my car was making that ugly sound from the starter. went to motorvates site and found out that i had to clean it and regrease it. after doing that, it sounded smooth. but now it has been like a week and the noise is back and stronger now, or seems to last longer. today car almost didnt want to start. i used a multipurpose white lithium grease on it. did i do anything wrong? or is it just shot?
the starter is from my 96max, my 2000 max is still running smooth.

 

Did you grease the bendix gear that is on the center shaft that pushes the gear out to the flywheel? If so, that is your problem. I did the exact same thing last year. The only parts that really needs grease are the three little gears next to the motor, and the far end of the shaft. De-grease the center spline gear shaft if you put grease there. That is where the problem originates....grease pushes out of the three small gears (over several years) and gunks up the center spline gear. That keeps the bendix mechanism from moving as freely as it should. The center spline gear is exposed to air (inside the bellhousing) and would pick up dirt if it were greased. I re-did mine a few weeks ago and it has worked perfectly since. Mine is a '97 and started acting up last year. Good luck.

 

i really didnt know what parts required grease so i greased most of it. so only the 3 little round gears need it. i wonder why it worked when i first put it back in? well try it again, if not, will just look for another one.

 

Yup....mine did the exact same thing last year..worked well for a while, then started hanging up all over again. I don't know why it worked to begin with. Make sure you degrease the long center spline gear and make sure it moves VERY freely. It's really designed to have alot of "slop" in it. Do a "before" and "after" check. You will be amazed at the difference after you degrease and will then understand what is making the starter hang up. I used a citrus based degreaser and it worked very well. If that doesn't work, go for a replacement, but my bet is that the fix will work. Good Luck!