After looking a month I had to go with LQK replacement engine my mechanic found. High Price... After swapping he said the starter must be bad because it hits flywheel. OK replace because I don't want to chew up the flywheel. Guess what it still hits flywheel. He guarantees the flywheel is tight correct and not the issue .Everything looks tight and lined up correctly.He ended up cutting down the bendix gear to give clearance. Not happy but paid and took home. Anyone have any guess? 2004 to 2009 uses same starter. Reg aspiration auto trans.Thanks for some clues.

 

I think they put the flywheel backwards or whatever they call it on an automatic trans. can anyone confirm this is possible? thanks

 

Attachment 10652Attachment 10653Attachment 10654Somebody please give some input, The appearance of the flywheel looks like it was replaced the same way but, the tapered teeth are now on the inside next to the transmission. Did Mazda change the way the flywheel is made? If the 2.3L came out of a different year is that possible?

 

did you ever find the fix for this I just swapped a 2015 fusion into my 05 3 2.3 auto and my flex plate is dragging hard on the starter

 

Swapped 2.3 2006 engine with the same lower mileage engine, but now it’s rubbing. Wondering if anyone has solved the flywheel problem. Old and new starters do the same thing. We were careful to remove and replace flywheel the same way. The only thing, I haven’t done is to cut starter gear. Any other ideas before I go cutting.

 

99% chance your torque converter isn’t seated fully, I had this same problem and had to pull the engine three times and wasted time and money thinking it was the flex plate. Put the transmission with the input shaft pointing up to the sky, put the TC in the bellhousing and rotate it clockwise until you hear THREE clicks, you’ll know when it’s fully seated. Hope this helps

 

Thanks, this might be true, but my flex plate gears are visibly worn by the starter. I don’t think seating the TC will solve the wear on the flex plate that wasn’t there before this process.