TominPT

LAst December my '98 started showing the signs of a starter beginning to fail - turn key, no crank; try again, crank and start. It progressively got worse to the point that finally in early June it would not crank at all. Battery is new and fully charged. I checked the starter relay and it tested good. A local independent garage did the work but they were backed up almost 5 weeks to get an appointment, so I patiently waited. They put the new starter yesterday, charged 4 1/2 hours labor which I thought was very fair. I know that if I had attempted the job it would have been double that at least. Car is at 153,300 miles, which seems to be roughly when the original starters begin to fail so I knew this was going to happen eventually.

I drove my LS430 during the interim and now driving the LS400 for comparison, all I can say is both cars drive phenomenal, super quiet power train. The new Michelins on the '98 have really planted the car firmly on the road.

One of the members here, i think paulo, posted his experience with a new starter in a different "starter" thread which I found most helpful - thank you!