That actually bodes well. If the problem were worn spots on the flywheel teeth, it'd be unlikely to crank on the next try without you manually rotating the crank ~¼ turn (there are typically 2 worn areas on a 4-cyl flywheel, 180° apart).rrb6699 wrote:...it hits that dead spot, or so it seems, at least once, maybe 2 times. once when it was "stuck" as I let off the key I heard the starter partially spin. of course, it started next try...
If you care to look while the starter's out, go under with a flashlight and watch the teeth as a helper rolls the motor over by hand.
With the exception of automatic trans cars and some buses, ACVW starters rely upon an outrigger bushing pressed into a bore in the trans case. Best practice is to renew that when replacing a starter (in fact, Bosch won't honor their warranty if you don't) because if it's worn the armature can "pole" when current is applied ... it crashes against the field windings instead of rotating.
There're special tools for removing and installing the bushing, but a tap will extract it (you just tap threads through it and keep going, when the tap hits the engine case flange the bushing will walk out) and a big bolt with a nut threaded onto it ~¾" will suffice for a driver to install the new one.
New bushing or not, poke a fingertipful of grease into it before inserting the starter.
The self-supporting "automatic" starter will work in a 4-speed too - with one of those you needn't care about the condition of the bushing.
