Well this morning I got in the truck and when I turned the key I just heard "click". Did it again...got another "click"! Moved the shifter in neutral, pushed the car and kicked it in park, etc. Nothing! Just "click"!!!!

No doubth in my mind that the starter is the issue. Solenoid works and kicks the shaft out but it doesn't turn. Probably needs new brushes.

Since my wife gave me a ride to work I am not working on the truck at the moment. I will jump on it tonight. I know where the starter is and I changed 50+ starters on other cars. However....on my Landy I never need to until now. It seems a b&*ch to get to.

Has anyone replaced one on D2 and what sould I expect? Is it a big of a PITA as I think it might be?

 

First thing to do is check your battery charge to see if you have a drain. If it's good, check on the connections between the alternator - battery - chassis grounds. If they are good, test for a faulty alternator.

 

I do not want to get off the topic here.
I got a new battery and good alternator. Let's say that the connections are good (I do regular maintenance on weekly intervals) and that I do not have a drain anywhere because my lights in the truck were bright this morning.

I am trying to find out if it is a PITA to remove this starter????? Last time I looked at it it seemed likea bi&^h to get to?

Am I wrong? Anybody done this before? 1 hour? 2 hours? 3 hours?

 

about 30 minutes. just bend the heat shield out of the way. disconnect the harness. 3 bolts and it's out. the first time i did it was in the rain at sunset that took me an hour.

 

Sweet!

Thanks guys! I just got off the phone with one of the places here in Windsor that rebuilds starters and alternators and I was suprised that the guy told me that they got a rebuilt one in stock for $160.

 

Sorry if suggesting you check the most common problem areas that cause the same symptoms before you start throwing money at it is getting "off topic".

Carry on.

 

If you use a couple of long extensions you can get at the bolts from in front of the axle. If you have the hex cap screws, need to wash them out with brake cleaner first to get the allen drive all the way to the bottom, strip out and it is a bigger PITA.

If you can coax old starter to turn over one more time by firm tapping, it may confirm that other things are as you expect them.

Oh, and if you look at some of Tom's posts you'll find info on gear reduction starter, better; jumbo cables, if needed; and the many common problems that pretend to be a dead starter.

 

Sorry Tom, didn't mean to offend you.

Like I said, I clearly heard "click" on the starter every time I turned the key. That tells me that the wiring is OK. Solenoid gets activated but the starter does not spin.
-Lights were bright as usual (no drain)
-New battery (few months ago)

I didn't want to get under the truck and hit the starter with the hammer or anything because I wasn't quite dressed for it (dress pants, etc.).

I do appriciate the input but however I do check the truck over every weekend and I know what to expect. Again....like you said, I shouldn't be guessing but this was an educated "guess" considering everthing that I was aware of. I just wanted to hear if the starter replacement is a PITA to replace.

Again...I appologize.

Boris

 

That only tells you the wiring to the solenoid is ok to carry 5 or 10amps maybe.
What is doesn't tell you is if you have a solid connection between the battery and the starter solenoid, between the solenoid and starter motor, between the starter and the chassis ground or the ground between the battery and the chassis.
A brand new starter could present the exact same symptoms if any one of those connections are loose or corroded.

Also, trying to bump a starter in an automatic by rolling it is a waste of time. The only thing you might do by rolling it and shifting in to park while rolling is breaking the locking pawl in the transmission.

 

Thanks guys like always!
I just installed the new starter and it works great. I took the old one out and tested it on the bench. Kicks out but it doesn't spin. Tried knocking it with the hammer.......nothing. I guess I got lucky and the darn thing gave up in my driveway.
I read a few posts on the starter replacement and everyone calls out that you need to disconnect the manifold (RAVE calls out the same thing) in order to disconnect the heat shield. Well........I just didn't feel like doing all this and started tackling it without manifold removal. It wasn't that hard. Took me about 2.5 hours from start to stop without manifold removal. I gotta admit that trying to get the starter bolted back in with the manifold where it's at is a PITA but when I got it ligned up with the hand, I used the crowbar to hold the starter in place through the manifold while I screw the top bolt in. After that was straight forward.

Thanks again Tom and Buzz!