Starter finally quit

[3 Speed]

My starter has been on borrowed time for a while - free wheeling, etc. Well, last night, after pumping gas, I turned the key to hear just a single click. The solenoid is only 5 years old, but a friend suggested testing that, too.

Any guidance? Priced a rebuilt Bosch starter today online for $89.

[cep62]

Check your connections first.
you can jump the starter wire and bypass the solenoid.
You can also test with a voltmeter.

[tsherry]

Check your solenoid. If you're near a larger city, especially one with a truck stop, you might see if there are rebuilding shops for starters and electric motors. These are not hard to rebuild.

I went through (too many to count) starters right and left from Autozone, O'Rielly's and NAPA on my F250 and F-500. Pretty much all were 'rebuilt' in Mexico. Two of them failed within ten starts of install. One was dead out of the box. The last one on my F-500 had the bendix fail and chewed up the gear (didn't do anything too happy to the ring gear, either).

Finally got fed up, pulled that one out, took it to a guy who'd rebuilt a 12V motor for my ladder/bucket truck, and $100 later, I have a bulletproof starter that works like a dream.

[3 Speed]

[quote="cep62"]Check your connections first.
you can jump the starter wire and bypass the solenoid.
You can also test with a voltmeter.[/rrquote]

Zero-dollar fix. Tried bypass - nothing. Replaced starter cable - all good. A buddy closing his garage had given me last year a new starter cable, circa 1985.

Starter still needs replacing, but I can get around for now.

Thanks, guys, for all the help.

[tac]

The "freewheeling" is the a worn out bendix and can be replaced cheaper than a whole starter.

[3 Speed]

Thanks, TAC. Is that a job an amateur can do? I think I understand the concept, but I am no expert mechanic...

[tac]

Nothing complicated. Take a look at this and decide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ffwYYw24BI