Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Has anybody bought off Ebay a new Starter for $121 bucks?

[HerbW]

I rebuilt my starter about two years ago with the heavy contacts like everybody does just for precautionary reasons. Last night my starter stuck when I started it. Luckily the copper contacts let go when I turned off the ignition and then back on. It was short lived and I don't think it hurt anything. The contacts looked like crap after the stick. Maybe the bigger ones stick easier due to contact area enlargement. I don't know.

I see on Ebay they have brand new OEM starters for a little more than a hundred bucks with shipping included.

Anybody buy one of these and had good luck with them? They are new with a year guarantee. I'm either going to rebuild mine again and add a diode or buy one of those. NAPA locally has a starter with lifetime guarantee, but it's over $224 dollars.

I know I sound cheap, but money is limited and I'm saving for a torque converter and transmission rebuild. I just bought a Magnaglass 4"er system off a 2003 Dodge and installed it myself with a bit of modifying. It had been on the other truck for 1500 miles. He didn't like the look of the header pipe(color changed) after driving it awhile. I'm glad he didn't like it! Nice 5" welded on Chrome tip too.

Thanks for any starter advice. The sellers of these starters have great Positive Feedback from customers. Must be doing something right.

 

[CSnyder]

I put one on my personal driver and I havent had any trouble in over a year. I would say go for it.

 

[HerbW]

Wow! Do you own that many Dodges? Are four of them diesel? I just might go buy one of these starters and give them a test. I hate to see "Big Red" dead in my barn due to lack of a starter for too long. I wonder how long the brushes are good for, if I did rebuild the starter, before they'd go out. They have 90K now on them. Herb

 

[CSnyder]

Wow! Do you own that many Dodges? Are four of them diesel? I just might go buy one of these starters and give them a test. I hate to see "Big Red" dead in my barn due to lack of a starter for too long. I wonder how long the brushes are good for, if I did rebuild the starter, before they'd go out. They have 90K now on them. Herb

Herb, I own about 20 Dodges from 94 to 02 but only a few are actually drivers. I run a diesel shop and I part these trucks out frequently. My fleet of drivers changes frequently since I buy and sell them so often. Right now I have 6 diesels in my driving fleet and 4 engines to build more trucks with.



When I bought one of the Ebay starters I opened it up right away to do contacts and it looked identical to my OEM starter. I think sitting does them more harm than good.

 

[HerbW]

Well. I bought one from an Ebay company in Tacoma. It comes with a one year full warranty. They also have 100% feedback. Should I put Larry B's large contacts in it before installing? They just stuck in my original starter. More surface, more face to stick. My Diehard batteries read 12. 73 volts after sitting for a few days. That's probably part of the contact problem.

 

[Wedge]

More surface, more face to stick.

More surface = more current flow!

 

[CSnyder]

I would install them now rather than later when they fail.

 

[GAmes]

I think you just had bad luck. I put a set of Larry B's contacts in about 450k miles ago and have had no problems. About 150k ago I pulled the starter to get to the lift pump and while it was out I reversed the two contacts because one wears out faster than the other. Compared to the stockers I had replaced they showed nearly no wear. You could probably use the ones out of your old starter.

 

[CSnyder]

I think you just had bad luck. I put a set of Larry B's contacts in about 450k miles ago and have had no problems. About 150k ago I pulled the starter to get to the lift pump and while it was out I reversed the two contacts because one wears out faster than the other. Compared to the stockers I had replaced they showed nearly no wear. You could probably use the ones out of your old starter.

I agree. If your old starter has the larger contacts already and they look decent just reuse those.

 

[HerbW]

The contacts weren't as bad as the plunger. I have cleaned and filed it. It still has pitts. I did put a skift "no-Ox" anti-oxident on the contacts when I installed them. I'm an electrician and seemed to be the right thing. It could of cost me my contacts. I have new set of "B" contacts but will probably wait for a year due to the one year full warranty is good only if you leave it as it was made. Then I'll put them in. The new starter was only $87. 00 dollars with $18. 00 shipping! I got it in one day! Everything about it looks like the original one. The company I bought it from is:Empire Auto Electric in Tacoma thru Ebay. I'm impressed for the price,quality and speed. No core required. I'm going to redo the old one for a back up on long trips. Give them a try for reasonable starters. I also ordered an 85 amp diode I'm going to install in series with the starting lead for only $5. 95 off Ebay! It will more than do the job for sure at a fine price. This one was made for solar panels to prevent backfeeds at night.

 

[MMcCallie]

I have an ebay starter. Great support over the phone when I placed the order. Said he would warranty over a year because he almost never had issues with them. This winter after driving through snow about a foot deep and bashing through lots of drifts and piles a few feet deep, the starter wouldn't spin the next morning. Temperatures were below zero. Didn't spin at all, just a "click".

Tried tricks like tapping on it. Used a screwdriver across the terminals and still only got a click. A few hours later I tried it again and it started. Hasn't happened again since. I called and left two messages with the ebay seller before I got it started and never heard from him.

I've gotten a lot of use out of this starter. I have cranked on it hard many times when trying to overcome frozen fuel, having 2 lift pumps go bad in less than a year, and other times I've just been working on the truck. With the idle high enough, it still starts with just a tap of my dash mounted ignition start button. I wonder if the starter got moisture in it and froze that one time it didn't work. Advantage for store bought is the warranty and after shipping, that lifetime warranty might be best.