Starter problems?

[Kevin98]

Hi I am new to this so this may not be the right section. But I was offroading with my 98 xlt and the next day I started the truck and not even a second after it started running i heard a slight grind from the starter I believe for only a split second. So I got under grabbed the starter an it wasn't loose tried to loosen the bolts and they were on real tight. So I lubed them up and waited a day. This morning I took and shined a light in behind the dust cover for the flywheel because its missing a screw on the passenger side and the teeth on the flywheel didn't look destroyed. So I was told to try and spray water in and maybe loosing some debris from offroad. I did so and started it probably 4 times in 3 hours and no more grind. But 7 hours later after getting out of work it grinds again. What could this be?

 

[Earl43P]

DISCONNECT THE BATTERY,

Remove the starter, clean up the gear area with a solvent, then lightly lube the shaft for the gear with lubriplate. Slap it back on and see if that fixes it.

I've also taken the starter apart and cleaned up and relubed the internals, but that may be more than you are capable of (if so, replace the starter).

FYI, when removing the starter- you'll end up tilting the starter 90 degrees up from its installed position to get it out of the truck, plus maybe a rotate and jiggle. It'll come out without removing anything else, you just have to position it properly.

Remember, step 1, disconnect the battery first.

If I recall correctly, remove the electrical connections from the starter after unbolting it. I don't think you can do it any other way. Reinstall wires before installing starter, obviously.


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