About every other time I start the car, the starter will make a loud grinding/rattle type noise and the car will not start. Second try.. it will start up fine. I assume this is bad starter, but before I replace it could I be overlooking another problem??

 

you may also be missing a tooth or two on your fly wheel

 

Well I replaced the starter... to find out that was not the problem. I think the igintion is sticking sometimes and the starter continues to spin.

 

the igniton is no fun to change i assure you

 

Well it seems if I release the key quickly when starting its fine! In other words I can't hold the key on start longer than one second. Fortunatly the car starts up no problem. Looks like I may have dodged another bullet (at least for now). I wish I didnt waste money on that starter though. It cost me 1/6 of what the entire car cost [:@]

 

Mike could you tell me more about this flywheel and where it is located... The problem is getting worse. The starter is not catching.