starter/solenoid? 1990 e350

i was hoping someone might be able to clarify this for me. i have a 1990 e350, which when cold starts fine. however, after running a bit, it will have a real hard time starting. very slow revolutions, which will then, in the best of times, speed up and then the engine starts.

other times, i need to let it sit for five or ten minutes before it will start. from what i've read this sounds like a bad starter, but i was wondering if it could also just be a bad solenoid. is there a basic way to identify which is going bad?

thanks for any and all help,

josh

If the solenoid was bad it would make a clicking racket when hitting the starter. Your vehicle will start good when it is cold because the heat from the engine hasn't made the armature ground out on the field, yet. It will act like it doesn't want to turn over and then it will take hold and turn over real good when the engine is hot. Get a new starter. That's what you need. Guaranteed!

thanks for the advice. replaced the starter and wham! starts right up every time. no hesitation.