Starter trouble
 

OK,
84 300d
I'm at my folks house upstate for T-Giving weekend. I've been having an issue with the starter for a while now, sometimes it just whirrs as if it is not engaging the engine. When this would happen previously, I would always just turn the key off and try again, and she would start right up. This morning though, when I turn the key the engine fires and almost turns over but then cuts out and I all I hear is the dreaded whirring of the starter. Over and over. If I could just start her once I could drive home...which would be nice. Any suggestions?
Thankfully yours,
Greenjed

could be a bad bendix in the starter, could be a damaged flywheel.
your car will pull start, not on a hill, you will need a towing car to pull you.

Pull start with automatic tranny? Never heard of that can you please describe? Thanks...

You can try to turn the engine by hand a few degrees. If it is a bad flywheel doing that will move it to a place where there is still teeth to engage.
You can also try smacking the Bendix drive (long tube on the side of the starter where the relay is located) with a long piece of wood (closet rod) and a hammer a few times to loosen it up. That MIGHT work for you

Good Luck!!

Most likely your starter bendix is hanging up from wear and friction from lack of lubrication. If you could pull the starter and clean and lube the bendix shaft and gear it would probably work again for a while (several months in my case). Eventually you should replace the starter.

A long with what the others said.

I do not know how you get at the Ring Gear (on the Flywheel on Manual Transmission models and on the Flex Plate on Auto Trans) but if you inspect the Teeth you may find that there are burrs on the Teeth.

The result is that it can prevent the Starter Gear from engaging.

The burrs can be filed or ground off to return the Ring Gear to the proper width/Thickness. However, I do not know how you would gain enough room to do this as the other vehicles I have done this to and a removable pan under the Ring Gear.

Of coures if the tips of the Ring Gear Teeth are worn the Ring Gear needs to be replaced or the Flex Plate if that is what you have.

Sometimes the Over Running Clutch on the Starter Gear goes bad and the Starter Gear engages and the Starter Motor turns but the Gear does not due to an issue inside of the clutch.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showpost.php?p=2594232&postcount=10

Charlie

pics
If you can file off the mush over meatal burrs you can get some more life out of the ring Gear although the one in the first pic looks pretty bad (but it does show the mushed over metal well).

Caveman mechanics prevail (I hit it w/ a hammer)
At least it'll get me home... thanks for all the ideas!
gj