Recently when starting up my pickup I have had to turn the key and hold it for a few seconds, while my starter makes a whining sound until it turns over. It turns over a little quicker if I give it some gas but the whining sound is horrible. I replaced my solenoid contacts which improved it a little, but it is still pretty hard to start. There is no voltage drop between the battery and solenoid, so I don't suspect that there is a problem with the wiring. Do you think that my ignition switch may be the culprit? Would using a relay to power the solenoid (per 4crawlers write-up http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...l#OtherOptions) help with my problem? Thanks guys!

 

try sending power directly to the starter from the battery with the ignition ON, see what happens. bypass the ignition switch. just for shats and giggles. if it still does it, then the ignition is fine.

 

Can I just do that with a pair of jumper cables?

 

Bump...

 

so you're hearing a whining noise when you turn the key to start the truck...
is the engine cranking over while this is happening? I'm guessing it is since you say it turns over quicker if you open the throttle.
the starter is an electric motor and will whine a little. if the whining is very loud, it could be bushings / bearings in the starter motor or in the gear reduction unit.

 

It could be that the bendix is not engaging right away. What some times happens as the starters wear is that the shaft with the cog on it [the part that engages the fly wheel] retracts a little too far and the electro magnet can't "catch" it and pull it out right away. The motor starts to spin up [that whine you hear] and the shaft shifts just enough for the magnet to catch it and pull it out. If this is happening you may hear a grind as the cog engages the flywheel. This is bad because you can chip teeth off the flywheel which may make it imposible to start the truck at all depending on how badly chipped it is.
It can also [more commonly in my experiance] fail the other way in which case the shaft comes out a little too far and the mags can't retract it. When this happens the cog stays engaged with the flywheel and the starter acts like a generator. In this case what you can do [if you have a MT] is put the truck in gear and rock it a little using the "armstrong method" if you hear a "click" that will be the bendix retracting and you should then be able to start the truck normally.
This has happened to me twice on two different trucks not really a big deal just a PITA you need to replace the starter, which is a relatively simple "bolt n' play" project.

 

Thanks for the info guys! I have already had the starter out to replace the contacts in the solenoid so I know it is pretty easy to take out. Do you have recommendations for a replacement aftermarket starter or would I be fine just picking up one at napa?

 

my only recommendation is if you're going to go the autoparts store way, get one with the lifetime warranty. I went through 3 duralast ones on my 91 and were it not for the warranty, I'd be broke.
Anyways, when you pick one up, check the plug on the solenoid (the snap-in connector) to see if it fits in the solenoid case tight. If you can wiggle it with your fingers, tell them to grab another one. That was the problem on 2 of the 3 I got- that plug was loose and normal engine vibration ended up busting the solder joint inside the solenoid.

 

I called Napa today and their "premium" remanufactured starter is $145 exchange without solenoid with a 5 year warranty. I just rebuilt my solenoid so I can just swap that over, but does this sound like a good price? Anyone have any experience with reman'ed Napa starters? Thanks!

 

autozone has reman'd starters for 131.95 with lifetime warranty, and 20 of the cost is the core charge. seeing as how you just did the solenoid, i don't know if they'd consider the starter without solenoid as a core, but it's still cheaper than napa and a better warranty.

 

In my opinion, Napa parts have always proven better than Autozone.

 

Too bad that whenever I've gone to Napa for parts, they either don't know what I'm talking about or want 2x more than the next closest lifetime warranty.

 

Update: I went down to Napa this morning and they had a reman'ed Denso starter for $118 exchange. I installed it and now the truck fires right up I did notice that when I replaced the old starter that their was absolutely no tension on the starter gear (bendix) and I was able to freely rotate it in my hand. Thanks for all your help guys!