I’m looking for some help.
For the last week or so, my 1994 Volvo 960 wagon has been making some sort of metallic screeching sound while turning the key.
Today, it just made that same metallic screeching sound, yet didn’t start at all.
Is that the sign of needing a new starter? A new alternator? A new battery? A new solenoid? Something else? A new belt?
Thanks for any help you can give.
From your description, it sounds like the starter pinion is not engaging the flywheel/drive plate ring gear completely and spinning against the teeth. Your latest failure indicates that enough has worn away that the engine cannot turn to a good position on the ring gear to allow the pinion to even mesh. You are probably looking at a new starter at least. Your mechanic should have a look at the entire ring gear to see if there are badly damaged teeth. If so, you may need to replace the flywheel/torque coverter drive plate.
Good luck on this.