Starter Issue

[Jrama]

Recently my starter began to struggle, probably due to all the mud and water it has been seeing the past couple weekends. Weak and or delayed cranks and just noise. It quickly gave out and failed to start the jeep.

So I removed it, opened it up cleaned it out as per this brief write up (http://jeep-xj.info/HowtoStarterClean.htm) it was a little rusty and just plain dirty inside. I then put in my bench vice ran some jumper cables to it and wa-la it worked perfectly. So i throw it back in the heep and it doesn't work. It just sounds like a winch motor on free spool letting out. In other words all I am hearing is a churning electric motor and no cranking. The starter is spinning you can hear it on the over run when you stop holding the key. Which is the exact noise it was making before my cleaning.

Jeep is low km's, YES the battery is fine. Is the starter just shot or is there something more I should be looking for?

Thanks

[JackstandJohnny]

just replace it buddy.  i had one start doing that.......... out at mclean. had to be jump started to get my jeep out of camp......... by a quad....... driven by Trevor......... 

fun times.

[Raspberry]

They're what, $20 maybe at the junkyard? Since they're also fairly easy to bolt-in/unbolt, its an alternative that's light on the wallet.

[FiEND]

if the starter motor is running, then your problem is the solenoid which engages the starter to the flywheel.  tap it with a hammer and might work a few times or more.

if you ask google you will find out what the solenoid is and how to see it.

but yea, go to pick n pull and look around, can often find great starters for spares or replacement.

[cLAY]

Not only does the gear in the starter have to spin it needs to shoot out forward towards the nose of the starter to engage the flywheel. Sounds like yours spins fine but the solenoid isn't pushing the gear out.

[Jrama]

Solenoid is working, the gear shoots out and then turns, at least it does that on the bench vice. If a junkyard one will run 25 bucks give or take I'll go that route....after I try bypassing the ignition and running it off jumper cables...