starter making funny noise

[brandondan1]

Hey guys, I've been having problems with my car starting up lately which has resulted in longer crank times than usual. I was working under the hood the other day, and i dropped a small nut and bolt somewhere in there but I couldn't find it.

The next day when I tried to crank it, it sounded like this: a loud clanky sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAzb6tXp8Tg

Could that nut and bolt I dropped have messed something up? Or is my starter making this sound because its just going out? Thanks.

[jlevie]

There's no way that a dropped nut could get into the starter. And I can't tell from the video what the source of the noise is, but it doesn't really sound like it is from the starter. I think you need professional help on this one.

[brandondan1]

Thanks. But I just wanted to add that once the car has started up, the noise goes away.

I think my clutch cylinders are bad because when i let the clutch out in neutral, the rpms drop by about 200. Also the pedal has very little resistance, most of the resistance is near the floorboard. I dunno, could this these problems be intertwined?