I am doing the annual maintenace on my 1994 GXE. My daughter now takes this car across country to college. It has about 125K on it now. I am trying to decide whether or not to just replace the starter.

Has anyone had their starter fail? If so, how many miles did it last?

I have done just about all the other moving stuff in the last year - timing belt, seals, water pump, alternator (failed), a/c compressor (failed), etc.

Can you think of anything else I should do? Fluids/filters are all ok.

Thanks for the help!

 

if it aint broke "or even showing signs of faliure" dont fix it

 

the starter were thought to be almost bulletproof on the 3rd gen, but if you are really that worried, since your daughter will be far from home, and shop tends to extract more money out of female car owners, I would say for you to go ahead and replace it, one of those "get it out of the way" things.

Other things to check/do:

Tranny flush and fill, also check it's condition

Brakes check

Brake hoses check

tie rod ends, CV boots, ball joints (at least check them)

Vacuum hoses check

that's all that I can think of for now.

 

basically the only thing to go out on our starters is the one way bearing that is inside of them... and oddly enough this tends to happen more when its cold. i wouldnt worry to much about the motor but if you would want to replace the bearing/gear i know that it is a pretty easy job. i picked up a new one from a local autoelectronics shop for around $40 once and it only took me about 10 min to install. otherwise i agree with the idea... if it aint broken or breaking dont fix it. also it does seem like 3rd gen starters are very good.

 

As said, keep the original as long as it lasts. Its easy and cheap to have any shop to swap the crap reman, when this fails. (price plus ½hour job.) Quite possibly another 100k ahead. The only problem is the situation where it fails - but there are 1000 other reasons to fail, so why worry, live like NASA.

 

Living in Canada, my OEM starter showed signs of failure (i.e. still started the car, but the throwout bearing was going bad) in its 10th year, around 120K. I replaced it with an inferior rebuilt unit that lasted 1.5 years. This spring, I bought a good-quality re-manufactured unit that cranks exactly the way the stock starter does.

My personal opinion is that if it ain't broke don't fix it, but the bright side is that our starters are relatively cheap and VERY easy to remove and replace, so if peace of mind is high on your list, go for it! Or, don't fix it and tell her to find a bf who's good with cars.

 

My starter failed forcing me to replace it. The job is easy but the starter I got from advanced auto broke in 6 months. It had a lifetime warrany on it, but the guy said it can only be replaced once. It looked like the part was so cheaply built that a bolt that holds the starter together was grinded of by my flywheel! I suggest keeping the oem as long as you can and teach your daughter how to push start the car, assuming it is a stick.

 

A Starter Will Always Let U Know When Its On Its Last Starts It Will Start Grinding When Turn It On At Times Thats When It Will Need Replaceing.

 

...except when it doesnt.

 

I wish

 

hey it happened 2 me

 

I'm refering to the always part.
it rarely gives warning before failure.

 

Just do a 5 speed swap and park on a hill.

 

i bought a starter at advanced also. It lasted 1 year with a lifetime warranty and he also said they replace once. hmmm what good is the lifetime then? anyways second went out so i bought another at 100 dollars but the good thing is I got at least one more coming for free lol took 18 mins for total swap out. Is that a world record?

 

I'd have pitched a fit and said "where does it say one time replacement only??"
and then threatened to sue