I have a 1996 Chevy S-10

KMARN

MEMBER
1996 CHEVROLET S-10
180,000 MILES

I have a 1996 Chevy S10. It's been through about 6 starters in the past two years. It was just replaced on March 1st and died on March 27th. It was replaced again on March 29th (Friday), and now it's grinding already. It starts off as a grinding noise. I usually turn off the heater and radio, wait a few seconds, then try again and it usually starts. Eventually the grinding becomes a whining and the starter dies. We take it to the parts store to get tested and it's a bad starter. I got one with a lifetime warranty, so the just replace it, but it's getting really old! We replaced the battery cable and the ground cable about a month ago. The battery has a good charge. It was worse in wet weather, but now it doesn't seem to matter. We were spraying the distributor with some lube and that seemed to prolong the life of the last one (October until March). I am at a loss! Please help!

1 Reply

JDL

MECHANIC
16,098 POSTS

Were there any starter shims with starter? Have you checked the flywheel? The grinding sounds like the starter drive gear and flywheel teeth arent messing.

Have you done a voltage drop test on the starter wiring? The starter has to be cranking for that test, just test voltage at both ends of wiring. The reading should be the same or very close.

Are you using quality starters? Oem is the best, may cost a little more.