What do you all think?

Down here in Florida, if your battery is over 3 years old, you're wise to replace it because it will fail soon. Floridians own that.

Obviously starters don't fail due to weather, but the "planned maintenance" aspect is what I'm considering here.

My V10 E350 is currently at 222,700 miles, and I bought it 27 months ago with 113,000.

I drive it 1,000 miles per week, six days almost every week, and I engage the starter probably 10-15 times per day minimum. Busy days easily double that.

I'm very interested in the opinion of DelGriffith, albeit with a "grain of salt" because his million-mile vans probably engage their starters considerably less than mine (right?).

Secondly, what is everyone's opinions of replacement starters? Certain brands better/worse than others? New vs reman?

Looking forward to everyone's replies.

 

I've used "Planned Maintenance" all my life and it's been worth every penny so far, plus I always find other little things that need attention when doing the work..................

 

Other factors are how difficult to replace and the impact to your situation if it quits. If you can replace it in 15 minutes without a jack or special tools, less reason to be proactive. If your family starves until the van is back in service, lease a new van every 5 years

Do you have a list of ancillaries with failure potential like alternator, water pump, radiator, sensors, transmission(!)... things that fail with age and use but aren't typically replaced on a schedule?

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 191K miles

 

In theory replacing a starter now makes OK sense. The problem being, because of all the junk out there it may end up being worse than what's installed now.

As a general rule I think it's foolish to core an OEM starter or alternator in exchange for golly knows what. An alternative would be to buy outright a replacement - gambling that it will be OK, and taking the time to rebuild the OEM unit back to spec.

Keep the engine tuned up, battery charged etc, and starters last a long time. If not, not.

 

I wouldn't but if you do....I'd look for a local to do the rebuild unless you can do it yourself.

E SERIES VANS | Alternator Starter Rebuild Kits

http://alternatorstarterrebuildkits.com/product/l12/
This link has videos.

 

When I made this thread, I thought I "knew it all" and literally almost didn't even make it... I'm glad I did though. You guys make some good points.

Looking forward to more

 

Nobody knows it all. I learn something from here just about every day.

 

As a couple others have said there is no way I would remove a working OEM starter and replace it with a rebuilt one from an auto parts store. If you do choose to replace it, I would use a brand new OEM or have a trusted local rebuild shop go through yours, which would put your van down for a couple days.

 

On my trucks and vans If I can help it anytime I replace starters or water pumps I only get Motorcraft ones.

My 96 E250 has right around 250,000 miles on it. Well a couple weeks ago the starter failed. I was about 20 miles from home and none of the locals had the Motorcraft starter on hand, so I had to get a reman'd auto zoo starter. The delivered it out to me where I was stranded. Well I couldn't break either mounting bolts loose so my van got a ride home on a rollback. Well when I got it home I put it up on jack stands and tried to pull the bad starter. Well one of the bolts broke. I couldn't get the broken bolt out.

I ended up pulling the transmission out so I could get the broken bolt out. I also had a rear main seal and front transmission seal that were leaking so it made that decision a little easier. Anyways when I got to the point of installing the "new" reman'd starter it had a broken solenoid. So I had to make a 40 mile round trip to return it and get another one. If you have to buy a crappy starter get a crappy one with a good warranty!!

If replacing the starter on your van will give you piece of mind then go for it. Just be prepared for complications that might pop up during the replacement. Sometimes the simplest jobs can turn into one big nightmare!! And also get the best quality starter you can.

Oh yea keep your original too so you have the option of having it rebuilt down the road.