'97 328is starter spins but doesn't turn motor (intermittent) - help please

[themindseye]

Background: I just had my clutch replaced. I realize they may not have tightened the starter down, (if it does turn out to be their fault).


This problem happened once the day I got the car back (2 days ago). Today it's happened at least 3 times, maybe 4. Each time I try again and it's fine.


Symptoms: All electrical seems fine. I turn the key and hear the starter motor turning, but it spins without engaging anything. I try again, and it engages and starts up normally.



I'm concerned because I'm driving 700 miles north tomorrow morning.

Should I be seriously worried and make sure I'm parking on a hill until I get back into town?

Or is this the beginning of a slowly dying starter that will be persnickety for a long while before gumming up and not engaging at all anymore?



.

[flyfishvt]

Its the Bendix in your starter. Not connected to any work done recently. It will get worse and worse and eventually you won't get it to work at all. Swap the starter as soon as you can. Not tomorrow but very soon.

Your only possible saving grace is if your car is a 5 speed at least you'll be able to push start it. Start getting used to parking facing down hill

[themindseye]

Yeah, it's a 5 speed.

I've pushed this car on flat ground without much trouble before. How fast do you think I need it to move to get the motor to turnover? Right now it starts up like a champ, even cold.

Is this the kind of problem that banging on the starter can make it last a little longer?

Any idea as to how fast these go from an intermittent problem to a dead problem?

[95BlackOut]

I've been running around with my starter doing that for a few months now.
It'll only do it when the engine is warm, however. I find it helps to start the car in gear (provided you don't have a clutch safety)
Don't worry about your car letting you down right away, I have a couple friends with e36's who have had the same problem for longer than I have.

[ItsBlack]

yep, my car has been doing it for over a year now lol.. It happens maybe once every 2 weeks

I'm always:

A)don't have time to change it, or
B) too lazy when I finally have the time to change it

[themindseye]

Input is MUCH appreciated. Thanks everybody.

[eurobuff]

Take the starter out of the car, take it to autozone and have them test it on their machine in the back.

They can also test the starter while its on the car (except obviously seeing if the bendix extends or not)

[flyfishvt]

This is definately one of those things a little love tap to the starter will fix temporarily. Its also something you cant fix/replace. You need to replace/rebuild the entire starter. That sucks because on the older cars I had many years ago you could replace JUST the Bendix for cheap.

OP if your car starts like you say then it wont take much of a push to get it started.

Starting it in gear has nothing to do with this issue. The starter cant tell if the trany is in gear. There's no way for that to make a difference. I think if you knew more about how the bendix works you'ld understand and agree.

How long will it last? hard to say. Ive seen it go only a few days and Ive seen it last months. If its happening every couple weeks you have some time but not forever. If its just not in the budget or if its just too cold to work on it then just look for places you can park with a slight incline. Luckily you have a 5 speed so you'll never get 100% stranded even if the starter completely craps out. I never tried it but I'm sure you could even push start it in reverse. If you had an auto tranny Id say get it fixed ASAP.

[jamin325i]

yeah, sometimes a tap on starter will assist. once i installed a reman starter on my mazda turbo and it did not work. well i am lazy sometimes. tapped it withl long rod and after tapping occasionally a couple weeks when needed the reman "loosened up" and never needed tapping again.

[JDStrickland]

Park on a hill, OR buy a new starter. Move along, there is nothing more to see here.

[nev131]

+1^