Starter Replacement in 2012 Frontier

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MolaKule

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I just had my starter replaced in my 2012 Frontier with a Duralast starter.

Let's hope the Duralast outlasts the OEM part.
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The solenoid would pull in (you could hear the click) but no cranking.

Luckily it died in the driveway so the tow truck had no problem lifting it.

It is located close to exhaust parts and even though there are two heat shields, it must have become, "cooked."

BBQed starters don't look or operate so well.
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"Let's hope the Duralast outlasts the OEM part."

Never happen. OEM is best.

Dis you consider fixing it? Often simple and cheap.
 
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7 yr old original starter isn't awful. Have you turned the old in for core charge or are you gonna get it rebuilt?
 
Yes, they are rebuildable at home but only if the field winding insulation didn't get cooked and short which is very possible from what you describe. Armature winding are usually okay unless the commutator get damaged but that is replaceable too a simple growler test will check it..
 
iirc the contacts fail.
a set is $10 shipped.
easy to replace.
some just flip the main one over and use it up.
 
Good luck with the Duralast... had a customer in today that had their starter replaced a week ago with a white-box starter at another shop. Already junk.

I will only use one of those when the customer asks for the cheapest of the cheap. Otherwise, I go to my local rebuilder every time for starters and alternators.
 
Originally Posted by MolaKule
It is located close to exhaust parts and even though there are two heat shields, it must have become, "cooked."

Nothing grinds my gears more than short-sighted designs like that.
My Focus had the same issue but with the alternator mounted at the back of the engine, with the exhaust mani right below it.
Luckily I disposed of the car before it required replacing.
 
7 years isn't too bad IMO.

For sure they don't last as long as before, but like you say the location plays a big role...and new engines/cars with packed engine bay and high power density engines don't help.
My 23 and 21 yo Fiats have the starter sitting almost at the bottom rear of the engine, the diesel is still on the OEM Magnetti Marelli starter, but the Barchetta got a new Bosch starter recently.

The rebuilder told me it wouldn't have been worth a rebuild, now I'm unsure about that! The geared crown/pinion that engages into the flywheel (worry for bad English) was very worn out and they couldn't locate a suitable replacement.
 
Originally Posted by user52165
"Let's hope the Duralast outlasts the OEM part."

Never happen. OEM is best.

Dis you consider fixing it? Often simple and cheap.


I usually rebuild all of our starters and alternators, but in this case I needed to lift it high enough to remove all of those heat shields and have enough room for removal, but did not have the lifting capability so I had my mechanic change it.

BTW, this is a geared and rather small size starter with a permanent magnet field system. So it still has brushes to energize the rotating armature. It turned out the brushes were ok but worn, but the wiring in the armature had shorted.
 
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Originally Posted by Silverado12
I had a 1996 Chevy S-10 4 cyl that ate starters for the same reason. The exhaust manifold had to come off to access the starter.


I have a 1999 S-10 V6 that is on its second starter.
 
UPDATE: Well, the DuraLast reman didn't last long as it failed back in January.

This time I opted for a new starter and since the reman had a 2 year warranty on it it cost me $34,00 to get a new one.

The new starter spins faster and the engine starts within like 1/4 a second.
 
I put a Pep Boys Bosch reman in an old Camry. I then immediately put 12,000 miles on the car in 3 months from Ubering around with it.

That Bosch starter never skipped a single beat despite being a $120 reman. I must have started the car at least 10-15 times a day.

Toward the end I just started shutting off the car whenever possible, even if I had to jump into the gas station for a minute to buy a drink. Figured that I'd save some gas and I wanted to push the starter to the ragged edge.
 
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