ok so i bought an IROC that was sitting for a year and while driving it one day it over heated and shut off on me and since then will not start. now before the over heat i put a new starter and gave it a tuneup. every time it started it sounded like the starter was grinding even with the old starter.

My other problem was my trans is horrible could the reason my car is not starting is because the trans is bad?

the car is getting spark and i have smelled fuel as well as i can hear the fuel pump

 

Starter grinding (in no particular order):
a) Bad Bendix (not likely if you installed a complete starter)
b) Improper starter shimming (high probability)
c) Bad flexplate (somewhat lower probability than b)

Starter grinding, horrible transmission, and no-start are probably not related.

 

most grinding starter problems are shimming issues which can be easily fixed but can also be a huge headache. The car overheating and shutting off may be the reason itself, did you check oil? when i bought my TA i had to add 4 quarts just to leave a mark on the dipstick. the cars will run on low oil then burn up bearings with little notice.

 

yeah i have the right oil ive checked that. it only overheated once and shut off and it hasnt turned on since then. i have spark and i can smell fuel if i try long enough but i can get it to start

 

By "improper shimming" do you mean that the starter shaft is not perpendicular to the flywheel gear? If that is the case, can you shim the starter by loosening the mounting bolts and adding some type of shim between the starter and the housing? How do you determine where to place the shim?

Mine "grinds" about once every 4-5 starts and I have had the starter replaced with no before-after difference.

Thanks.

 

You can get shims at any auto parts store. * Usually * 1 or 2 at most will get it lined up.

U.S.Marine09--
I'm sure by now you're up & running!?!

A couple things to check would include starter bolt threads, threads in the block, flywheel issues, & cracks around the mounting boss areas.

Are the 3rd gens supposed to have a brace on the back of the starter??