wcbcruzer

When you get a remanufactured starter from Autozone, for example, what all has been done to it? Just new solenoid contacts, brushes, and a cleaning?

gmctd

That would appear to be the case, in some cases - should be totally refurbished -

disassembled, vat-cleaned
sand-blasted for de-rust and oxidation
Parts inspected, worn or damaged items discarded
commutator turned, segments clearanced
new bearings on armature shaft
new bearings on intermediate shaft
new bushings on main-drive shaft
new bendix and arm
new contactor washer, contacts and bolts in the solenoid
new lube where required

Some I've seen were merely cleaned and painted-over - open the end-bells to find all the copper and metal particles and blackened grease from the original useage

If all the visible surfaces are pristine and dry like new, likely it was refurbished, and not 'rebuilt', which is wiped-off and rattle-canned

bentwings

I don't know what goes into them. I got a lifetime one from AZ. It didn't sound right and didn't turn the motor over like the OEM one did. I complained about it but they said I had to run it untill it failed.

It failed about 6 mo later and I got a new one from them no problem.

I failed again about a year later and they gave me another. This new one sounds real good and really cranks. We'll see. I just hope it doesn't fail inthe winter again. Not fun changing it in the sleet and snow.

I have Foster's big contacts in the glove box for emergency now.

wcbcruzer

Thanks for the info. I would've never thought about all that stuff. I feel like my starter might be going. It's getting slower to turn over. I'm going to replace the battery cables/terminals first and see how it turns out. In the mean time, I was thinking about rebuilding my starter with the upgraded starter contacts and brushes since it's relatively cheap ($50-60). However, I might be better off spending a little more money and just getting a refurbished one. What do you think?

And for the battery cables, on the driver's side, I see two cables (one thicker) attached to the pos. terminal. The thinner one goes into the fuse box. Where does the thicker one go? Straight to the starter? Do any other little wires come off those two?

Mountaineer

Shouldnt this be in the 24v Engine and Drivetrain section ?

wcbcruzer

You're just trying to boost your post count. j/k...

iforge03

my starter was going out on me so put in some new contacts and a new plunger i got off ebay for $24.00. it works great now and was very easy to do

gmctd

Mine was slow and draggy - tried the cables and batteries thing, no workee - I had the Foster HD contacts for my worn oem, but then I opened the supposedly "World-class Rebuilt" replacement to install them in it, only to find -

copper-plated iron bolts for the battery cable and connections
the copper contactor parts were much thinner than stock oem
the original worn arm
the rubberized insulation had been abraded off the field coils
the commutator had been worked-over by a blind guy

But, it was clean.................

I was disgusted, so I just bought a new starter from Foster - same starter DCX sells as oem, but with Foster's HD contacts already-installed - at ~half the price from you-know-who

I used the new bearings and useable stuff from the Third-"World-class Rebuilt" version to rebuild my original for spare - works fine, lasts a long time...................