Ford F150 truck, when starting, the starter will turn over strongly for half a second then just abruptly makes a loud noise and stops. It won't ever fully crank. Is this just a bad starter?

Thanks for any help !! ~Staci

 

Likely is but do check out the flywheel ring gear for broken teeth or the motor is jambing up for some reason.
Be sure some belt drive item is not the cause as well.
Good luck.

 

What year is the truck? I would say it sure could be a starter issue. But if the battery is quite dead or old and weak it would cause a similar issue . I know with my 97 I can watch the battery voltage on the dash while I'm cranking. Other wise take a seperate person checking battery voltage with a digital multi meter / voltage meter. If while cranking your battery goes below 9.5 Volts your battery is low of charge or could have internal problems such as a bad cell. Bad positive or bad ground connections to the starter could also be the problem. I was shown at work to start at the battery and work your way to cables and starters. If the battery is at fault it is possible to get a new one, or put a pair of jumper cables/ good battery charger on it to be able to start it and drive to the auto parts store if you had to.