Too many starters.....

gold10go4 · #1 10-01-2007, 11:21 AM

My starter went out again today on my 2000 S-10 4-banger. In April, I had a starter put in. In September, that went bad and I had another put in. Today the starter went out again. This is with about a total of 3,000 miles since April. Today I decided to use ACDelco only. The previous ones were lifetime warranty from a parts store, but they certainly didn't last long. Can there be something -flywheel, tranny, etc. - that would cause the starter to wear out prematurely? This is getting real old real fast.

MT-2500 · #2 10-01-2007, 11:47 AM

AC-Delco is a good choice.
Also most parts places have brand new not rebuilt starters at a good price.

How or what is quiting or failing on the starters?

gold10go4 · #3 10-01-2007, 11:51 AM

What happens each time the problem starts is that there is a slight clunking sound when the starter is sometimes engaged. As the starter becomes worse this sound happens with greater frequency. Eventually the solenoid simply doesn't turn the engine over. You can turn the key but the solenoid doesn't engage the flywheel.

MT-2500 · #4 10-01-2007, 11:59 AM

I would check flywheel teeth.
Check for proper amount of shims if the starter is shimed.
And make sure battery and battery cables and electrical connections are good.
A good starter should last a 100K.

Is the starter quiet when you first install them?
MT

gold10go4 · #5 10-01-2007, 12:56 PM

Is the starter quiet when you first install them?

MT, yes quiet when first installed. This last starter made a little noise after about 1 week - didn't seem very serious at the time because it didn't happen every time I started. The frequency of the noise increased a little over the next couple weeks. Today it made the noise when I started it up. Went to grab a bite to eat. Made noise again. Stopped at the post office and solenoid wouldn't engage. I'm having a shop install after this last one died. He said to use ACDelco, which I will. And he said that production lines on aftermarkets can make many bad starters in a row before someone catches the mistake. Hope he's right. I'll probably find out if this one goes bad in a hurry.

MT-2500 · #6 10-01-2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gold10go4

Is the starter quiet when you first install them?

MT, yes quiet when first installed. This last starter made a little noise after about 1 week - didn't seem very serious at the time because it didn't happen every time I started. The frequency of the noise increased a little over the next couple weeks. Today it made the noise when I started it up. Went to grab a bite to eat. Made noise again. Stopped at the post office and solenoid wouldn't engage. I'm having a shop install after this last one died. He said to use ACDelco, which I will. And he said that production lines on aftermarkets can make many bad starters in a row before someone catches the mistake. Hope he's right. I'll probably find out if this one goes bad in a hurry.

Yes you can get a bad batch or 2-3 bad ones in a row.
AC-Delco is a good choice.
Good luck
MT

93gmcjimmy · #7 10-02-2007, 01:05 PM

If your shopping at Auto Zone, QUIIT! They have poor QC on things like starters and alternaters.

gold10go4 · #8 10-02-2007, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 93gmcjimmy

If your shopping at Auto Zone, QUIIT! They have poor QC on things like starters and alternaters.

I just did. Yep, I think the quality on the remanufactured is crap, unfortunately. I have had very good customer service from them, but this rebuilt starter (actually, 3 of them) was garbage. Bet they ship all of them overseas, have them rebuilt, and sent back. No QC would be my guess, too. Having to install a starter 3 times in 6 months stinks. Went with ACDelco and will from now on.

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