Stick with OEM Starter as Replacement?

Usually a starter gives some warning before it quits. At that mileage and it's working fine, good to go I think. I'd take a look at the fan belt and that little tensioner pulley though.

mjgirard said:

I have the same situation. My 2001 Tahoe starts fine and runs great, it has 127000 miles. We are planning on taking a weeks vacation to the mountains of NC then visiting relatives in Wilmington on the coast. Should I replace the starter now or take the chance?
Does any one else have a 2001 that still has the original starter? I will use OEM if I do replace it.

Thanks for the advice.

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I never had to change the starter on my 00 I sold it with 324k on the clock

I changed my OE starter with 150k miles on it. It was fine but I had money for a GM starter and sold the used one and I was going on a 5k mile trip. Likely would have been ok but I am a thousandaire and felt like it.

mjgirard said:

I have the same situation. My 2001 Tahoe starts fine and runs great, it has 127000 miles. We are planning on taking a weeks vacation to the mountains of NC then visiting relatives in Wilmington on the coast. Should I replace the starter now or take the chance?
Does any one else have a 2001 that still has the original starter? I will use OEM if I do replace it.

Thanks for the advice.

Click to expand...

I'd stick with "if it ain't broke don't fix it." If you are really concerned, take something you can whack the starter with if it acts up. That should work well enough to get you through to a replacement -- when needed.

Keep in mind your vehicle is likely 25 years old. Get in there to replace the starter, and no telling what can break during that repair. I do suggest checking your water pump, specifically, the "T" for your heater at the firewall, all your fluids (change if necessary, top off otherwise), all your belts and tensioners, your tires (wear and air pressure), and your brakes.

These are just good things to check in general, but especially before a long trip.

S33k3r said:

I'd stick with "if it ain't broke don't fix it." If you are really concerned, take something you can whack the starter with if it acts up. That should work well enough to get you through to a replacement -- when needed.

Keep in mind your vehicle is likely 25 years old. Get in there to replace the starter, and no telling what can break during that repair. I do suggest checking your water pump, specifically, the "T" for your heater at the firewall, all your fluids (change if necessary, top off otherwise), all your belts and tensioners, your tires (wear and air pressure), and your brakes.

These are just good things to check in general, but especially before a long trip.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I replaced anything to do with and including the water pump in April along with the heater Ts. I also replaced the radiator in April and put on new battery cables before our summer vacation trip to Upstate New York.

The starters nowadays are gear reduction so they just dont see as much back pressure on their rotors like the starters of the early 90's and before which most did not have gear reduction, yet they still lasted a long time but you usually had to replace the starter back then atleast once during ownership of a vehicle if kept for a decent amount of time. But back in the 70s and 80s it was very cheap to get a replacement or even rebuilt at a local rebuild shop that did alternators and starters. I sure remember those days. You could also have your radiator which didnt have the plastic tanks that exist today rebuilt economically. There were actually shops that rebuilt carburetors too but those of course went away after the proliferation of fuel injection. Now we got cheaply made radiators, alternators that are expensive and hard to disassemble to the average DIY'er and starters that can be hard to get parts for and even 4 wheelers have fuel injection now.