas, but is it possible the starter drive is sticking in the flywheel? Might just pull the starter if it looks easy and clean the Bendix or solenoid (depending on how the starter is designed) and reinstall, then see if the noise is still there.

good luck

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Thanks for the replies. I put in a reman starter today and it fixed the problem. The "new" one is an Hitachi while the old one was an ND, both direct drive types. It works just the same except that there is a bracket attached to one of the long bolts holding the motor together that holds the wiring harnes. This no longer lines up correctly so I had to use a wire tie instead.

Spudston

Reply to
Spudston

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.