Before I begin, I apologise if this may not be the right forum to post this, but I was unsure where to place this considering the mod work done to my 87 Honda CRX. I recently bought an 89 Integra motor (D16 if I'm not mistaken) which is connected to an 87 Integra 5 speed manual transmission that was left over from the previous 87 Integra motor from the previous owner. I am trying to get my car to just run at the moment and build upon it as my paycheck comes in weekly.

Right now the starter from the 89 motor is not cranking, yet working, making a "whirring" sound as if spinning but not connecting with the 87 Integra flywheel (I hope I got this right as I'm not sure if this is a motor part or a tranny part). My friend who sold me the car had the starter taken to a car shop where they tested it and proven it positive that it worked fine. When the starter fails like so, I pop the clutch to get it moving, it will continue working for some time till I have to repeat the process over again to get it moving. Right now I have some people who are telling me that the problem resides in the starter, while others are saying it could be a flywheel misconnection. i will be replacing the starter first thing in the morning to see if it corrects the problem, but if it does not, will that mean that my flywheel is the true culprit and should have had this checked/replaced in the first place? Because this will be my first "racing import" the friend who swapped the motors for me did not change the clutch as he said it would be wise for me to get used to a different type of transmission (big difference in feel between this and a 94 Mustang 5 speed) before putting in the Center Force clutch for me. I've driven this car for a few weeks now and have gotten used to driving it, I'd like to get the clutch put in but I'm still afraid that I might wear out the clutch and afraid of "wasting" too much money to keep this car on the road. Would I not be too hasty to go ahead and swap out the clutch now as well as the flywheel to help ensure my starter problem or should I wait and see how my starter goes and change the clutch in due time?

Thanks in advance for any help given and I hope I gave enough info to be helped...

 

This isnt the Integra forum.

 

Could be some damaged teeth on the flywheel. Whenever the flywheel happens to stop in just the right spot, the starter is unable to turn the flywheel due to the worn teeth. Also possible that the starter has an intermittent problem. You could try removing the starter next time the problem occurs and examining the teeth in that particular area of the flywheel.

 

Companyflow- Wasn't sure where to put this as I was under the impression that Acura was Integra (As Honda is to Civic). As stupid as I just may have just sounded, this was just told by a buddy of mine (can't remember exactly what he was saying as he was scaring the heck out of me while driving) and I have no REAL car mechanics/history so I would have no idea. Only reason why I figured to post here aside from said before reason, was the part of the forums tht said "And other Honda/Acura Models". If you could refer me to forums that would be suit my car build type, then I'd be most appreciative.

kenso- Thanks for the advice. I like the idea of ripping off the starter motor when its "locked", however I believe I would be unable to get a good sight of the flywheel from my vantage point. Main reason, is the starter is located underneath the distributor (close enough at least) and there are some unknown wire/tubes "holding" the starter down in place. I'll be taking my car down to a buddies place tomorrow morning to have him help me get the starter out without damaging those unknown wire/tubes so I'll have a look then to see what's up. Thanks again for the imput......

 

The Integra forum is 4 or 5 above this one. Anything and everything Integra of all years and makes (except type R) Glad I could help.