My '99 AT 3.4L SR5 was sitting in the drive, my wife moved it ~10', the next day I couldn't get it to start. No clicking just a whirring sound of the starter, I think. Battery is fine, put a charger on it & tried to jump from the charger - no change. Put a new starter in (the contacts were worn on the rebuilt starter). @ the starter I get ~13V on the + cable coming from the batt & ~15.9V to the ignition cable when I turn the ignition. It has 115k on it, I live on a very bumpy dirt road. I’m desperate very close to towing to a Yota tech.

 

What did it do when you changed the starter??

Just spin and not engage the ring gear?? teeth missing on ring gear??

Had you had any problems prior to this??

Maybe it just does not like your wife!! When she started it did it make any real loud noises ??

If the starter spins but does not engage either the starter drive is broke or there is nothing to engage with.

 

No change in sound when I installed the new starter. You can hear the starter engage but no engine crank. While buying new plugs @ Advance the counter guy suggested the flexplate - that sounds like what you are referring. Sounds like a job for real mechanic, yes?
This past fall the engine acquired a knocking or clicking sound that seemed to be coming from the transmission. I thought it odd to see a wheel spinning near the transmission, like a cover was missing?
The sound was very similar to: http://www.stevesite.us/images/crack...246k-miles.mp3 posted by ncsugrad2006

Apparently that's the flex plate cover, my '96 has a cover over the flex plate, but that is where the sound was coming from, so maybe I have a bad or cracked flexplate? I can see teeth on it, tho.

 

Sounds like a broken flex plate to me. You have no lower cover? Have you tried moving the flex plate with your hand to see if it is broken?

 

Sure sounds like a flexplate. If the lower cover is indeed missing you should be able to spin it by hand to turn the engine over. Check out the teeth on the outside, you'll probably find your problem there. Good luck!

 

I can indeed spin the flexplate by hand. Is this confirmation that its damaged? The cover is clearly missing. Which doesn't seem good on my POS dirt road. While you really can't see much of it, the teeth look fine. But that is where its been knocking for the last few months.

Let me try to post of few pics of it taken from under.

 

If you spin it and the engine isn't turning over, yes that is confirmation that its broken. Its probably been cracked since before it started knocking. Time to take it apart or get it towed to a shop. Buy a new cover too. Closesly inspect the bolts that go to the torque converter. They can wear from all that banging. Replacing the rear crank seal and trans input seal is not a bad idea either