I've been having problem with my starter sticking or staying engaged with the flywheel after my truck starts up. It will finally disengage after a bit. I replaced my starter solenoid/relay that is mounted on the fender. The problem still exists. It used to only happen when it was cold, now it happens all the time.

Can I rebuild (clean inside) the starter or should I replace it?
Could I have gotten a faulty solenoid?

Thanks for any input!

 

Just had a similar problem and ended up putting a new starter on. That did the trick. Funny, though, that the old starter passed the bench test at the parts store. I guess they don't check that issue. Mine got progressively worse and eventually just welded the circuit closed, so it would turn over until taking the battery terminal off. Of course, this all happened while chasing down a no-spark issue...which I still haven't been able to figure out lol! She turns over like a champ...just won't start!

 

Thanks for the reply! I'll start looking for a new starter. Any high torque units available for the electronic controlled automatics?

 

Any way to lube anything to make it not stick at all? My key column seems to want to stick although its not sticking yet. Just seems like it doesn't want to come back easy like it should and I sometimes turn it back by hand to make sure it comes back all the way after starting it. Obviously not turning the truck off but back to the on position

 

Same here. I replaced everything else and had my starter "rebuilt" by a local shop, and it still did it. So I got fed up and replaced it and its started like a champ ever since

Tanner

 

Well I took put my starter last night. Easiest starter to rebuild or fix by the way. Before I even got it out, I noticed that the kickout solenoid was loose. One of the 2 torx head bolts had backed out. Luckily it was still in the housing.

I completely disassembled the starter assembly to clean it. I used electronics cleaner on everything and Greased all the points and bearings.

Now the truck starts up much faster! I thought the problem was fixed, but then the starter hung up on my again today after a couple good starts. Could I have gotten a bad solenoid, or maybe the kickout solenoid was damaged from being loose and able to wiggle around

 

Here are some pictures of what I did last night

Starter out


Metal shavings fell out


The loose kickout solenoid


Removed and cleaned all. Then Greased and re assembled

 

Nice write-up! That starter looks a little crusty, but that's to be expected. Mine was only about a year old and didn't look much better. It's pretty vulnerable to the elements, sitting underneath the truck. It's a shame they can't test it correctly at the store. Basically, I think their test completely cuts off the power source (just like unhooking the battery cable on your truck.) There really isn't much that could cause it, though. The starter, the solenoid, and something in the column. A problem in the column would be the hardest to pinpoint, I think...but fairly easy to rule out. Try starting the truck by jumping posts on the solenoid. By doing that, you're basically bypassing the switch and actuator rod in the column. Yes, power is still running through there, but you can pretty much rule out a short in the "start" position of the switch or the function of the moving actuator rod.

If I was a betting man, I would say a new starter would fix it.

One more thing, though. In researching my issue, I found a thread where someone fixed theirs by replacing faulty ground cables...the main ground going to the battery. Evidently, a bad ground can cause a solenoid to keep burning up...or in this particular case, to keep welding itself closed. This guy went through a few solenoids until he figured it out. Just something to keep in mind. Check those battery cables out really well!

 

Thank you for the great reply! I will keep on this project and update my progress!