starter noise
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Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 75
starter noise
When I start my 2k maxima, usually in cold or wet weather it makes this loud noise and sometimes will not start on the first turn. It only does it while I am starting it. Took it to the dealer and they said they can't fix it until it goes out. Has anyone else had this problem?
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 167
yes i have that problem every time i start my car in the morning and when its been sitting somewhere for a couple of hours when its cold. its some type of thing in the starter that does not pull back fast enough and you can replicate the noise by turning the key when the car is already started...thats the noise mine makes and i am sure its the same for you. i am going to wait and see once it gets warmer if it still does it or if it is really going bad and not b/c it is cold out.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,136
From: Pleasanton,CA
The starter noise is the fact that the gears in the starter motor are not greased.. I used Mobil1 syn grease to fix the cold start screeching noise and I had the writeup on my hardrive...
Here is goessssss...
---------------------------------------------------------------
OK. Here goes what I did and my car “runs” after the 5 hr job on the starter and motor.
BTW only do this job if you have the right set of tools (not the ones we get in Walmart Stores which incidently I used and had a nightmare accessing the screws/nuts.
Please follow all instructions from motorvate.ca website for the most part like removing the MAF and air intake ducts etc.
The small black cable is real easy to unclick. First in foremost the +ve of the battery goes over this connector. There is a black plastic clamp that holds the large connector to the chasis. Unclamp this plastic clamp and the connector is visible. At the bottom of the connector it is held onto the chasis with a standerd split plastic kind of thing. From the bottom press the plastic thing and the connector comes out . Then unclick as any other connector in the car.
Now comes the fun part. There are two nuts to the back of the starter (the starter is the one marked in the circle in the motorvate.ca website). Removing the small starter is the tough part as coolant hoses, AC hoses etc are over this starter. Anyway it will be nice if you had a 4mm/5mm screw driver that was real long to access the nuts. The starter then comes off easily and you will see a plastic hook from the starter to the motor – this starter just moves the motor gear and by the nature of Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction the motor picks up rotation.... (high fi right – well read this in my 2nd year of my engg program). Please remember that the small hole in the starter hardware needs to be pluged onto the plastic hook.
Now only the starter has come off -- there is the motor right behind it and it is held in place by two 4/5 inch long nuts that are easy to access as they are on the right side of the motor. Once the two long nuts are removed the motor comes off. Now the gear block is still held to the chasis – use a screw driver to push the gear out. You will realise that the motor is really long since half of the motor i.e gears are still held onto the chasis. Once the gear portion is removed the plastic hook from the starter falls off. Remember the plastic hook is held flimisly to the gears (not inside the gears) but there is a small grove where it sits onto the gear hardware (you will have to put it back the way you take it off – dont slide the plastic hook into the gears, there is a slot above the gear where it resides ... this is the one that creates the initial motion from where the motor picks up).
Once the gear and motor hardware was removed – There was no grease on the gears (either the main gear or the miniature tiny gears). Note: There is a small aluminium plate that separates the gear and motor compartments .... In the motor hardware compartment all the grease will like small black rounds mud like stuff .. not mud in the literal terms). The grease was all burnt out and using carborator cleaner cleaned the motor (there are two tiny screws on the motor – remove them and you will see all the grime on the magnets and copper coils). Once this is cleaned go to the gear hardware and clean it with degreaser. Remove the main and miniature gears and regrease the inside of the main gear and put the tiny gears back and rotate the gears and you will see the small gears pick up the grease from the main gear. Please don’t over grease (I used Mobil 1 high temp syn grease that I bought in Autozone for $6). Also add the grease the the grooved part of the gear which is behind main gear and only a small portion of that gear is visible to the eye).
Now comes the real tough part – putting it back together... Put the small aluminium plate between the motor and gears, the plastic hook in the groove above the upper gear and as a whole piece push it into the shaft hole (while removing the gear and motor compartments come of individually but when putting it back put is back as once piece becoz I had a hard time aligning holding the motor and putting in these large nuts)...
It will take many tries to put it back into the shaft openining but with some patience it will eventually sit inside the shaft hole. Now tighten the motor/gear long screws and see it doesn’t shake... Now coming to the starter – put the plastic hook into the hole in the starter hardware (there is a metallic **** with a hole in the center – this hook should go into the hole).
End. Put all things back from where it came out.
My screeching has stopped and Iam excited.
-----------------------------------------------
Here is goessssss...
---------------------------------------------------------------
OK. Here goes what I did and my car “runs” after the 5 hr job on the starter and motor.
BTW only do this job if you have the right set of tools (not the ones we get in Walmart Stores which incidently I used and had a nightmare accessing the screws/nuts.
Please follow all instructions from motorvate.ca website for the most part like removing the MAF and air intake ducts etc.
The small black cable is real easy to unclick. First in foremost the +ve of the battery goes over this connector. There is a black plastic clamp that holds the large connector to the chasis. Unclamp this plastic clamp and the connector is visible. At the bottom of the connector it is held onto the chasis with a standerd split plastic kind of thing. From the bottom press the plastic thing and the connector comes out . Then unclick as any other connector in the car.
Now comes the fun part. There are two nuts to the back of the starter (the starter is the one marked in the circle in the motorvate.ca website). Removing the small starter is the tough part as coolant hoses, AC hoses etc are over this starter. Anyway it will be nice if you had a 4mm/5mm screw driver that was real long to access the nuts. The starter then comes off easily and you will see a plastic hook from the starter to the motor – this starter just moves the motor gear and by the nature of Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction the motor picks up rotation.... (high fi right – well read this in my 2nd year of my engg program). Please remember that the small hole in the starter hardware needs to be pluged onto the plastic hook.
Now only the starter has come off -- there is the motor right behind it and it is held in place by two 4/5 inch long nuts that are easy to access as they are on the right side of the motor. Once the two long nuts are removed the motor comes off. Now the gear block is still held to the chasis – use a screw driver to push the gear out. You will realise that the motor is really long since half of the motor i.e gears are still held onto the chasis. Once the gear portion is removed the plastic hook from the starter falls off. Remember the plastic hook is held flimisly to the gears (not inside the gears) but there is a small grove where it sits onto the gear hardware (you will have to put it back the way you take it off – dont slide the plastic hook into the gears, there is a slot above the gear where it resides ... this is the one that creates the initial motion from where the motor picks up).
Once the gear and motor hardware was removed – There was no grease on the gears (either the main gear or the miniature tiny gears). Note: There is a small aluminium plate that separates the gear and motor compartments .... In the motor hardware compartment all the grease will like small black rounds mud like stuff .. not mud in the literal terms). The grease was all burnt out and using carborator cleaner cleaned the motor (there are two tiny screws on the motor – remove them and you will see all the grime on the magnets and copper coils). Once this is cleaned go to the gear hardware and clean it with degreaser. Remove the main and miniature gears and regrease the inside of the main gear and put the tiny gears back and rotate the gears and you will see the small gears pick up the grease from the main gear. Please don’t over grease (I used Mobil 1 high temp syn grease that I bought in Autozone for $6). Also add the grease the the grooved part of the gear which is behind main gear and only a small portion of that gear is visible to the eye).
Now comes the real tough part – putting it back together... Put the small aluminium plate between the motor and gears, the plastic hook in the groove above the upper gear and as a whole piece push it into the shaft hole (while removing the gear and motor compartments come of individually but when putting it back put is back as once piece becoz I had a hard time aligning holding the motor and putting in these large nuts)...
It will take many tries to put it back into the shaft openining but with some patience it will eventually sit inside the shaft hole. Now tighten the motor/gear long screws and see it doesn’t shake... Now coming to the starter – put the plastic hook into the hole in the starter hardware (there is a metallic **** with a hole in the center – this hook should go into the hole).
End. Put all things back from where it came out.
My screeching has stopped and Iam excited.
-----------------------------------------------
Donating Maxima.org Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 169
Originally Posted by Love_00_Max
The starter noise is the fact that the gears in the starter motor are not greased.. I used Mobil1 syn grease to fix the cold start screeching noise and I had the writeup on my hardrive...
Here is goessssss...
---------------------------------------------------------------
OK. Here goes what I did and my car “runs” after the 5 hr job on the starter and motor.
BTW only do this job if you have the right set of tools (not the ones we get in Walmart Stores which incidently I used and had a nightmare accessing the screws/nuts.
Please follow all instructions from motorvate.ca website for the most part like removing the MAF and air intake ducts etc.
The small black cable is real easy to unclick. First in foremost the +ve of the battery goes over this connector. There is a black plastic clamp that holds the large connector to the chasis. Unclamp this plastic clamp and the connector is visible. At the bottom of the connector it is held onto the chasis with a standerd split plastic kind of thing. From the bottom press the plastic thing and the connector comes out . Then unclick as any other connector in the car.
Now comes the fun part. There are two nuts to the back of the starter (the starter is the one marked in the circle in the motorvate.ca website). Removing the small starter is the tough part as coolant hoses, AC hoses etc are over this starter. Anyway it will be nice if you had a 4mm/5mm screw driver that was real long to access the nuts. The starter then comes off easily and you will see a plastic hook from the starter to the motor – this starter just moves the motor gear and by the nature of Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction the motor picks up rotation.... (high fi right – well read this in my 2nd year of my engg program). Please remember that the small hole in the starter hardware needs to be pluged onto the plastic hook.
Now only the starter has come off -- there is the motor right behind it and it is held in place by two 4/5 inch long nuts that are easy to access as they are on the right side of the motor. Once the two long nuts are removed the motor comes off. Now the gear block is still held to the chasis – use a screw driver to push the gear out. You will realise that the motor is really long since half of the motor i.e gears are still held onto the chasis. Once the gear portion is removed the plastic hook from the starter falls off. Remember the plastic hook is held flimisly to the gears (not inside the gears) but there is a small grove where it sits onto the gear hardware (you will have to put it back the way you take it off – dont slide the plastic hook into the gears, there is a slot above the gear where it resides ... this is the one that creates the initial motion from where the motor picks up).
Once the gear and motor hardware was removed – There was no grease on the gears (either the main gear or the miniature tiny gears). Note: There is a small aluminium plate that separates the gear and motor compartments .... In the motor hardware compartment all the grease will like small black rounds mud like stuff .. not mud in the literal terms). The grease was all burnt out and using carborator cleaner cleaned the motor (there are two tiny screws on the motor – remove them and you will see all the grime on the magnets and copper coils). Once this is cleaned go to the gear hardware and clean it with degreaser. Remove the main and miniature gears and regrease the inside of the main gear and put the tiny gears back and rotate the gears and you will see the small gears pick up the grease from the main gear. Please don’t over grease (I used Mobil 1 high temp syn grease that I bought in Autozone for $6). Also add the grease the the grooved part of the gear which is behind main gear and only a small portion of that gear is visible to the eye).
Now comes the real tough part – putting it back together... Put the small aluminium plate between the motor and gears, the plastic hook in the groove above the upper gear and as a whole piece push it into the shaft hole (while removing the gear and motor compartments come of individually but when putting it back put is back as once piece becoz I had a hard time aligning holding the motor and putting in these large nuts)...
It will take many tries to put it back into the shaft openining but with some patience it will eventually sit inside the shaft hole. Now tighten the motor/gear long screws and see it doesn’t shake... Now coming to the starter – put the plastic hook into the hole in the starter hardware (there is a metallic **** with a hole in the center – this hook should go into the hole).
End. Put all things back from where it came out.
My screeching has stopped and Iam excited.
-----------------------------------------------
Here is goessssss...
---------------------------------------------------------------
OK. Here goes what I did and my car “runs” after the 5 hr job on the starter and motor.
BTW only do this job if you have the right set of tools (not the ones we get in Walmart Stores which incidently I used and had a nightmare accessing the screws/nuts.
Please follow all instructions from motorvate.ca website for the most part like removing the MAF and air intake ducts etc.
The small black cable is real easy to unclick. First in foremost the +ve of the battery goes over this connector. There is a black plastic clamp that holds the large connector to the chasis. Unclamp this plastic clamp and the connector is visible. At the bottom of the connector it is held onto the chasis with a standerd split plastic kind of thing. From the bottom press the plastic thing and the connector comes out . Then unclick as any other connector in the car.
Now comes the fun part. There are two nuts to the back of the starter (the starter is the one marked in the circle in the motorvate.ca website). Removing the small starter is the tough part as coolant hoses, AC hoses etc are over this starter. Anyway it will be nice if you had a 4mm/5mm screw driver that was real long to access the nuts. The starter then comes off easily and you will see a plastic hook from the starter to the motor – this starter just moves the motor gear and by the nature of Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction the motor picks up rotation.... (high fi right – well read this in my 2nd year of my engg program). Please remember that the small hole in the starter hardware needs to be pluged onto the plastic hook.
Now only the starter has come off -- there is the motor right behind it and it is held in place by two 4/5 inch long nuts that are easy to access as they are on the right side of the motor. Once the two long nuts are removed the motor comes off. Now the gear block is still held to the chasis – use a screw driver to push the gear out. You will realise that the motor is really long since half of the motor i.e gears are still held onto the chasis. Once the gear portion is removed the plastic hook from the starter falls off. Remember the plastic hook is held flimisly to the gears (not inside the gears) but there is a small grove where it sits onto the gear hardware (you will have to put it back the way you take it off – dont slide the plastic hook into the gears, there is a slot above the gear where it resides ... this is the one that creates the initial motion from where the motor picks up).
Once the gear and motor hardware was removed – There was no grease on the gears (either the main gear or the miniature tiny gears). Note: There is a small aluminium plate that separates the gear and motor compartments .... In the motor hardware compartment all the grease will like small black rounds mud like stuff .. not mud in the literal terms). The grease was all burnt out and using carborator cleaner cleaned the motor (there are two tiny screws on the motor – remove them and you will see all the grime on the magnets and copper coils). Once this is cleaned go to the gear hardware and clean it with degreaser. Remove the main and miniature gears and regrease the inside of the main gear and put the tiny gears back and rotate the gears and you will see the small gears pick up the grease from the main gear. Please don’t over grease (I used Mobil 1 high temp syn grease that I bought in Autozone for $6). Also add the grease the the grooved part of the gear which is behind main gear and only a small portion of that gear is visible to the eye).
Now comes the real tough part – putting it back together... Put the small aluminium plate between the motor and gears, the plastic hook in the groove above the upper gear and as a whole piece push it into the shaft hole (while removing the gear and motor compartments come of individually but when putting it back put is back as once piece becoz I had a hard time aligning holding the motor and putting in these large nuts)...
It will take many tries to put it back into the shaft openining but with some patience it will eventually sit inside the shaft hole. Now tighten the motor/gear long screws and see it doesn’t shake... Now coming to the starter – put the plastic hook into the hole in the starter hardware (there is a metallic **** with a hole in the center – this hook should go into the hole).
End. Put all things back from where it came out.
My screeching has stopped and Iam excited.
-----------------------------------------------
as you start the car a couple of times the gears grease themselves the whole job took 45 mins to an hour
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,136
From: Pleasanton,CA
Originally Posted by MY2000MAX
I have the same noise, but only during the winter.
, it you have some real good ones, it should be relatively easy to do. Just follow the instructions above (check the forum if there are easy ways to do it ...) and you don't have to regrease the motor for a long time...Good luck.
ok..this is a TSB...its the VTC (valve timing control) sprocket...its either the right or left one thats making the noise...take it into the stealer and get it fixed...i dropped it off one night so that it could sit and they started it in the morning to reproduce the problem and they did...they got it fixed that next day..no problem
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