Sorry, another starter motor question

[antwan]

Firstly apologies, I know starters have been discussed to death! However I haven't been able to find a page on my exact symptoms so here goes...

I think two separate issues
1) When I bought the car the starter would fire but not quite engage with the flywheel and made a horrible grinding noise, a couple of goes later it would engage and start normally. Still does this.
2) Recently the starter seems to have less umph and when it does engage, I can hear a weird squeaking/squealing until the engine fires. The engine seems to rotate slower and when I use a little gas to help, the fire can almost stop the engine turning.

On reading the other threads, it seems to me like:
1) Solenoid going weak
2) Starter clutch is slipping

Please can anyone pass comment before I start surgery!
Thanks ant

[antwan]

oops, tiz a 4.2AJP by the way

[Gazzab]

Battery, alarm, starter, big fuse, solenoid, relay, cables....? Take your pick.
The experts have to try a hit n miss diagnosis to get to the bottom of these issues. Diagnosis via the web is likely to be even more difficult..

[wiggycerb]

Mine did the same, does it start better when hot / warm ??

I ended up buying a new starter, and got my old one reconditioned as a spare, turned out it was the clutch going. The new unit is great and starts much better.