Hi y'all. It's been a while.

Here's what I have:
97 Maxima SE Auto 209,000+ miles

Here's my problem:
August 2009 starter failed. Replaced with starter bought from Kragen/O'Reilly. A few weeks after installation, when we fired up the starter it made a loud "vhhhheeeehhhhh" sound, like rough grinding. Turned the key again and it started like nothing ever happened.

However, ever since then, that phenomenon would occur intermittently, be it warm or cold, rain or shine. Until this week, when the car left my wife stranded at a parking lot. So I came and gave the starter a knock, and it fired right up. I knew that the starter was about to die, so I got a replacement under warranty, and replaced it yesterday.

This morning, when I started the car up, lo and behold -- "vhhhheeeehhhhh"!

What's the deal?

I did the bare basic check to see if it might be the Park/Neutral Back-up Lamp switch, i.e. if our car starts only in P & N. Yes it does. ...Unless, the switch is working intermittently as well. Could that be the case? What voltages should I be looking out for on the switch terminals? Is there a clearer write-up someone might've posted here than what they show in the repair manual? Not important, but I'm a visual learner.

 

naw man its cuz its from O-reilly...try to match the number of teeth on the starter with OEM starter.

 

Can't recall, but isn't OEM starter made by Denso?

 

Wrong number of teeth, its not engaging the flexplate right. This is why I'm a strong believer in repairing your OEM starter.

 

So what brand of OEM starter should I look for? Just want to be educated is all.

 

how do you repair an old starter??? rebuild???

 

the starter is fine from o'rielly. A new replacement should cure starter problems.

When i replaced my starter, it was pretty simple to line up the teeth and bolt the assembly into the trans. So, unless you lined it up wrong; its not the starter. don't worry about "building the oem starter back up", ridiculous. it's just as good, don't throw away money, especially since your married.

If your getting a whine, kind of like a pig squeal "Rheeeeeaa!!!!!" and the sound is really loud! Then you have need to tension the drive belt more than what you already have. The extra slack in the belt will create the right vibration under some throttle, which really makes a horrible sound. Just tension the belt, and youll be good!

If its a metal grinding sound, you would need to provide more info. maybe record your motor starting up? Get up and close to WHERE the sound is coming from and record it, post it on youtube to help locate your problem. GL!!!

 

repair and rebuild sometimes mean the same thing. But a repair means you fix the specific problem. Rebuild means you look at all parts/pieces and replace those that have a good chance of going bad as well as any bad parts/pieces.

A starter should get the brushes in the motor changed. The Bendix drive, the solenoid and the planetary gearset should all be examined and maybe replaced.

The gear that engages the flywheel is on the Bendix drive. I think (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) is either 9 or 10 teeth.

 

IF FOR SURE its the right starter,then check the teeth on the flywheel or flexplate for damage.

 

It is a metallic sound, but only happened once after I installed the new starter yesterday. It hasn't happened since, but it's only been a day, and my guess is if it's like the last new starter I got from Kragen/O'Reilly, it won't be the last time we'll hear from it.
What's befuddling me is if it's a gear teeth tolerance or fit issue, then when doesn't the sound occur every time, or more often?

 

i have the exact problem and would like to know if i need to replace my starter or is it something deeper.. the sound mine makes is throughout the whole sequence.. and when if finally turns over it makes the loud "vhhhheeeehhhhh" sound... i have no idea what it is but would really like to

 

It is known in this forum that some aftermarket starters are sent out with the wrong number of teeth on the bendix drive. this is waht causes the wrong clearance. Nothing you can do with these starters "line up the teeth" will solve the problem. By OEM I mean the starter that was in your car to begin with. If you have an aftermarket thats been working good for years than its also a good candidate for rebuild/repair. If a starter has given you good service then you know it fits and functions when properly working.

 

if this sound is right after the initial start up (engine running) i would say thats the timing chain tensioner especially with 209k miles as for the starter; check your grounds and trans bolts, clean them if needed and post back. that may be your problem altogether. the funny thing about electronics is if you dont have enough "juice" the load doesnt work

 

Well, so far the dreaded sound hasn't reared it's ugly head. Hope it stays that way.

 

Spoke too soon. The car "vhhhheeeehhhh" on me twice this morning. Can anyone confirm or deny if it's truly an issue with aftermarket vs. OEM starter here? It's becoming very annoying.

 

Since you have a new starter dry grease is not your problem. Your main sliding gear is not engaging or disengaging quick enough from the flywheel or you have too many teeth on that main gear. Take off that aftermarket starter and count how many teeth it has. Also test how quickly the solenoid switch is sliding that gear by applying 12V to the solenoid switch.

 

its a faulty starter return and replace. dont make it harder than it is.

 

I think my starters out too, the wires thats conncted to the starter is burned off

 

If you have burned wires, something is shorted. If it's the little wire, then the starter solenoid is shorted. What worries me is that a wire has burned up and the fuse did not blow.

 

Speaking of starters... Do you know what a ram-jet turbine starter sounds like? Metaphorically, that is going on in my head right now after I read some of these posts. Heaven help you ppl when I get home to my computer and off this phone.

 

OP,
did you ever resolve your problem?

 

Once again this has been discussed. Reman starters SUCK!!!! Ive went through 6 of them in the past year exchange, goes bad, exchange again same thing. OEM best way to go. Also try sanding down the mating surface to ensure a clean contact. Also check your crank shaft sensor, might be dirty, or contaimended with metal shavings. Its located on the front of the trans by the front motor mount

 

This happens when the starter is on its way out. Doesnt matter if its a OEM or reman. Its been confirmed that the aftermarket starters are useless pos lol. The teeth dont line up with a aftermarket starter.

 

The OEM starter from my 1997 was from Hitachi.

It had an 11-tooth bendix gear. I replaced it with an 11-tooth bendix gear reman starter. The parts store had two variants, one with 10 teeth, the other with 11 teeth. The 11-tooth version did cost $10 more.

When it is cold, like below 10f, this replacement starter has problems. Otherwise it has been fine.