On a 4 cycle, 4 cyl it will have 2 places 180° apart, a 6 cylinder will have 3 places at every 120° of crankshaft rotation on an 8 cyl 4 places every 90° of crankshaft rotation. This is the reason the OP has major damage spots on the flywheel.
Diesel Flywheel Issue - Do I Need to Replace?
- Thread starter JHZR2
- Start date
Absolutely. Leaving it much longer may leave your stranded.
JHZR2
Staff member
Well, due to relatively low and seasonal use with my classic cars, and having had installed a rebuilt Bosch starter that seemed to resolve the issue, this had laid untouched for a while.
I’ve driven the car a decent bit recently given the nice weather, and the rotor issue on my accord (despite diesel prices), and in the last week it happened twice.
Different starter.
The battery is the same though. I bought the car and the battery has never been changed. It always cranks the engine perfectly and it starts on first cylinder to purring like a kitten every time (except when the starter engages fubky). Could a weak battery create a weak starter engagement but perfect fast crank and no excessive voltage sag?
Just thinking out loud about cause….. timing to take on the project is an issue just due to kids, work, family commitments. Don’t want to park the car, just want to add it to the list and get to it in time with quality work.
But still not understanding why it’s happening at all. Would hate to swap and it happens again.
I’ve driven the car a decent bit recently given the nice weather, and the rotor issue on my accord (despite diesel prices), and in the last week it happened twice.
Different starter.
The battery is the same though. I bought the car and the battery has never been changed. It always cranks the engine perfectly and it starts on first cylinder to purring like a kitten every time (except when the starter engages fubky). Could a weak battery create a weak starter engagement but perfect fast crank and no excessive voltage sag?
Just thinking out loud about cause….. timing to take on the project is an issue just due to kids, work, family commitments. Don’t want to park the car, just want to add it to the list and get to it in time with quality work.
But still not understanding why it’s happening at all. Would hate to swap and it happens again.
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I just looked at the ring gear again, that has to be changed. The root cause was possibly a bad solenoid or sticking drive on the old starter before you even got this car. This is a big job on your back, you may want to consider farming it out to a trusted source or find someone with a lift and trans jack, that would make this a much easier job.
JHZR2
Staff member
Hoping this may do the trick.
https://ebay.io/m/gnzxXI
Agree bad or sticking solenoid on a prior starter would be a plausible cause, but why with the new starter is it still doing it?
New starter is hitting the damaged flywheel teeth and can’t engage properly.
JHZR2
Staff member
If that’s the case then I’d expect to be able to file them to have a slight bevel and this wouldn’t happen again, no?
At 210k to drop the at means I should do a full rebuild. And one thing leads to the next. Not as diy as I can handle given commitments.
Would make more sense to do all of it at once when it needs it, in 50 or 100k miles if I can manage the risk.
Not a fan of deferred maintenance, but this is a bit more of a job. Will probably buy the part regardless, to prep for the job.
I’d love to diy it because the only qualified entity to do vacuum modulated diesel transmissions is in Sun Valley, CA.
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why would you think the transmission needs to be rebuilt just because it needs to be dropped? If it will last 100k more miles, or even 50k miles per your post, how many years away is that? That chewed up ring gear could put you down next month.
Sometimes filing helps, but not always.
Sometimes filing helps, but not always.
JHZR2
Staff member
I don’t think it will. But reality is that automatic transmissions don’t last forever. So it’s reasonable to assume that somewhere between 250-500k miles it will need it. Point really is if I’m going to drop the transmission, I might as well do more comprehensive activities.
Ring gear may or may not put me to a stop. I know how to turn the engine by hand. Common practice, used for setting timing and other things. Moving five teeth over would let a crank occur.
If I’m going to pull the AT, I’m going to do a bigger job. Doing it prematurely is folly, especially when I have 13 cars and many daily drivers. So I can manage risk and do the right thing on my time and terms. But I don’t want to do more harm. And I don’t want to get stuck either, of course.
But for me it is not a reason to drop everything and dc it.
