Eva since it started getting below 20 degrees when i go to start the car in the mourning itel make this weird crunching sound the first time i turn the key like grinding crunching ice or something. Then i stop and turn the key again and then it starts like normal. IT happened the last 4 or 5 mournings. Do you gusy think the starter is going or something thanks alot.

 

I had that same problem. Until one day it would not start at all.
Turns out the starter had ground off the teeth on the flywheel. Where ever the car was taken by the previous owners had shimmed it and it was not meshing right.
I'd say check that out first. It's probably already messed up in that one spot. The motor stops and starts in the same place on a flywheel. That's why it will only chew up a certain place, so when you try to start it, it moves it a little bit, then when you try to start again, it has maybe moved to some stronger teeth that were next to the mangled ones.

That's my suggestion. Pull off the shield down there and take a look-see at the flywheel. If that is the problem, then you will have to drop the tranny and replace the flywheel.

If that's not what it is, you better keep thinking. I can't think of any other possibilities.

Wait, I thought of another possibility... the bendix that shoots the gear over to the flywheel to get it spinning could be getting stuck half way over so it is not contacting the flywheel correctly. this could also cause the problem stated above if it doesn't stop. Mine was this way for a long time though I'm sure. It didn't happen for a month or 2 after I got the car, so it will last longer than that.(hopefully)

So, your starter bendix could also be the problem. Depending upon where you got it from, you can take in the receipt and say it has problems in the cold. They will just replace it for free if your lucky.

Those are your 2 problems I can think of.

 

Hey I know this is getting moved real soon beacuse it's really a non-TBI related problem but I am curious -- I have the same problem and I got a GM shim kit. I didn't take the starter off yet because the weather is really too cold here right now. But, how do I shim it right? How do I determine which shim I need? Hopefully not trial and error, there's plenty of them....

I hope my flywheel is not ground all over the place. When it doesn't start, I hear a metal "cling!" but it doesn't turn at all...
So I keep trying and it starts eventually (after 3-4 tries usually) and sometimes it starts from the very first time for days...