Scary noise on start once in a while

Hi All,


I bought an 1983 944 4 months ago, and after a few troubles ;-) (changing the clutch for instance :banghead: ), I now have another pb :

Once in a while, when I try to start the car, I got a big scary noise "krrrrrrrrrrrr" and the car doesn't start. Usually it happens twice in a row.

My mechanic told me that should be the flywheel which is kind of old/damaged.

Any other suggestions? Because a flywheel costs at least $300 ... so I want to be sure ;-).

Thanks a lot!

It is probably the starter pinion not engaging fully with the flywheel gear teeth.
Could be a bad starter gear or a bad flywheel gear.
Inspect the flywheel gear teeth through the hole on top of the bellhousing while turning the crank pulley with a 15/16" or 24 mm wrench.
If it checks out ok, pull out the starter and inspect the pinion teeth for wear esp in the front. If it's good, then clean the solenoid contacts and bench test to make sure the bendix moves forward all the way without any binding.

Thanks! I will do it :) and come again if needed.

Have a nice eve.

I have a some how similar situation. Everyonce in a while I'll get a hard start situation like hydraulic lock.

Hydraulic lock from working in marine mechanics, is when water comes in over the exhaust riser (we're talking inboard powered boats here) and into a cylinder through the exhaust valve. When starting, the water will not compress and thus the engine is "locked". This can also happen in a car if a bad head gasket, cracked block or head, any time a water/coolant/liquid gets into a cylinder.
I think my situation is a leaky injector that puts a quantity of fuel into a cylinder, over time after shut down. Then when I sometimes go to start, there is a hard revoloution or two.... then starter is as normal.

I will have to verify my beleif by: 1) evaulating my spark plugs... look for wet fuel plugs _or_ signs of burned coolant residue on sparks. 2) maybe remove sparx from the engine just after shut down and look over time (borescope or flexible LED flashlight) looking for signs of liquid intrusion. 3)determine what cylinder is the culprit by trying to reproduce the occurance. Then when I know which cylinder then I can better understand why... 4) Determine that I have a bad spot on my flywheel ring gear. :eek:

Hope this has expanded you train of thought.....all impertinant information should be disreguarded.