anyone have experience with the "Tough One" starters?

[heartless]

starter crapped out on my 95 Legacy with 215K - no warning signs at all - worked fine one day, dead the next - nothing but a click when I turn the key.

 

swapped in the one from my old 90 Legacy, and it works - for now - but it also has high miles on it - over 230K - so who knows how long it will last.

 

Advance Auto Parts has a "Tough One" reman unit for $80 with a $20 core charge.

Anyone have any experience with these?

 

I dont have the time to deal with trying to rebuild - have way too many other things going on.

 

would rather just put in a "new" one and be done with it.

Edited September 15, 2014 by heartless

[idosubaru]

auto store electrical parts are often low grade compared to OEM - alternators, starters, and fuel pumps i try to avoid at all costs.

"Life Time Warranty" is a scary term on these.   

 

after typing this, i searched for "tough one starter reviews" and found plenty of failed starters.  of course "at home" diagnosis and repair is often suspect so who knows if/what that means, but i'm not surprised.

 

there's not much to a starter when compared to the pump and alt, so maybe not a big deal.

 

how about a low mileage used one?  www.car-part.com or one of the fine parter-outers on here or another subaru forum? 

they fail so rarely i never bothered keeping them when parting out, there is zero demand.

 

i would guess there's no significant difference between "new" aftermarket and a low mileage used OEM in terms of reliability and longevity. 

 

that being said, of the three items i would be much less concerned about a starter.

[heartless]

Thanks Gary.

 

as for using car-part.com - not real practical in this instance - not much for junkyards near me, most are 1-1/2 to 2 hours away or more. (the few that are close tend to send older stuff to the crusher rather than part them out)

 

an OE replacement is nearly $200 (plus shipping costs) - my bank account just cant afford that.

 

Of the 10 reveiws on the AA website for the one I am looking at - 9 people were happy with it, only one wasnt - I know the aftermarket stuff isnt always of the best quality, which is why I was asking iof anyone had any experience with this part.

[idosubaru]

T

 

as for using car-part.com - not real practical in this instance - not much for junkyards near me, most are 1-1/2 to 2 hours away or more.

 

they all ship now, i have no idea how many parts i've had shipped from junkyards on there.

 

probably be fine - i'm sure most are good. first review i found showed 3 failed starters, but other reviews look better.

[Stevo F]

I would avoid places like Advance Auto or Autozone for electrical (especially remanufactured) parts. I usually order stuff like that from Rock Auto (many difference decent brands available and reasonable prices). 

[1 Lucky Texan]

you can get contacts and plungers in rebuild kits.

[Fairtax4me]

Pull the cover off the back of the solenoid and check the contacts. Those wear out all the time and cause exactly this problem.

[Olnick]

Heartless--if you've already swapped out the old starter, you've already done 90% of the work!  Do what Tex & Fairtax suggest.  Just open up the back of the solenoid housing, pull the plunger and check the contacts.  You can get reasonably priced contacts online or often at a local auto-electric shop.  Good luck!

[1 Lucky Texan]

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/119952-refurbish-93-legacy-starter-motor-commutator-contacts/?hl=starter

 

 

Edited September 15, 2014 by 1 Lucky Texan