After multiple on/offs with my car throughout the day, the starter gets nice and hot and likes to make a weird noise while the crank's turning over. It starts up everytime, but I hate the noise it makes (sounds like the solenoid sticking, possibly?). Latemodel Restoration has brand new starters for $80, but would it be better to just go somewhere local and have mine rebuilt? Where could I get that done, and for how much?

 

This is the 95 GT your talking about?
test your battery first. Even if its less then 2 yrs old. I have in the past bought brand new 800 CCA batterys that were supposed to be the big bad kahuna only to have them shit on me within 6 months. It can happen. Not saying this is your problem,.. but unless your ready to buy replacement parts to figure out whats wrong,.. its more affordable to track down where the problem is first.

Check your battery cables. How do the ends look? Any corrosion on the terminals? If so,.. could be your battery or a bad connection. Trace both the ground and the hot cables. Are there any parts of the cable that are swollen? Any grounds to the block or chassis that look questionable? Both solenoids are sensitive to cable resistance and if you have swollen cables or bad grounds this will increase the resistance in the cables making it harder for the battery to crank over the engine. Also,.. its usually a quick 5 or 10 mins to carry your battry into a parts store and have them test it for you. If you are not sure how to test it,.. they will check for voltage and amps. A battery can give misleading signals. A nice 13.4 volts yet only able to pump out 80 amps. Just barely enough to start the car. This puts a strain on your alternator when the car is running,.. ultimately leading to alternator failure down the road.

If you have another ride,.. pull your starter off and have it tested as well. But,.. starters too can be misleading. I've seen starters test out fine on the bench,.. but when you put a load on them (Cranking over the engine) they heat up and strain because the bendix is worn.

If the battery and cables are fine I would just go to which ever parts store has the best price and buy a reman starter. Not very expensive.
Napa and Advance have them for $49.00. Can sometimes catch them on sale for $19.99 with 1 yr warranty.

That or hit a junkyard. Anything with a 289/302/351 should work.

Hurst

 

Thanks Hurst, and yes I'm sorry. The car in question is a 95 GTS. The battery was tested a week ago and tested bad, so I replaced it. I've checked the ends of the cable leading to the battery, and those look fine, but I havn't checked the ends leading away from it. I'll make it a point to do that this weekend while doing my oil change.

The problem is very wishy washy when it wants to do it, and never does it when I'm around an actual mechanic. It did it in front of a friend of mine, and he told me it sounded like the starter solenoid sticking, which makes some sense considering it only happens when it's hot.

 

Small update, went to start the car leaving for work today, and it made the sound - so it doesn't do it when it's hot.

Now, this issue's been going on since I first bought the car 7 months ago, and when it was purchased the ignition cylinder was kind of messed up. The black tabbed rim around the key tumbler isn't locked into place, and is able to move freely. I've had to wiggle it a little to align it properly when I get out of the car otherwise it'll chime when the doors are open even if no key is in there. Is it possible that since they cylinder isn't aligned just right, that it could cause the ignition to be unsmooth sometimes, even causing that weird noise?

 

No,.. thats common on SN95 cars. My 96 broke off completely,.. I have a pic of it somewhere. Hold on a sec.

Found it.


You will need to be careful though.
What happened to me was my key broke off in the ignition switch.

But that will not effect your starter.
Since you've replaced your battery.. I would double check all your wires and connections. If they all pass,.. just buy another starter. I've had the same luck with reman as I have with brand new ones. Some last forever and a moon,.. some crap out in a yr or two. This way if it finnally stops working you have one to put in it and get you back on the road. And at least with a 95 you dont have to deal with the 3 bolt BS that the starters have on the 4.6 engines. The top bolt is such a PITA to get to,.. EVERY 4.6 starter I have done I NEVER put the top bolt back in. Even if it was someone elses car. So if you have a 4.6 and you get me to do your starter,.. dont expect me to put that top bolt back in.

Hurst

 

Yeah, the starter on my car's an absolute cinch to swap out. I'll check out the battery connections though! This may sound really stupid, but do you happen to have any diagrams of the way the battery should be wired in, so I can compare it to something? If not I'm sure there's SOMETHING on the internet.

 

This is a link for 94/95 cars.

Let me know if the link doesnt work for you. I'll steal the image and host it myself.

http://repairguide.autozone.com/znet...5280250ff4.gif



Hurst

 

Link works, link saved, rep given! Thanks.

 

My rep is maxxed out,.. it doesnt go any higher. LoL


Hurst

 

Just put a carburator on it... That'll fix it. Lol