Starter issue

Even with freshly charged battery, starter labors when cranking. Sounds just like a weak battery but that's not the case. Always fearful it will leave me stranded somewhere. Car is a '99 and 50k miles. Are starters a common problem on these. Terminals at battery are clean and tite, how many other connections are there in cable feeding the starter, and what is the access to them like? Where is starter located on engine and is replacement a feasible DIY job? What about sources for replacement starter ?

You can get a brand new starter on Amazon or Pelican Parts. Here is a DIY article on starter replacement: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...EC-Starter.htm Bosch Starter SR0808N I would put the job at about a 4 out of 10 scale of difficultly. Some patience and a good tool set will help. Begin by disconnecting the battery! Good time to replace the oil filler pipe as well. And you will break the coolant plastic connector located next to the alternator. Replace that with two clamps, brass hose fitting and zip tie to the bracket. Good luck.

The starter could very well be the problem, but the "starter Y cable" is also a known weak point in the system. Corrosion of/in this cable or it's contact points will result in identical symptoms. It would be a good idea to check all the contact points and clean them up if need be, before you start buying parts - you may need a new cable as well... Good Luck

My '99 had the exact same behavior; sometimes it wouldn't even crank over the first time. I bought a remanufactured started on Amazon for about a hundred bucks; car cranks hard and fast now. If you DIY the starter, you're going to need a very odd assortment of socket extensions. The starter DIY seems intimidating; you'll have to remove the intake, throttle body, plenum, and some other odds and ends, but it's not actually a big deal. I could do it in an hour now; figure three hours for the first time. If I hadn't replaced my own starter, I would never have known the previous owner installed an IPD plenum. Maybe you'll find a hidden treasure too. I created a Starter DIY Tips thread to record some of the things I learned doing the DIY: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-diy-tips.html Once you have the new starter in, your mind will be blown and you will realize how poorly the car has been starting for a really long time.

Yeah, first time around I got a remanned Bosch starter. Thought that would be good to go. Blew the bendix in a little over a year. Wow did that thing make a noise on startup. Then got a brand new Bosch starter from Amazon. Delivered in a day. $215.43 Three years about now I think and still going strong. https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-SR0808N...ywords=sr0808n

Is this intended to imply that because one person had a poor experience with a remanufactured starter, they are all destined to fail prematurely?

LOL..ummmmmm....no. Because I have had many different cars, and have had to replace starters, notice my first choice was a Bosch remanned starter. Thought I was good on that and I really don't know what caused the bendix to break. I figured..Bosch...remanned by Bosch...good. But, in the end I dd not want a repeat purchase/repair job so I got a new one with a lifetime warranty (whose lifetime that is I don't know). Everything has a finite life, so just figured the brand new starter "might" last longer and did not want to repeat this crappy job.

Heh - I hear that - I just didn't understand if the assumption was meant to be "remanufactured=bad; new=not bad."

No implication or assumption...just sharing my experience with starters! Hell, I've pulled starters from the junk yard and had them work for a long time. So I'll blame my wife...she said "get the new one and preferably the Porsche OE one"....gotta love her.

Getting the "sure, spend more money" blessing is rare and awesome.