HtownBlue

So today as I was running around town, I encountered a problem.

Went to start Lex as I had done a million times before. Turned key over and heard what sounded like some knocking and clanging within the engine for about a second or a second and a half. Then car started up normally. This was not a faint sound. This was a serious sound which is most certainly not normal.

If you've ever heard an engine with serious damage to valve train, or a serious knock coming from multiple valves, it sounded similar.

So color me perplexed once the engine quickly turned over. Sounded normal at that point. I thought maybe something got caught in the belts??? Maybe internal engine damage? But it was running normal after this initial start up noise / racket.

Get it home. Park it. Went to start it again, and nothing now. WTH? Do I have serious engine damage? How so though if it ran normally all the way home? All I heard when I turned key was what sounded like a faint electric motor trying to turn/spinning. Kinda vvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeer sounding but faint.

Great. What now. Took a peek at timing belt by taking off a few of the bolts holding the top cover / cam pully cover and the belt appeared to be normal. Good sign. No busted timing belt.
Serpentine belts looked good. No leaks under car. All fluid levels normal.
WTH? Why is my car sounding like a spoon is stuck in the valve train?

Well it's not even turning over. It ran home ok. Logic says check the voltages on battery. Check. All good. 12.3.
Next, since starter was under lifetime warranty when I replaced it during an earlier job as a preventative measure at 130K miles, I figured go have it tested.

Removed battery, air box, ventilation lines going to air box, vacuum lines, sensors connections, and BAM you can see starter easily. Removed two bolts and connections. Starter out. IT WAS VERY HOT. Not sure if this was engine heat or due to short in starter.

Took it to Autozone. Jose does his little test and tells me the gear is extending and it is turning which I saw. HOWEVER, these machines DO NOT TEST FOR TOURQUE ON THE MOTOR. Most electrical engines with issues can often function without resistance. Starters though are made for resistance operation. His little testing machine simply tests for motion.
Something told me to ask for the exchange any ways and I pressed them for it. They replaced the starter.

Placed new starter in. Replaced all other parts. Etc. I was nervous to crank the engine. As the last time it sounded like ball bearings running loose in my engine.
So I grab my ipad and phone to video the initial crank to see if I can capture the crazy sounds it made as I was sure the car would at least crank over. Started filming. Inserted key. Got nervous. Ready to hear engine blow up. Turned key over. KABOOOOM. Psyche. ENGINE TURNED OVER NORMALLY. Stopped engine. Recranked. Bam it worked normal again. 3rd time. Normal.
4th through 10th time all normal.
Seems the problem was the starter.
Why this is strange to me: Starters normally just go dead. Click. Slow crank. Or sometimes spin without engaging fly wheel. I have never heard of a starter doing exactly what it did in mine.
Nor was there any indication off any kind of starter issues previously.

My only thinking is that the starter gear might not have fully extended to touch the fly wheel and engage. When this happened, maybe the starter gear was "skipping" the gears on the flywheel and making all that racket. Then it finally engaged fully and turned the engine over.

Just glad I won't have to rebuild my engine any time soon.

RX330inFL

You come up with some odd ones, HtownBlue. Though they usually have a somewhat happy ending with a solution.

From memory, as bad as it is these days, starter motors normally just stop working due to some form of electrical problem whether it be from a bad solenoid or a bad spot on the motor windings. Why you can sometimes get a vehicle to eventually start in this condition by turning the ignition key briefly in an attempt to move the motor to a working position.

In your case it sounded more like a mechanical problem. Perhaps in a bearing failure. Would explain it being so hot.

alchemist

iTrader: (1)

Ive had this exact thing happen on a tundra before. Sometimes over time the starter shifts some and becomes misaligned with the flywheel/flexplate, then the starter and the flywheel don't mesh and the gears grind.

In older cars the starter contacts get worn and the plunger sticks and the starter will continue to run a few seconds longer. The starter runs slower than the engine and grinds on the flywheel teeth. Sometimes a good whack from a hammer fixes this.

It wouldnt have been the timing belt because if it was, the grinding would have continued...trust me

I am glad youve become the Rx forum beta tester for all of us