My starter makes a buzzing or grinding noise when I try to start my truck. It will do this three or four times, and then it will operate normally. Sometimes it sounds like the teeth on the pinion gear grinding against the teeth on the flywheel. Other times it sounds like it can't turn the flywheel and is just buzzing with the effort. My foot starter was disabled at some point and replaced with a spring-loaded ignition switch. The starter and connections are caked with mud, so maybe it's a connection problem. Haven't had a chance to check that out yet. Would a loose/dirty connection cause this problem? Since the truck is no longer using the foot switch, does that mean this starter is not original to the truck?
