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New starter.....

1394 Views 15 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  Mouse
Hello! Well, this morning my poor 2003 Rubi didn't quite want to turn over. I turned the key and she attempted to, but then just make a whining sound. I am guessing it is the starter since the battery is brand spankin new.

So, my question is.....Can anybody recommend a good replacement starter? Should I just go with another stock one? It lasted 105,000 miles so far!

Thanks!!

Chris
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I am not aware of many choices out there to make a decision on. There is Powermaster and Mean Green who make a HECK of a starter!!! They do cost a pretty penny, but those that I have ran accross that have experience with them love them and swear by them and they have had absolutly NO problems. I think if I were going to go that route I would take to David @ Northridge to see what his thoughts are or what he might have availible.

Outside of that, there is the stock. They do last so it seems. I tore mine apart this past year and regreased everything and cleaned it up and it keeps on going. But I don't have the milage you have either. I do think that the OEM units do start to get weaker as they age. The power put out by thise I said up above are WAAAAY more than anything stock.
Nothing to improve upon if you got 105,000 miles from a stock starter. Swap it through a local autoparts for a rebuilt unit is my reccomendation - and get the best warranty you can get. Then close off this thread by reporting brand name, part number, cost of part, and install labor time if you did it yourself, or install labor cost.
I would just get a starter from Napa or Advanced and call it a day. :)
Labor.....

If I understand it correctly all I have to do is pull the wires, undo two bolts, pull the unit, bolt up the new one and reconnect the wires. Done. Are there any issues that I should know of? It sounds like a 20 min job tops.....
ccrellin said:
Labor.....

If I understand it correctly all I have to do is pull the wires, undo two bolts, pull the unit, bolt up the new one and reconnect the wires. Done. Are there any issues that I should know of? It sounds like a 20 min job tops.....
Yup that's about it. Disconnect the + battery cable first before you do anything though.
Replaced mine at 70k with a Mean Green. No issues since. GL
If I'd gotten 105K out of a stock one, I think I'd be happy with another stock one.
BLACK RUBI said:
If I'd gotten 105K out of a stock one, I think I'd be happy with another stock one.
Or call myself "LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY..."
My OEM starter went out at roughly 100K in the parking lot of my local Advance. Seemed like a no brainer to me. So, I was back on the road within 15 minutes.
I am assuming it is the starter. When I turn the key it just kind of makes a whining noise....
I am glad that it only takes 15 min. to swap out too since it is in the 20's here and I don't have a garage to work in...
The other option is a car parts place. some even give lifetime warranties.
Remove the NEGATIVE (-) battery cable, not positive (+). NEVER remove the (+) cable with the (-) cable connected.

As for the starters, the original one lasted how long? Do you think the fancy Green one will last longer, or start your engine better?
what the green one will do is move the jeep and not get torn up doing it. While rare there are times where you want to move the jeep forward a bit without the engine on (like when the jeep flopped).
Elwarpo said:
what the green one will do is move the jeep..................
That is assuming he's running a Mexican Rubi.
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Manuel (Manual)
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BLACK RUBI said:
If I'd gotten 105K out of a stock one, I think I'd be happy with another stock one.
100K is a good life for a starter. Why not stick with the stock quality? A high compression motor might need something different, but other than that, I can't think of a good reason for anything other than OEM.

If you can handle it being down for a day or two, I would get a local shop to rebuild it (or even better yet, rebuild it myself). The small, local shops will rebuild using quality parts and are easy to go back to if there are any future issues. I am not a fan of the reman units from the chain stores. they are are filled with cheap (mostly overseas) parts that have questionable quality at best.
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