Metallic noise when starting engine

I have a Golf 3 with a 90 horsepower TDI engine.
If I start it in the morning, sometimes there's a metallic grinding noise that lasts for about 2-3 seconds.
It only happens about once in every ten times.
The engine starts normally as well, and while making the noise, it runs at a constant speed of 880 RPM.
It's hard to describe the sound; it just doesn't sound 'right.' It's like the starter motor is still running for a few extra revolutions.

Does anyone recognize this problem/noise?


Best regards, Jan.
Greetings to all TDI enthusiasts .

Hi,

It sounds like the starter motor isn't disengaging properly from the flywheel ring gear quickly enough. The problem with this is that the starter motor then spins along at the high engine speed, and over time, this could damage the starter motor.
My tenant had it for two years and now sold the car like this...

Or perhaps the lack of oil pressure for the first 3 seconds after the car has been standing overnight?!

My car also makes a strange noise for 2-3 seconds in the morning when I start it.

arne

Hi,

Does this metallic grinding noise sound like a kind of screeching?
Then it's probably the starter motor, as Bertil already said.
I've experienced that before as well.
'I drove it for over a year (and the problem only occurred every 5-10 times). Then the noise annoyed me, and I replaced the starter motor – which fixed the issue.'
Unfortunately, it's not exactly cheap – as if it could be! I believe that part alone costs between €200 and €250 (I'm not sure!).

Hi,

Markus H. wrote:

I drove with it for over a year (and the issue only occurred every 5-10 times). Then, the noise annoyed me, and I replaced the starter motor - problem solved.

I've experienced that before too; fortunately, cleaning and lubricating the starter shaft helped me.

Best regards, Rainer.

P.S. It was a 1981 Passat 1.6 diesel.

Sure, here is the translation of the text from German to English:

"Hi,"

Is that a disease affecting the G3?
My starter motor was replaced as part of accident repairs (January 1998). No one knows why it failed, but visually it didn't appear to be defective, and the starter motor was also working at the time.
I've heard this noise from older G3 TDI models many times before...

Hi there,

This "problem" seems to have been prevalent in Volkswagen/Audi vehicles for many years.
In most cases, the following will help:
Remove the magnetic switch, verschandeln any hardened grease from the actuator piston, and re-install the piston with a small amount of graphite lubricant.
The magnetic switch housing should be attached to the starter housing using sealant, but only a very small amount, otherwise you will seal the piston in, and the starter will appear to do nothing at all.
I remember that I had to treat almost all the Golfs, Passats, and Audi 80s that ever belonged to our household in this way; after that, everything was always calm until they were either scrapped or sold :).

Olli.

Thanks for the tips; based on what you described, I think it's probably the starter motor.
I'll try lubricating the starter motor shaft sometime when I have the chance.
(Does it also help to reverse the process? It's faster, I have little time at the moment ).

Just for your information:

I completely disassembled, cleaned, and re-lubricated the starter motor. Since then, I haven't had any more problems.


Thanks again for the tip.

Thank you also to you for the results report .

I had the same problem.
approximately 1.5 years.
At the beginning, it happened approximately once in every ten attempts, but then it became more frequent (about once in every three attempts) until it started to annoy me a lot.

Similar to what worked for Jan, disassembling the starter motor, pulling out the starter shaft, and lubricating it with molybdenum disulfide helped.

I initially intended to unscrew the magnetic switch, but I couldn't because the Phillips head screws wouldn't come loose.

The noise is gone now.

According to the repair manual's instructions, I should have supported the engine while removing the starter motor, but I didn't.

You're welcome, greetings from Brösel.

Hello,

I'm also experiencing this problem with my two 1Z devices.

I've already removed the starter from one of them and treated it accordingly.
However, I noticed that the gear ring on the flywheel has a burr.

Could that be possible?
It shouldn't really wear out.
The starter ring gear, on the other hand, does not show excessive wear.

Cleaning and lubricating the magnetic contactor didn't help.

It now has 260,000 km on the odometer, and the starter motor has been intermittently failing since around 120,000 km.
Almost every time now.

nickx wrote:

... Cleaning and lubricating the magnetic contactor didn't help. ...

That should be clear...

Quote:

... Fortunately, cleaning and lubricating the starter shaft helped in my case. ... ... Just like with Jan, expanding the starter motor, pulling out and lubricating the starter shaft with MoS2 helped. ...

Quote:

Fortunately, cleaning and lubricating the starter shaft helped in my case.

The problem is mainly caused by the helical groove on the starter motor shaft, which guides the starter pinion gear in and out. Be careful not to get any lubricant into the sprag clutch. If it gets contaminated, the sprag clutch can quickly fail if it doesn't engage properly a few times.