Jinxed starters

Mar 05, 2004 2 Replies

I'm having one heck of a time with starters! I've got a '93 Ford Aerostar. I've probably put 4 or 5 starters in it in the past 3 years. The most recent one lasted four months. I'm starting to think I need to carry a spare starter and jackstands in the back with this thing.



I can't figure out if I'm jinxed, if I've got some underlying problem causing this, or if rebuilt Ford starters just plain stink. I've bought them from Napa, from Ford, and a reputable local parts shop, all with the same result.



Electrically, everything seems to be fine. The starter relay seems to work correctly, battery voltage is fine, connections seem fine. When I remove the starters, I don't see any signs of abnormal wear on the teeth.



The failure modes for the starters have varied. Two of them had problems with throwing out the drive gear; the mechanism seemed to be jammed.



If any of you folks have any ideas, advice, or suggestions, I'd sure appreciate hearing from you.



Thank you,



Terry Noe snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com


"Terry Noe" wrote in news:q6W1c.6213$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr27.news.prodigy.com:

I learned a long time ago - don't buy rebuilt starters. It doesn't seem to matter where you buy them - they all seem to come from some Thrid World rebuilder where probably little is done to them but new bushings, brushes, and a coat of rebuilder gray paint.

The added cost of a new starter (which sometimes is surprisingly low) is well worth the peace of mind.

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