Robbie62 said:

Update
Question am I just living in hope this afternoon will be 48 hrs since I put a fully charged battery on and so far 10 starts and not a problem is this just luck I ask myself I’ll post again tonight when I’m at work I’ve about 4 more starts before I go to work this afternoon
Fingers crossed
Robbie

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Fingers, toes, and anything else I can think of to "cross" is crossed for you!

Hi Robbie,

do you mean the original issue was the starter pinion grinding on the flywheel gear :-( ??

Cheers, Bernie

Bernie
Yes I’ve been out this morning and had about 3 starts and fingers crossed it has started perfect so I am now even more down beat than before but I shouldn’t be so off to work soon so we’ll see how it goes
Cheers
Robbie

Ok back to you everyone, had quite a few quotes for this flywheel change and this is the latest and it came from a reliable garage (if there is such a thing). The flywheel is solid and can not be changed, it is very highly unlikely to be damaged it just doesn't happen on solid flywheels they should last the life of the car, so they suggest booking in for a diagnostics check and start again. Anybody please does this sound feasible, at the moment the crunching sound is very rare but its driving me mad.
Robbie62

Robbie62 said:

Ok back to you everyone, had quite a few quotes for this flywheel change and this is the latest and it came from a reliable garage (if there is such a thing). The flywheel is solid and can not be changed, it is very highly unlikely to be damaged it just doesn't happen on solid flywheels they should last the life of the car, so they suggest booking in for a diagnostics check and start again. Anybody please does this sound feasible, at the moment the crunching sound is very rare but its driving me mad.
Robbie62

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Oh Robbie, I feel for you! I think you find yourself in the position that so many others do who are not "deeply technical". I apologise if I'm wrong but it seems to me that you have advice coming at you from all angles from people who seem to "know" and you don't know who to believe and don't have the experience to judge.

With regard to your post, quoted above, I find it strange that this garage tells you the "flywheel is solid and can not be changed". A solid flywheel can indeed be changed - never seen one that couldn't - and often more easily than a dual mass because it's not unknown for a dual mass to be damaged to such an extent that you can't access the fixing bolts! Also to say that damage to a solid flywheel "just doesn't happen"? Well I've seen plenty so badly scored by a worn out clutch that they were unusable and sometimes warped by the heat too! (slipping clutch). In days gone by it was not unknown to give a lightly scored flywheel to a local engineer to be skimmed. (and of course it had to be removed from the engine to do it!). If this garage has not physically examined the car then giving it a look over would be very sensible but I'm puzzled by the terminology used - diagnostic check? I would not be plugging the computer in to check for a suspected worn ring gear.

Can't remember if I asked where you live (general area sufficient) Perhaps if one of our more technical members live close by they could help you?

Please do continue to keep us updated on your progress.
regards
Jock

Hi Jock,

I think Robbie meant the guy said ring only can't be replaced, also it is very unlikely that it gets (the toothed ring) dammaged: the pinion should die first (less teeth) ...

Cheers, Bernie

Bernievarian said:

Hi Jock,

I think Robbie meant the guy said ring only can't be replaced, also it is very unlikely that it gets (the toothed ring) dammaged: the pinion should die first (less teeth) ...

Cheers, Bernie

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Thanks Bernie. You see there I go again, falling victim to that "worst possible scenario syndrome! Did I mention that one of my boys is dyslexic? and they say it's passed down through the male line, don't they?
Stay safe all
Jock

So gents I do appreciate all the advice you give and as you can see everyone has a different opinion on how to sort it out. It looks like I need to pick need to pick the one I trust to drop the box and hopefully find the fault and rectify it as cheaply as possible. I am so tempted to get the new starter looked at to make sure it is the right one or even get a scrapyard one fit it myself and see if that helps
Ribbie

Thank you Jock for all your help and encouragement I live in Telford in Shropshire so if anyone lives close and wants to pop round for a listen (assuming it does it at the time) please contact me one way or another.
Robbie

Going to try another possible solution today I’m going to run a separate earth direct from the negative on the battery to one of the mounting bolts on the starter motor. I’ve got nothing to lose so far new battery new starter motor all earth points cleaned and still doing it every so often ???

Tried the separate earth from battery to starter motor and YES you guessed it it's still doing it every so often. So it only leaves a damaged flywheel that's all it can be. So started saving and who knows this time next year I might have just saved enough to replace it if the prices I have been quoted are correct. Happy motoring all