We'll since we put the new (automatic) transmission in the car grinds when starting, very badly. We've replaced the torque converter and starter and everything looks lined up good but still grinds. Unless someone has some divine inspiration advice for me I'm going to have to take it to a dealership to trouble-shoot from scratch at the tune of 80 bucks an hour. I'm sure Matt can chime in and provide any additional details.

Thanks,

Bret

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!

Are the starter bolts tight? (not meant to be a smart-a$$ed question)

EDIT: Now I remember, this was the one you had grinded the casing some and it made no difference.

The way the starter works is a sprocket attached to a shaft quickly pops out of the casing, locks with the flywheel/torque converter, and turns it. Then when you let go of the key, it quickly retracts back into the case.

So the issue probably is the starter not retracting fast enough once you let go of the key and the grinding noise you're hearing is the starter sprocket getting caught on the torque converter.

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06 Blue EVO 9

yeah, Matt and his buddy worked on it a little last night and made the grinding stop by taking a metal file to something down there. Now I'm fairly certain that a metal file to pretty much anything down there is not a permanent fix. There is too much play in something down there as a result of a thrust bearing being out. Now this sounds bad, and probably is, but it was like that last year when I put the first new tranny in and never made a peep starting. Does this description sound too much like an ex-girlfriend? Matt would have to tell you the technical names of the various parts and what specifically his buddy said was happening to cause it to grind.

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San Marino Red - Honda 3KGT VR4 For the win!