2 problems... need help with cougars.

[AndyMan]

I have two cougars actually. A 99 ATX and 01 MTX. BOTH cougars sometimes can't start properly... usually i sometimes hear some type of grinding/scrapeing noise... actually alot of times. I say either half the time i try to start EITHER cougars i sometimes get that grinding noise. Is that the starter???.. if so, how hard is it to get it fixed? If i had to take it to a shop what am i looking at $$$ ?
By the way, the 99atx had many....MANY problems before. It's stock too. Had the ECU replaced because when i went to iraq and came back the car was dead. Even with new battery the fuel pump wouldn;t put any fuel into the engine what so ever.... anywho thats besides the point... Today, the 99atx died again. I cranked her up and drove.. i noticed the lights were really dim... very dim. But the car was already in motion.. couldn;t of been the battery,... well,... later on withen 30 mins.. i start accelerating and the car sputters... and nothing... then i pulled over.. turned it off... and since then i haven;t been able to start again... could that be the altenator ?

[StealthyWeasel]

I have that grinding- 99 mtx- what is that? no oil getting to the timing chain? I'd really like to know.

[AndyMan]

i thougt it was just me with that horrible luck.. everytime i sit in the car i think " watch me get that grinding noise" ... it sounds like a belt scrapeing metal or something... very bad :(

[StealthyWeasel]

yep im not sure how common it is, but it happens to me. Hate it.

[B3NN3TT]

The intermittent grinding on startup is a bad starter, or chipped flexplate/flywheel. Probably both, if its been going on for very long. One tends to exascerbate the other.

[AndyMan]

flywheel?? as in the tranny flywheel???.. i just had a undx flywheel put in a few months ago... :( so i am chipping it??... nnnnoooooooooooooo.... :cry:

[dyed4ordblue]

Well, the good news is that the gear teeth on a starter is made of a softer metal or alloy than the teeth on the flywheel just for that reason. Oh about the lights and won't restart for the ATX? yes, that sounds like your alt. Just to be sure you should do a search for "lights dimming". These cars are extremely reliant on the proper operation of the alt., which is weird considering the stupid location they're in.

[AndyMan]

when i had my headers put in on my mtx the mechinic showed me underneath the car and showed me the alternator right underneath the car on the right side.. He had to remove it to get to the headers. If i am not mistaken, if i were standing underneath the car looking up, i should be able to see it perfectly without moving anything right ???

[Andyb119]

You could see it but it might not be perfectly. There is a lot of stuff in the way. It is on the lower right rear side and looks just like an alternator. BTW if you just had a flywheel done, check to make sure the starter bolts haven't loosened. The grinding is really the result of the starter gear not fully engaging into the flywheel gear. Too much space from the starter being loose can cause that.

[B3NN3TT]

I hereby proclaim this the Andy Thread™

[dyed4ordblue]

Weird, cuz my name is Andy too.:eek:

[AndyMan]

any more Andy's here???.... :disgust: ... looks like everyone stole my name all of a sudden... lol. Who's been here the longest? .. i know its not me, i joined in dec 2005.