Well this AM my starter decided to play FAN instead of crank ...

Motor spins, but solenoid doesn't engage the flywheel (no clicking whatsoever).


Question is, as i'm reading could this just be gunk needing to get cleaned out, or should I just bite the bullet and replace the starter...

 

Mine did this I replaced the starter with a spare, have not tried to get the old one fixed yet

 

Did you hit it with a hammer? You can pull it and bench test it with a battery. I have a good spare you can borrow to get you through until you find a replacement if you want...
Give me a call or text if you want it or a hand removing/replacing.
You can also see if Paul Grant or Marty DrillBit Powell has a good used one for sale.

 

thanks, tried it when i got home and it worked fine ..

I'll test again tomorrow, obviously i gotta do somethin with it before i get stuck somewhere...

 

I know we like to mess around with our old rides and polish every nickel and pocket every penny to keep them going, because all the money is needed for things like head gaskets and slipped liners, but there are certain components that simply must work, one being the starter. Every time I have had the same problem happen to me that you are experiencing and "fixed" it by de-gunking, it worked for a little while longer and not-so-eventually failed in the same manner that started the whole thing, spinning free. If I remember correctly the starter is not the most convenient thing in the world to remove, and I think I have seen them for some pretty reasonable coin. Since it's got to come out anyway, I would recommend just putting a new one back in and forgetting about it, there's never a shortage of other fun things to diddle with. My .02

 

The heat shield is the major pain. Once that's removed the next hurdle is the socket cap screws.
Once you get the heat shield off(and thrown away) and replace the socket cap screws with normal hex cap screws, changing your starter takes about 5 minutes.

 

Mine worked intermittent for like 2 weeks then the Bendix stopped working all together so it is not bad to change as long as the starter does not fall and break off your knock sensor

Pull off batt cables reach in somehow grab back of heat shield and pull, it un clips from starter then bend out of way best you can using super long extension like 2' or so and think it was a 5/16" Allen key socket, undo 2 bolts, pull down starter, pull wires off, reverse order to reinstall

There is a ground strap on the top bolt I moved it to the trans was having a hard time getting that bolt started

If you use the cap bolts put a piece of napkin on hex key then stick the bolt on it, will hold to get in place and started

 

Hmm, well this started working without any intervention ... as far as replacement is a used one really better than one of the "lifetime warranty" ones?

then these guys: Land Rover with their 200$ starter that's supposed to work better(its mentioned in the tech post) anyone use them is it worth the extra time/$$?

 

Unless you hit u pull yards that are crazy cheap I would go with lifetime warranty , off roading kills electric parts when you swim in puddles

 

I've got my last two good used starters for $30 each.
D2 uses the same starter as D1 if you are hitting the junkyards.