So, this winter season I didn't have to do any work on the car for once. Just check tire pressure, start ger up and take her home. Great, right? Even got to drive one time or two. Of course I had battery issues and needed to charge it regularly but that's nothing new. However, one day it just wouldn't start. It made a grinding noise that I haven't heard before. Great, up with her to check the starter. Didn't see anything strange there. Oh great, must be the flexplate... didn't see anything put of the ordinary there either. Put the starter back, put together some wiring so I could maneuver the solenoid safely while watching it. Turns out it only engaged 1/3. Right. Used a sxrewdriver for leverage to turn the pinion just a bit. Now it engaged fully. It just didn't retract. Again using the screwdriver as a prybar, I carefully manipulated the pinion amd with every manipulation it slowly moved back. Try again. Same result. If it's in the right spot, it engages but has issues disengaging. If it's in the wrong spot, it has trouble engaging. Turned the motor slightly with the same result. I'm thinking I'll take the starter back out. Any thoughts on what could be the issue? I have access to another starter which I figured I'd compare it to while diagnosing but nothing that I can bolt in (and getting one isn't exactly easy here).

 

Not certain why you're having this problem Id take the starter out and rebuild the solenoid, which may be the cause, Due to a lot of junk on the market I would not replace the entire starter at this point. Were there any shims? Are the bolts tight? The bolt near the cat shield on my 96 is very hard to get at in a straight angle.