99 Toyota Corolla 4cyl. 170K

Hi there,

Make sure that all power & earth cables are clean and tight, if that's all OK, it is a fair chance that the starter motor is faulty, the click you hear it the starter solenoid engaging, but no current is passing through the cont actors, (common problem) O/Haul the starter motor should fix your fault, With the starter removed check the teeth on the fly wheel, the grinding sound you mentioned my be the Bendix crunching the ring gear, if the teeth look badly worn, this will be quite evident, a ring gear will need to be replaced, to do this the transmission will need to be removed.

Mark (mhpautos)