Starter Issues??

Hi! Several months ago we had an issue of our 1996 Grand Voyager SE not starting. Turn the key and click, click. Keep trying and it would start. Finally it decided to really mess up. I turned it on and it made a terrible noise and wouldn't turn off. Had to disconnect the battery to get the dang thing off. Replaced the starter and everything was good for a month. Then it started making a grinding noise (it also would make this noise before). Now just about everytime we start it, we turn the key and it makes a grinding noise. My husband says that before it was making the grinding noise on engage and now it's making it on disengage. Ok, so are we just so unlucky that we got a bad starter when we got the new one or is there something else going on here? If the starter wasn't bad, what could be making it go out again??? I'm lost, my husband is lost. Please help!!!

There are several issues that could be causing the problem. First, you could have gotten a starter with a bad drive but since it didn't do this when you first put it on that is doubtful. Second, the teeth on the flywheel could be rough due to the old starter causing the starter gears to wear prematurely. Finally, the starter could be misaligned. I would pull the starter and check both the flywheel and the starter gears to make sure they are in good shape. If the gears on the starter are damaged, you can replace them for a few dollars and save buying a new starter, at least for a while. If the flywheel is damaged you may need to replace it, of course this can be costly since you need to drop the transmission to do this. As far as alignment goes, make sure the face of the mounting surface of the starter is flat, any warping or protrusions may cause it to be misaligned. Also check the mounting surface where it bolts up to insure that it is flat too. Finally, make sure the bolts are evenly torqued. If one bolt is significantly tighter than the other it can cause the starter to be out of alignment. Hope these suggestions help you find your problem.