2000 Ranger: Starter Problems

A rebuilt starter may not be all that expensive... check NAPA prices. Sometimes it will surprize you.

another thing to check for ... bad ring gear teeth.

You say it "starts rough". I am assuming that it is not starting slowly as well. If it was turning ovber slower than normal then the cables and starter relay would also be in question. If you do ever replace the cables, do yourself a favor and use bigger wires than the factory.

They generally use #4 wire. #2 will have almost half the voltage drop. #1 would have almost exactly half the voltage drop.

You can sometimes fine a #0 wire (check Walmart) to use for the negative side.

#0 is too hard to work with usually for the positive side... hard to make all the needed bends.

If you peel back the insulation of the wire and find that is is mostly green then the cables are junk. The wire that runs from the battery to the starter relay is usually the first to go.

If the starter RPM's seem normal then the cables and starter relay are probably fine.