Flywheel

One of the main components of your clutch assembly, a flywheel is a metal disc about the size of turkey platter that provides “momentum” to move the car from a stop. It connects the engine to the transmission via the clutch on a manual transmission car. On an automatic, it connects the engine to the transmission via the torque converter.

On an automatic transmission, the technical term is the “Flexplate”.

The other function of the flywheel is to get the engine turning when you turn the key to the “Start” position. When  you try to star your car, a gear on the starter meshes with the gear on the flywheel causing the engine to turn. When you release the key, the starter gear retreats and the engine starts and runs. A grinding sound when you try to start your vehicle can be caused by the gear on the starter not meshing with t5he flywheel properly. This can be caused by a bad starter or flywheel. If the flywheel is bad, the engine will have to come out to replace it.