uahmad3

Hey guys. Just bought an s2k not too long ago and right away I happened to notice that on a cold start only there's a really weird noise I hear upon starting. It's only off cold starts and the car drives perfectly fine so not sure if I should be worried. I've been told it may be the starter going bad or the starter solenoid? Anyone ever heard this or have any experience with this? Although it drives fine I'm not a fan of hearing such a noise upon startup so I'm a bit concerned. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

Car Analogy

Its normal. Everyone learns to live with it. This issue comes up every fall as temps drop. People post about this weird noise. No end in threads on it. It must be a chilly spring lately where you live.

There is no real fix. New starter will cure it temporarily, but then it will soon be back. Its benign. It only happens in the cold. A new starter ain't cheap, and its no long term cure. You deal with it...

freq

I get it all the time.

hoobastnk90

Yup will agree this is my second s2k, and my first one did it and so does this one.

uahmad3

Wow! Thank you to all three of you for providing and confirming that info. I had no idea and was literally thinking I just bought this car and may need to take it into the shop already so I was kinda bummed. I think I can learn to live with this though now. I'm up in the suburbs of Chicago and the three different times I heard this noise was after the car had not been touched for a few days. It does get a little chilly at night still so that may be why as well. Thank you again so very much for the valuable input! Much appreciated!

HarryD

Been waiting for years for someone to post a DIY fix for this

gptoyz

WHOOOOOAAA - That is NOT normal!

It's the starter sticking because of all the build up and corrosion inside

I don't exactly have a step by step DIY but this what I did:
Unplug battery
Detach drive belt
unplug alternator
Remove alternator
Unplug starter
Get all your extensions to remove the starter
Get a mirror so that you don't break any sensors or make a video with your phone so you know what you are looking at and what your path will be to your starter bolts
Remove starter
Clean the hell out of your starter:
Re-install starter and do reverse