Went for a short run around the neighborhood and stopped for gas. When I restarted there was a terrible scraping noise so I shut it off immediately. Sounded to me like a piece of engine tin or casing scraping on the impeller…
Tried restarting a couple of times with same result. Clutch in/out made no difference, and I was afraid to rev it. Oil level okay, and nothing loose in/around the impeller. I decided to drive it gently away to the side so I could tow it home for closer inspection. Restarted and drove in reverse for a few feet which made no difference, but then pulling forward for a few feet the scraping suddenly stopped. All seemed normal again so I drove it home – it idled fine, had good power and haven’t heard the noise since. I’m looking for ideas as to what the scraping sound might have been. Anyone experienced that before? It’s a ’76 with stock FI 2.0. It does have a relatively new starter.

Make sure there is nothing down by the impeller. Debris, etc does happen from time to time. Also make sure it wasn't the coil vibrating loose and rubbing against the impeller (BTDT).

Finally, check the torque on the impeller bolts and make sure it's not walking out of the "cage".

"New Starter"?

Is it a stock starter or an after market?

Could it have been stuck engaged with the flywheel?
That makes an odd noise.

The aftermarket high torque starters require a shim

George, Thanks for the ideas. Flashlight and mirror reveals nothing out of place around the impeller and impeller seems tight although I should remove alternator belt to be sure. I suppose re-torquing the impeller is a good excuse to drop the engine.

Stugray, that's a stock starter (SR17x I think) - installed < 1K miles. I suppose it's possible it failed to disengage, although this did not sound like the type of grinding one hears when re-engaging on a moving flywheel. This was more of a scraping sound...

I experienced that exact same thing two weeks ago. Terrible screech then nothing when engine started. Drove home twenty miles. Turned out to be the bushing and retainer on the front off the starter came off lodging in the bell housing with the clutch. Fortunately no damage was done except that poor brass bushing. Might be worth checking.

Thanks for the reply. Will definitely check that out!

i experienced the same situation, make sure your engine is tight to the bar and the bar is tight in the mounts. mine was so loose , the engine would move forward squeezing the the tin in and scrape the impeller and belt against it. it made a heart stopping racket.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check that also.

Finally got time to remove the starter to see if the scraping was perhaps due to the brass bushing coming loose as reported by the CabinetMaker (Curt?). Nothing amiss that I can see. This is a relatively new SR17X. Am I missing something?Click to view attachment. Oh, and engine bar is tight in the mounts.

Maybe I'm getting old , well ok...I am. That starter looks wrong to me

I'm old too, but starter looks right to me. What do you see wrong Rich?

Fan belt frayed, slapped, and a peice flew off? Check the belt closely.

what ever was causing the noise has spat out hopefully,t4's are dirty buggers suck in all sorts he he, do check your altenator as mentioned,could be a bad belt or it has a semi seized bearing...happens.