While out of town (drove to KC from St. Louis) for the holiday, my '99 F350 PSD died. Here's what happened: Drove to KC (about 300 miles) on Tuesday night. Parked truck at in-laws until Sunday morning. Drove about 30 miles (round trip) to drop off large item for father-in-law (extra points from wife). Parked truck for about 1 hour. Drove about 10 miles (round trip) to run errand with wife. Truck parked for about 5 minutes in middle of errand. Drove back to in-laws with wife, but stopped at Taco Hell for quick bite to eat. In restuarant 20-30 minutes at most. Walk out to parked truck and turn key - zero. Get very depressed feeling. Wife says, "at least it is not raining/snowing/freezing, and we are not somewhere along interstate on way home" I say "and we are not stuck at your parents house" wife hits me in side of head.

Anyway, what gives? How can the starter just die like that with no warning? I know the batteries are good, as the dealer just tested them not two weeks ago in anticipation of winter weather and nearly 3-year age of batteries. All power options worked fine. When key was turned, only a slight "click" from passenger side of engine near fire wall. No continuous clicking - just silence after very faint single click. After scratching my head for 5 minutes, I called AAA and they sent the largest flat bed wrecker I have ever seen outside of a semi-wrecker. Two truck driver (very nice guy) asks me to try and start again to verify truck won't start. I oblige. Asks about power items to ensure not a battery problem. Then he takes a long screw-driver and shorts to bolts on what I believe is the starter solenoid (on outer side of engine bay on passenger side near fire wall - where single click noise sounded to be). When I crank, nothing happens.

Tow driver then crawls under car and beats on starter with a hammer while I turn key - almost starts the first try but no luck. Thereafter, with multiple additional attempts and beating on my poor truck, (and getting sparks from somewhere), nothing happens and he gives up and winches the truck onto the flatbed. I become concerned about low-handing trees . He tows me to nearest dealer and I wait for them to open on Monday. They tell me around 10 am today that it is the starter and it will be about $400 for the part - Yikes!

I next wonder about shopping around on-line for a cheaper and/or better starter but decide that would result in a longer stay with the in-laws. I bite the bullet and give the OK to the dealer. Truck should be ready tomorrow morning and I will let you know the total bill with labor and tax and ... and... and...

I'm still left wondering though
(1) is this normal for a starter to just die after the truck starts fine repeatedly and then sits for only 20-30 minutes? Isn't there some warning that the starter was on the way out? If it matters, it is the original starter and the truck has 113K miles and until recently, it normally was started on average 10-15 times each day.

(2) Does this price seem right for an OEM starter from the dealer?

(3) If I had the time, would I have been better of with an aftermarket starter or a rebuilt OEM starter from a price standpoint?

(4) Again, if I had the time, would I have been wiser to purchase a more powerfull starter from an aftermarket seller?

Thanks for any ideas (and sorry for the long post - I'm frustrated and stuck at my in-laws for two extra days).

 

My experience with starters is that they usually loose power before they quit. I've heard that you want to keep your batteries in top shape so your starter doesn't have to struggle. I've had the odd new one that only lasted a short time before quiting. I have no idea why but warranty replaced it anyway. Most starters I've replaced were with a rebuild of some nature, usually a high torque model.