Attention: TDR Forum Junkies I tucked into my starter today to install a set of LarryB contacts... starter had been acting contrary off-and-on lately, refusing to turn until the third or fourth key-turn, and new batteries didn't help.
My first clue that the previous owner (I bought the truck off a used-car lot) had been there before me was the relative ease with which I was able to crack the starter mounting bolts. Then, when I opened up the solenoid, sure enough, I found an old pair of LarryBs already installed, with plenty of life left in 'em... no more than maybe 20% worn down. Instead, the problem was with the circular contact on the plunger: it was the factory original, and worn down quite badly and unevenly.
When I was ordering my LarryB's I noticed the following statement on his web site: "You can also get by without replacing the plunger but most starter shops recommend it. " So, being a cheap sonofagun, I ordered only the contacts, not the plunger. "What the heck," I figgered, "Larry says I don't need a new one. " Now, of course, I need to order a new plunger, get back under the muddy old truck, bang my forehead a few more times, and do it all over again. All things considered, I wish I'd ordered both the contacts and the plunger the first time. Upon reflection, it don't make much sense to replace just one half of a pair of electrical contacts.
Please understand I'm not dissing Larry - his stuff is great, and his service is excellent. General advice can't always apply to every situation. In my particular case, with the contacts having already been swapped out once before, it was definitely necessary to replace both the contacts and the plunger. Given that I'm the truck's second owner, and I never met the first one, I had no way of knowing one swap-out had already happened.
This episode also raises an interesting question, which I'd welcome y'alls advice on. I'm guessing that the presence of LarryB contacts in my Ram strongly suggests that the previous owner was a TDR reader. If so, I figger there's a high probability that the KDP has already been fixed, too (the Ram was lovingly cared for by its previous owner, another hint (s)he was a TDR reader). I'm sitting on top of a TST KDP tab kit, just waiting for a full free weekend to install it. Boy, am I gonna be PO'd if I go to all the trouble of tearing down into there, only to find the KDP's already been killed. So my question is this: in your experience, does installation of the TST tab kit leave any external tell-tales (tool marks, etc. ) from which I can conclude that the job has already been done? I guess I already know that the answer is "no", but it never hurts to ask... . Thanks!
My first clue that the previous owner (I bought the truck off a used-car lot) had been there before me was the relative ease with which I was able to crack the starter mounting bolts. Then, when I opened up the solenoid, sure enough, I found an old pair of LarryBs already installed, with plenty of life left in 'em... no more than maybe 20% worn down. Instead, the problem was with the circular contact on the plunger: it was the factory original, and worn down quite badly and unevenly.
When I was ordering my LarryB's I noticed the following statement on his web site: "You can also get by without replacing the plunger but most starter shops recommend it. " So, being a cheap sonofagun, I ordered only the contacts, not the plunger. "What the heck," I figgered, "Larry says I don't need a new one. " Now, of course, I need to order a new plunger, get back under the muddy old truck, bang my forehead a few more times, and do it all over again. All things considered, I wish I'd ordered both the contacts and the plunger the first time. Upon reflection, it don't make much sense to replace just one half of a pair of electrical contacts.
Please understand I'm not dissing Larry - his stuff is great, and his service is excellent. General advice can't always apply to every situation. In my particular case, with the contacts having already been swapped out once before, it was definitely necessary to replace both the contacts and the plunger. Given that I'm the truck's second owner, and I never met the first one, I had no way of knowing one swap-out had already happened.
This episode also raises an interesting question, which I'd welcome y'alls advice on. I'm guessing that the presence of LarryB contacts in my Ram strongly suggests that the previous owner was a TDR reader. If so, I figger there's a high probability that the KDP has already been fixed, too (the Ram was lovingly cared for by its previous owner, another hint (s)he was a TDR reader). I'm sitting on top of a TST KDP tab kit, just waiting for a full free weekend to install it. Boy, am I gonna be PO'd if I go to all the trouble of tearing down into there, only to find the KDP's already been killed. So my question is this: in your experience, does installation of the TST tab kit leave any external tell-tales (tool marks, etc. ) from which I can conclude that the job has already been done? I guess I already know that the answer is "no", but it never hurts to ask... . Thanks!
