Author Topic: Starter in my truck went on the fritz this morning! (Read 695 times)

DalesCarpentry · « **on:** October 05, 2011, 01:15:35 PM »

I got in my truck to go to wok this morning and the damn thing would not start!!!!!!

It's the starter and it cost me $100.00 from Advanced AutoParts. I got a guy comming over now to install it for $60.00. So there is $160.00 I can't afford right now.

I guess it's better for it to happen now though than on my way to Florida. Take care Dale

Poopers · « **Reply #1 on:** October 05, 2011, 01:39:33 PM »

Ah, that brings back memories of my first vehicle. An old ford Econoline van. Nearly everytime I wanted to start it I would have to climb under the van and bang on the starter with my hammer then hop in and hope I loosened the solenoid with my hits. If not, rinse and repeat! Did this for a few months till the starter fried completely.. then got a $10 junkyard special.....and I had to hit that one with the hammer too.

Not the best "pick up your date" vehicle, thats for sure. And a real pain in the ass laying in the rain or wet wisconsin snow!

lakota · « **Reply #2 on:** October 05, 2011, 02:35:57 PM »

the last time the starter went out on my jeep I took it to a rebuilder. He completely rebuilt it in 2 days for $50. It sure beat the 200 clams the stores wanted for a remanufactured one. Swapping a starter out isnt a real hard job. You should try it yourself and maybe save the $60.

hillbill · « **Reply #3 on:** October 05, 2011, 02:55:42 PM »

is that that v6 chev you purchased a while ago? no way would i give 60 bucks to have the starter changed.my motto is "you can screw it up 3 times for what it costs to pay sumone to do it". but then i was raised doin that kind of stuff.the good thing is if yu have internet, there is always a vid on youtube about how to do everything! we have a good starter guy here locally, last starter i took to him, a david brown tractor starter that i had took apart 3 times and couldnt get it to go good.he fixed what was wrong and said try it and send me 20 bucks later if its to yur liking.yu cant find business men like that anymore.

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #4 on:** October 05, 2011, 04:43:08 PM »

Quote from: hillbill on October 05, 2011, 02:55:42 PM

is that that v6 chev you purchased a while ago? no way would i give 60 bucks to have the starter changed.my motto is "you can screw it up 3 times for what it costs to pay sumone to do it". but then i was raised doin that kind of stuff.the good thing is if yu have internet, there is always a vid on youtube about how to do everything! we have a good starter guy here locally, last starter i took to him, a david brown tractor starter that i had took apart 3 times and couldnt get it to go good.he fixed what was wrong and said try it and send me 20 bucks later if its to yur liking.yu cant find business men like that anymore.

Yea it's my 98 Chevy Silverado with the 4.3 Vortex in it. It has been a great truck and I have 192,000 some odd miles on it now and it still runs great. I learned a long time ago not to try to fix my own truck. I make it wosrse every time I try to.Dale

Sourdough · « **Reply #5 on:** October 05, 2011, 04:48:36 PM »

Had a 1986 F-150, inline six. That sucker eat starters. The people at the parts store said Ford Starters for that model was junk, and I would be replacing every two years. He hit that on the head. Only problem I ever had with that truck in 350K miles. Replaced the starter ever two years. Had a 1991 Aerostar that was the same way. In eight years I put 4 starters on the Aerostar. Again the only real problem with that vehicle as well. Got to where I could replace the starter on either vehicle in 10 minutes.

Quite buying starters, starting taking them to a rebuilder here in Fairbanks. He would have several on his bench and would just swap it out with me. Cost was a quarter of what the dealer charged.

burntmuch · « **Reply #6 on:** October 05, 2011, 06:21:30 PM »

Sourdough those were great engines, the inline 6s. As long as you kept starters on them.

OldSchoolRanger · « **Reply #7 on:** October 05, 2011, 08:39:14 PM »

Man, talk about "when it rains, it pours". I'm sorry your having such a run of bad luck. Seems that the way it's going, the only luck you can buy is bad luck.

Wishing that all the "good" luck goes floating down your ways.

smokehouserex · « **Reply #8 on:** October 05, 2011, 09:24:55 PM »

Hello sourdough:
I got a good laugh when you said that you had a 300 ford 6cyl. with starter issues, I have a 1978 4x4, 6cyl. and I too have replaced many starters on it. It's a deer buggy and fun to drive in the woods, but the starter problem hits at the wrong time, ALWAYS!!!! I've had it since 93, and rebuilt almost the whole truck.
After 2 starters I got a lifetime warranty for a extra 10.00 bucks and Advance Auto has lost money on me. I have heard that the reason for this is that the 6 cyl. stops in the same place on the starter ring every time the engine is shut down, I don't know. Have you ever heard of this?
Enjoyed the post,
safety first
HM

Sourdough · « **Reply #9 on:** October 05, 2011, 09:58:56 PM »

If the truck was hot, when you shut it off, after about 10 minutes the starter would start running on it's own. It would run for about 5 minutes then shut off. The Ford Shop would laugh when I told them what it was doing. They said "No way it's going to do that". Once it started doing that in about a week the starter would quite.

magooch · « **Reply #10 on:** October 06, 2011, 04:04:33 AM »

A hundred bucks for a starter for Chevy sounds too high. And 60 Bucks to install it is nuts. But I will admit that I haven't changed a starter in awhile and with the price of things going up ....

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #11 on:** October 06, 2011, 04:34:17 AM »

Tap on the side of the starter . Hey save 60 bucks change it yourself , I have done so many times

hillbill · « **Reply #12 on:** October 08, 2011, 05:29:15 PM »

Quote from: magooch on October 06, 2011, 04:04:33 AM

A hundred bucks for a starter for Chevy sounds too high. And 60 Bucks to install it is nuts. But I will admit that I haven't changed a starter in awhile and with the price of things going up ....

you cant even believe what they cost now. just put a starter on my gfrens 95 geo tracker. it was 100 buks! took 10 min to change, i think the thrust washer was gone on it cuz yu could shake it and the armature would move about 1/4 inch.it would still start but was making a nasty noise and chewing the flywheel up.works good now!

hillbill · « **Reply #13 on:** October 08, 2011, 05:41:07 PM »

Quote from: hillbill on October 08, 2011, 05:29:15 PM

Quote from: magooch on October 06, 2011, 04:04:33 AM
A hundred bucks for a starter for Chevy sounds too high. And 60 Bucks to install it is nuts. But I will admit that I haven't changed a starter in awhile and with the price of things going up ....
you cant even believe what they cost now. just put a starter on my gfrens 95 geo tracker. it was 100 buks! took 10 min to change, i think the thrust washer was gone on it cuz yu could shake it and the armature would move about 1/4 inch.it would still start but was making a nasty noise and chewing the flywheel up.works good now!

normally i would of took it apart and tried to fix it. but she got here about the time i was fixin the alternator on my dozer.knowing i have limited success with starters i just sent her in to get a new one!the alternator on my dozer now works fine and i didnt spend a dime on it!back to makin 50 bucks a hr!

lakota · « **Reply #14 on:** October 08, 2011, 05:51:18 PM »

Quote from: magooch on October 06, 2011, 04:04:33 AM

A hundred bucks for a starter for Chevy sounds too high. And 60 Bucks to install it is nuts. But I will admit that I haven't changed a starter in awhile and with the price of things going up ....

They wanted anywhere from $200 to $250 after core trade in for a remanufactured one for my 99 Jeep Cherokee last year. I dont know if they were poured from solid gold or what?

hillbill · « **Reply #15 on:** October 08, 2011, 06:01:09 PM »

yea but ill bet thats the first starter yuv changed on that cherokee? they usually last pretty good?

lakota · « **Reply #16 on:** October 08, 2011, 06:09:14 PM »

That was the first one I put on it. I have only had the jeep for 5 or 6 years. I found a rebuilder and he rebuilt the starter completely for 50 or 60 bucks. He said the only thing he reused was the housing.

hillbill · « **Reply #17 on:** October 08, 2011, 06:39:00 PM »

good deal! is that the 4.0 inline 6 motor?

magooch · « **Reply #18 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:02:32 AM »

Just for the heck of it I checked the price for a starter for Dale's truck. It was $84.99 at O'reilly's Auto Parts. There were higher priced one with better guarantees. I think we've done been inflated.

victorcharlie · « **Reply #19 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:28:24 AM »

Well Dale, it appears the automatic transmission on my F-350 is shot, so $140 doesn't look to bad to me.

lakota · « **Reply #20 on:** October 09, 2011, 06:42:07 AM »

Quote from: hillbill on October 08, 2011, 06:39:00 PM

good deal! is that the 4.0 inline 6 motor?

Yep. Its a great motor. I think the motor will greatly outlast the unibody which is really starting to show its age(RUST!

).

I love that little vehicle and I think its a damned shame that they quit making them in favor of making "soccer mom" SUVs. In my mind at least--a real 4X4 will always have solid front and rear axles!

And for the price of that starter rebuild I had though about getting another starter from the scrapyard and having him rebuild it too so I would always have a spare ready to go. My wife thinks that may be a little overkill. Maybe she is right.

DalesCarpentry · « **Reply #21 on:** October 09, 2011, 12:28:38 PM »

Quote from: magooch on October 09, 2011, 06:02:32 AM

Just for the heck of it I checked the price for a starter for Dale's truck. It was $84.99 at O'reilly's Auto Parts. There were higher priced one with better guarantees. I think we've done been inflated.

Before I even went to Advanced Auto Parts I checked their web site to find out how much one was going to cost me. They had one on their site for $68.00 and a $25 dollar core charge. I did not think that was to bad a price. Well I went to their store just down the road and they did not have the $68.00 one so they sold me one for $99.99 with a $20.00 core charge and a lifetime warrenty. So as long as I save the sales slip I will never have to pay for another starter for this truck for as long as I own it. With tax it come out to like $107.00 and then $60.00 for that guy to install it. If I ever have to do this again I think I will try to do it myself. VC I feel for you on the transmission thing. I have had more than a few replaced on past cars and trucks and it's not cheap by any means and the $167..00 I spent is a drop in the bucket to what your going to spend. Take care Dale

Bugflipper · « **Reply #22 on:** October 09, 2011, 03:14:10 PM »

Quote from: smokehouserex on October 05, 2011, 09:24:55 PM

Hello sourdough:
I got a good laugh when you said that you had a 300 ford 6cyl. with starter issues, I have a 1978 4x4, 6cyl. and I too have replaced many starters on it. It's a deer buggy and fun to drive in the woods, but the starter problem hits at the wrong time, ALWAYS!!!! I've had it since 93, and rebuilt almost the whole truck.
After 2 starters I got a lifetime warranty for a extra 10.00 bucks and Advance Auto has lost money on me. I have heard that the reason for this is that the 6 cyl. stops in the same place on the starter ring every time the engine is shut down, I don't know. Have you ever heard of this?
Enjoyed the post,
safety first
HM

You can get around that by kicking it out of gear. Spin the engine with a breaker bar on the crank shaft pulley. Then the starter has better teethe to chew up for awhile. You can buy a new ring to weld onto the flywheel if the clutch or rear main ever goes south and it has to be opened up.

smokehouserex · « **Reply #23 on:** October 09, 2011, 04:56:45 PM »

Thanks Bugflipper for the tip, I'll be sure to remember this when it needs a new clutch/pp ect.
Thanks again
HM