99 Voyager 3.3

:banghead: 99 3.3 Voyager. Starter seems as though the silenoid would not engage. I took it off the car and had it checked at AZ. Checked ok. Checked three times total and came back good each time. Checked the flywheel, no teeth missing, put starter back on and installed new battery. Same problem, starter spins without a doubt but it does not engage. This came out of the blue. Any ideas of what to check next?!?

The drive gear on the starter is equipped with a one-way clutch that provides positive engagement when the starter turns the flywheel, but allows the gear to freewheel when flywheel speed exceeds starter drive speed upon start up. Sounds to me like this one-way clutch has failed and the drive gear is freewheeling in both directions. I have heard of this one-way drive gear referred to and the "Bendix Gear". To verify, you will need to remove the starter and try spinning the drive gear both directions. If the gear clutch is functioning properly, you should be able to turn the armature in only one direction. If you cannot turn the armature by spinning this gear in either direction, the clutch has failed. You can either replace the drive gear yourself, or just buy a new or reman' starter. Either way, let us know what you find.

:banghead: 99 3.3 Voyager. Starter seems as though the silenoid would not engage. I took it off the car and had it checked at AZ. Checked ok. Checked three times total and came back good each time. Checked the flywheel, no teeth missing, put starter back on and installed new battery. Same problem, starter spins without a doubt but it does not engage. This came out of the blue. Any ideas of what to check next?!?

You may also want to check the flex-plate ring gear. I had a flex plate crack all around the bolts that mount it to the torque convertor. And it would only spin the flex-plate when you tried to start it. Good Luck!