How many of the SC400 guys have had their starter die, and had to replace them?

Did you do it yourself, and if so, how much time did it take you?

Just curious as to how common of a problem it actually is on the 400's.

 

the problem is not that the starter frequently fails on a sc4, but when the 14+ year old starter fails, it's an adventure to replace.
not a fault of the starter, but the *wonderful* ideas of automotive engineers...

 

lol.. knock on wood I can't believe some genius decided to put a starter there.. lol.. I sure hope mine doesn't go out anytime soon but honestly pulling the intake mani isn't THAT hard, just an afternoon of work.

 

The sc4oo by design, is common for that. the powersteering pump pressure line usually gets a small leak ( pin hole size) not really enough to cause a problem with the steering but it leaks right on the alternator. eventually taking it out.

since most of these cars are 15ish years old that is common "now'

 

I bought my 400 with 200k on the odometer, it only had 2 main problems: a bad tranny mount and a starter that was making noises. I bought it without knowing how involved it was to replace the starter and my skill level is nowhere near what it needs to be to do that. All my buddies told me about a good shop in the area so I checked 'em out. I had to buy the parts and the guy quoted me a price of like $350 for labor and he'd have it back to me by the end of the day. And he promised me that the price wouldn't go up no matter what. He told me a bunch of cadillacs with v8's have the starters in the same location. But I paid his labor cost, it's my only car and it was more than worth it.

 

Right after I bought my "99 with 130k miles the starter went out. Luckily it was within the 3 day warranty I had and the dealership replaced it no charge. They probably blew their profit margin though, Kind of a lot of labor involved.

 

took me about 5 hours, if you are not experienced i would suggest to take it to a shop. I have heard of it taking 10+ hours for some people just depends on your experience level and tools. The reason that the starters are going out now is because they are 15 years old and have never been replaced, the heat from the motor keeps the starters good and that is why they last 15 years, for the most part. Any other car you will be replacing them every few years from my experience. If you replace it yourself be careful when you are down to the v of the motor that you do not drop anything down, could be a nightmare.

 

Its not a terrible job, it looks hard but once you start tearing it down its not bad. Also its not a common failure.