Looks like I am going to need one very soon. I thought I would check with the gurus here first. I have had terrible luck with autozone and other parts store parts like this. They give a good warranty and are cheap but their stuff never holds up anywhere near as good as the OEM parts. I plan on driving the truck into its grave so I dont want to mess with this again anytime soon. Should I just go ahead and bite the bullet and get one from my GM dealer? I appreciate any imput here.
Replacement starter for GM 4.3
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I would go OEM. Aftermarket starters are always a [censored] shoot. Last year I bought a new Napa starter for my Jeep ... it did not work. I returned it for another new starter from Napa and it too did not work.
I ended up buying the cheapest from Advance and it seems to be working still.
I have not stepped foot in a Napa since
I ended up buying the cheapest from Advance and it seems to be working still.
I have not stepped foot in a Napa since
I have bought autozone starters and alternators in the past and just had horrible luck with them. Get maybe a year out of them and then they quit again. The cheap price lured me in and I took the bait. I need to check the prices I guess.
Every time I've put in a starter from AAP I go through two or three within the first month. I'd probably spring for OEM at this point.
Originally Posted By: cchase
Every time I've put in a starter from AAP I go through two or three within the first month. I'd probably spring for OEM at this point.
+1
Mine no-started twice.. It's weird.
I got it from AAP..
Who knows what other store's starter would have done!
Every time I've put in a starter from AAP I go through two or three within the first month. I'd probably spring for OEM at this point.
+1
Mine no-started twice.. It's weird.
I got it from AAP..
Who knows what other store's starter would have done!
I wonder why so much problems with rebuilt units ? You would think they would step up testing these before they go out the door . It isn't rocket science to rebuild a starter or even an alternator .
My brother just purchased an OEM, ACDelco, starter for his '96 S-10, 4.3. He got it from Rockauto.com. It was advertised as new, not remanufactured, and was about ~$10 cheaper, even with the core charge, than AAP's cheapest offering. It really opened his eyes to online auto parts resourcing. We installed it and it took all his troubles away. I would definitely recommend.
Napa has theirs rebuilt in china now. Absolute garbage! Take it to a local rebuilder and have him fix it.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Napa has theirs rebuilt in china now. Absolute garbage! Take it to a local rebuilder and have him fix it.
And just when I think NAPA has good parts, or the best ones to justify their prices...
Napa has theirs rebuilt in china now. Absolute garbage! Take it to a local rebuilder and have him fix it.
And just when I think NAPA has good parts, or the best ones to justify their prices...
Originally Posted By: ram_man
Rebuild the one you have with good parts and save some money to they aren't to hard to rebuild. Just my opinion though.
Good parts is apparently the problem. I was talking with a couple of rebuilders who told me even quality brushes are scarce these days, its mostly all Chinese rubbish parts.
Bosch, Denso and other brand names can source the parts in house but for the independent they are too expensive and would drive the cost up to almost new.
IMO i would consider OEM, Bosch or Denso new or rebuilt units, i don't know about AC Delco these days, they were good but i haven't used one in years.
Stuff from AA, AZ, Napa, Cardone seem to be hit and miss.
Rebuild the one you have with good parts and save some money to they aren't to hard to rebuild. Just my opinion though.
Good parts is apparently the problem. I was talking with a couple of rebuilders who told me even quality brushes are scarce these days, its mostly all Chinese rubbish parts.
Bosch, Denso and other brand names can source the parts in house but for the independent they are too expensive and would drive the cost up to almost new.
IMO i would consider OEM, Bosch or Denso new or rebuilt units, i don't know about AC Delco these days, they were good but i haven't used one in years.
Stuff from AA, AZ, Napa, Cardone seem to be hit and miss.
I work for Napa. The rebuilt line of starters & alternators are not rebuilt in China. They are supplied by BBB Industries. The car units are rebuilt in Reynosa, Mexico and Sparta, Tennessee. The HD units(truck & ind) are rebuilt in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Most Napa stores can special order a rebuilt unit from Wilson (BBB owns them) that is rebuilt in Winnipeg. Very HQ rebuild but 20 to 100% higher cost than the standard rebuild units.
The new units are made in China. This is true for Advanced, Oreilly etc. AC Delco is not OEM GM. AC Delco is a reboxer they no longer make or rebuild anything. They buy from various suppliers. We do have a lower return rate on rebuilt units vs new.
I will agree that the overall quality could be better but there is a price point that has to met. If our unit is 20% higher, most consumers are unwilling to pay for a better product.
Most end users end up fixing the symptom and not the basic problem. For example, most alternators fail due to another problem in the electrical system i.e. shorts, bad connections, old batteries. Most people just replace the alternator and then blame the unit when it fails again.
Have the store bench test the unit before you leave the store. We test all when they come in and all when they leave.
Dave
The new units are made in China. This is true for Advanced, Oreilly etc. AC Delco is not OEM GM. AC Delco is a reboxer they no longer make or rebuild anything. They buy from various suppliers. We do have a lower return rate on rebuilt units vs new.
I will agree that the overall quality could be better but there is a price point that has to met. If our unit is 20% higher, most consumers are unwilling to pay for a better product.
Most end users end up fixing the symptom and not the basic problem. For example, most alternators fail due to another problem in the electrical system i.e. shorts, bad connections, old batteries. Most people just replace the alternator and then blame the unit when it fails again.
Have the store bench test the unit before you leave the store. We test all when they come in and all when they leave.
Dave
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I have a rebuilt starter from AAP (What they call the toughone with the lifetime warranty not the driveworks one) on my GM 5.7 (1994 C1500) that I installed 11 months ago. No issues so far. I also have three of their lifetime warranty rebuilt alternators ranging from two years to fours years old that have not had any problems.
Maybe I am just lucky but so far I have had good luck with AAP rebuilt electrical components. Again I am not referring to the driveworks line.
With their on-line codes the price was good also.
I have seen positive reviews for starters and altenators from DB Electrical but have never personally used one. Just another option.
Maybe I am just lucky but so far I have had good luck with AAP rebuilt electrical components. Again I am not referring to the driveworks line.
With their on-line codes the price was good also.
I have seen positive reviews for starters and altenators from DB Electrical but have never personally used one. Just another option.
The NEW Remy starters from either Rock Auto, or Amazon (if you can find them on there) are/were the OEM for GM, and they are only a little more coin than the Sino junk from the chains (sometimes even less!).
My original, factory installed starter from them lasted ~14 years, and ~160K miles of abject torture, so I went for another Remy when I busted the terminal cap of the solenoid of the original when I was removing the starter for a crank position sensor change.
Although they are screwed together in Mehico, the techs at Remy assured me that they have some very gung ho, AMERICAN quality control managers/overseers/supervisors at that plant, and they DO have a limited LIFETIME warranty, as long as the vehicle it is installed in is not used for commercial purposes.
My original, factory installed starter from them lasted ~14 years, and ~160K miles of abject torture, so I went for another Remy when I busted the terminal cap of the solenoid of the original when I was removing the starter for a crank position sensor change.
Although they are screwed together in Mehico, the techs at Remy assured me that they have some very gung ho, AMERICAN quality control managers/overseers/supervisors at that plant, and they DO have a limited LIFETIME warranty, as long as the vehicle it is installed in is not used for commercial purposes.
Depending on the part, I'm a big proponent of junkyard parts for all kinds of stuff. Depending on the car (how easy or har dit is to get to) I'd even consider a junkyard starter. Truthfully - an older FACTORY starter may very well be in better shape and still last longer than the junk you'll get at the parts store,a nd the questionable product you'll get labeled as OEM. Sometimes I have a hard time beleiving AC-Delco is OEM stuff, because even I know that half of GM's electrical stuff now is Delphi.
Originally Posted By: KenO
Sometimes I have a hard time beleiving AC-Delco is OEM stuff, because even I know that half of GM's electrical stuff now is Delphi.
But guess what, that Delphi stuff is what I HOPE is under the AC Delco name/label, since the vast majority of it is sourced from the U.S., or Canada, whereas the AC Delco crank position sensor I just put in clearly has "Made In China" printed right on the plastic bag.
Besides, Delphi always was, and continues to be the actual OEM/factory installed manufacturer of components (along with Remy), for GM.
Sometimes I have a hard time beleiving AC-Delco is OEM stuff, because even I know that half of GM's electrical stuff now is Delphi.
But guess what, that Delphi stuff is what I HOPE is under the AC Delco name/label, since the vast majority of it is sourced from the U.S., or Canada, whereas the AC Delco crank position sensor I just put in clearly has "Made In China" printed right on the plastic bag.
Besides, Delphi always was, and continues to be the actual OEM/factory installed manufacturer of components (along with Remy), for GM.
We have been using REMY brand remans for about five years at work and really only had one problem in that time which is excelent overall.
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