9 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHStarter bendix drag common?
Leading reported evidence
Use much - hasn't happened in 2 years now
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I suspect the car wasn't getting used much - hasn't happened in 2 years now.
Leading evidence: 'Use much - hasn't happened in 2 years now' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'replace the battery' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Replace battery' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Suggestion
If you are in there - replace with a brand new starter.
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Suggestion
Its better to use a dry lube on the shaft and keep the moly lube for greasing the planetary gears while its apart.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
9 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Generation: 20261026T152433Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
The car I'm shopping has a weak battery, we know that already. It's one of the things I squawked on the car, and they discounted for it already.
However, I've noticed on 2 of the 5 starts I've heard, the bendix will whirrr a bit and catch after the engine starts. I'm doubtful this has anything to do with the slow crank but it's possible.
The other possibility is that these starters are prone to dragging the bendix gear on the shaft after start.
The other possibility is that the car has sat so long without regular starting that the starter bendix shaft is fouled a bit causing the slow crank and the bendix drag.
Opinions?
If the battery is suspect replace the battery. These cars appear to be a bit sensitive to marginal batteries even if the engine does start without much drama.
Take the time to be sure all the battery cables and contacts are in good shape.
If the dragging persists it could be a bad starter though it might be possible to remove the starter and clean and re-grease the over run and thus resurrect the starter.
Excellent info. I did a quick search on 'bendix drag' and got nothing of interest. I guess 'starter' would have been better, but I would have gotten a billion hits.
I'll repl the batt if I get the car, and service the gear shaft with a bit of moly lube. More use and a new batt should sort it.
Using moly lube (or any other grease type lubricant) on the bendix shaft is not the best solution. Crap from the clutch tends to stick to the grease and gets you back to a sticking bendix quite quickly. Its better to use a dry lube on the shaft and keep the moly lube for greasing the planetary gears while its apart.
I bet you don't know how I know this gem.....
My first starter, original, died from getting heat soaked and no longer working reliably. Second starter replaced after starter bendix side shaft bearing wallowed out and made a horrible screeching sound when starting. On third starter now....new, not rebuilt. What I am getting at is the starter is somewhat of a "wear" item. If you are in there - replace with a brand new starter. It is better and cheaper in the long run. Of course I daily drive mine and probably average 5-7 starts per day. 135,xxx miles and still going.
