I just finished classes, so i havent had too much time to investigate closely. Ill have a closer look tonight, but heres the story.

I got a custom 3"y-pipe and 3.5" cutout installed on the car, and some other minor exhaust work done. The guy is an amazing welder, and exhaust wiz, but doesnt know a whole lot about the rest of the car. For example, 2 of my spark plug wires were not 90* at the spark plug, they were extended type, so he had to change them. To do so he had to remove my super accel coil. AT this point, he didnt know what the firing order was, (didnt realize it was written right on the intake), so he guessed and checked till he got it right....

Anyways, my freind (who was getting the work done for me, cuz i have no time), made sure all was well before he drove it home. But now it has starter issues.

We think its a loose connection, but maybe not. When you crank, its hard to describe, but it sounds like there is something scraping along or clanking along as the starter spins.... The starter does not spin as quick as it used to, real painful to listen to, and ofcourse takes longer for the car to start....

This never happed before the shop, it WAS a very reliable daily driver type car.

So whats the issue?

I thought maybe the headers and new y-pipe are over heating the starter, but they are plenty far away from it.... I thought this, because after i drove for 15mins, the starting got worse.

My freind thinks its a connection. We tightened the battery terminals (side post), and it went back to normal. But after the 15 min drive, it went to that funny noise and wierd cranking again....

As far as i know, he didnt remove any wires at the starter. Maybe something touched the header? I tried to clearance it as best as possible. Any ideas?

 

Did he remove the starter during the installation of the exhaust? If so, did he keep the starter shims? The gears may not mesh correctly without the proper shims.

 

Im not certain if he did. I dont think he did, the tranny inspection cover is untouched, and i was told only the battery was removed. I thought about the shims too, but when the noise is there its constant, and when the noise isnt there its constant. A shim problem would be a bit more erratic i think. Ill have a closer look and update you guys, sorry for the vagueness.

Edit:
But it does sound like the teeth are clashing at times.

 

Does it only do it after you run it ?

If so it is probably in the starter.
I had the same problem when i installed my headers w/the factory starter .
I installed a heat shield wrap on the starter and solved the problem for $32.
You can also run a smaller starter $$$$.

Good luck