A terrrrrrible start

I drive a 1990 Toyota Cressida 2.0 GSE, which has done 440000km. When I start it in the mornings, it makes a terrrrrrrrr sound. - Tumelo

Tumelo, I take it the sound is heard before the engine starts . If the sound is heard after the engine starts, we are looking at a different can of worms.

When a terrrrrr is heard upon activating the starter, it's usually an indication that the starter pinion is not meshing correctly with the teeth of the ring gear, and the most likely reason is wear on the ring gear and pinion.

If the pinion has never been replaced, and the ring gear is the original, it will be one of those minor miracles at which Toyota excels. A new ring gear and pinion will then be awaiting you.

Replacing the pinion involves removal of the starter motor, while fitting a new ring gear necessitates removal of the gearbox, clutch and flywheel.

If you want to keep the car going for a couple of months while sorting out the finances, try using the dodges known by students and down-and-out car owners.

Because an engine, if you switch it off from idling, will always come to a stop with the flywheel in one of its "favourite" positions, the teeth on the ring gear will wear before the rest of the teeth. To get the engine out of this routine, rev it moderately and while the revs are up, switch it off. It makes the stopping position less predictable.

Or, put the car in third gear, say, and rock it until there's definite rotation of the crankshaft, before trying to start it - that's supposed to bring fresh teeth of the flywheel in line with the pinion.

But both tricks will be futile if the teeth of the pinion are badly worn. Since 1975, Toyota has used so-called reduction-gear starters . A brilliant explanation of the working of Toyota starters can be found at, www.autoshop101.com/ forms/h7.pdf

Other ominous occurrences:

• Silence when you activate the starter can be due to a dead battery, a loose connection in the starter circuit, a bad relay, a faulty ignition switch or a fault in the theft deterrent system;
• A slow, laboured roinng-roinng -roinng that wouldn't start an engine in 100 years could be caused by a weak battery, a loose or corroded connection or a faulty starter motor;
• A click and nothing further when you switch on the starter, followed by another click when the key is released from "start" position, indicates enough current went through to energise the pull-in coil and to keep the hold-in coil energised but, for some reason, the starter did not spin.
• A series of rapid clicks but no engine cranking is usually a sign of a weak battery - it can energise the pull-in coil, but then doesn't have capacity to keep the hold-in coil energised or to crank the engine. The plunger (on a Toyota reduction gear starter) is therefore pulled back by the return spring, whereupon the whole process is repeated in rapid succession.
• A roing-roing-whoooiee which soon degenerates to just whoooiee when you try to start is a sign of a defective overrunning clutch on the pinion drive.