Truck starter not engaging.

[ZeroLogic]

Well on my truck my starter won't engage. Yesterday morning I was getting ready to work and the starter just turned and it would not engage. I went off to work and my dad got it working. Started right up that night. Came home parked it went out to start it this morning to go to school and it wouldn't start. Same problem, the starter just spun and didn't turn the engine over. Could this mean that the flywheel has some teeth and are chipped? How could I turn the engine over? Also, my clutch is hard to push in. Last night I was comming home and everything was fine til I came close to home and I went to down shift and noticed it was like a rock. It went down but it was real hard. Then it got softer. Went on for a mile or so and it was hard to push down again. Do I have a leak in my hydraulic hose?

Its a 1998 Nissian Frontier 4wd with 68k+ miles on it. Any help out be great.

[300exOH]

It is possible that your flywheel is missing teeth but it is most likely your starter. Usually they will spin but not engage with the flywheel. As for the clutch you may need a new master cyl. but I would check the hoses for leaks first. You might even just need to bleed the clutch master cyl.

[Bradracer18]

Next time your starter does that, crawl underneath it, and tap on the back of the starter with a hammer(don't get too carried away)....but this will usually free it up, and it will start it. If it works, then you know you need a new/rebuilt starter.


As for the clutch, could be lots of things....from your linkage needing adjusted, to the clutch needing adjusted

[ZeroLogic]

I tried tapping on it this morning and no go. Could I got gotten water in it and when it gets cold it would freeze and not alow the gears to move?

[Blue250X]

On most starters...if not all...the starter gear isnt actually in contact with the flywheel all the time, when you turn the key, the gear moves out to meet the flywheel and when you let off it goes back in. Your trucks starter could be not shooting that gear out there, the flywheel could be missing teeth, or the starter may not be shimmed correctly or shims may have fallen out and it will not grab the teeth. If you can, crawl under your truck and pop off the inspection cover and give your flywheel a turn (May have to get a bar in there to pry it with) and inspect the teeth. If there are some missing you know the problem.

[Bradracer18]

yep, they have a centrifical(spelling?) clutch in the starter....