Good Morning,


So I finally have a video of the sound that has been going on for a month. I think its the starter but am not sure.

Here is the youtube link:
feel free to share thoughts. Thanks!


btw it always happens when its cold outside...that day I did the oil change it was about 15-20 degrees....and windy.....never doing that again if I can help it!!!

btw I just noticed "could starts" sorry about that....should be "cold starts"

 

Can you re do the video with 2 people?

One to hold it near the passenger side of the engine, while someone starts it?

It's hard to tell between wind noise, and the normal marble in a blender Fit sound.

 

If it's the noise at the time the starter is engaged (or immediately after), it sounds like the "bendix" is failing to disengage the starter quickly enough.

Checking the parts page there's a switch/magnet that actuates this (starter solenoid). That might need replacing and not the whole starter. Even that's a little pricey. Maybe clean and lube the bendix and solenoid with some grease?

I didn't quite catch the whiff of gasoline fumes. maybe you need to hold the camera closer.

 

It sounds to me more like it comes when the engine catches and before the starter disengages, which suggests to me that it's coming from the overrun clutch in the starter or a bearing associated with it. I think the starter is disengaging pretty quickly when you release the key, as it should, so I don't suspect the solenoid or benedix itself—though of course I can't tell exactly when you release the key from the video.



The overrun clutch is #11 in the diagram of the starter. The benedix is formed by the spiral thread/gear part of #13 and the matching inner bore of #11, causing the whole #11 part to move into and out of position to mesh with the flywheel, with the assistance of the fork thingy (#7) that's actuated by the solenoid (which also acts as a relay to power the motor). The clutch is a one-way mechanism that permits the pinion (attached to it, and meshing with the flywheel on the engine when the starter is engaged) to turn faster than the shaft of the starter motor when the engine catches.

I wouldn't worry excessively about the noise; it probably indicates that the mechanism is starting to wear out, but it seems pointless to me to replace it until it actually starts to give trouble operationally. If I'm interpreting Bernardi's price list properly, they charge $467.72 for a new starter or $265.02 for a starter with a core exchange, or $467.72 just to buy one outright. The clutch isn't available in the US as a separate part—and even if it were, it looks like it may well be a major pain to replace it, requiring taking a good chunk of the starter apart.

I had an overrun clutch give up the ghost on a Mazda 626 I once owned, at something like 200K miles, with the failure mode of turning freely when it should have engaged. In that case, the local parts store could get either an (aftermarket) starter or the clutch assembly; however, the whole motor, with the core exchange, was only little bit more expensive than just the clutch, so I replaced the whole thing.