318SixPack

My original apparently died of natural causes around 2007. Oil leak from the last sending unit was the probable cause of failure last year. Some might be surprised at how much of your engine compartment can get covered in oil and dirt from that (all of it). But, that leak out the end of the sender seemed to be shooting the oil straight at the starter. A local place rebuilt it and has been going fine since.

Anyway, I can't find any issues now. It had a couple of slow starts, kind of a partial turn, stop, then wound up and started. Checked electrical terminals and it seems fine, starting fine too. Was thinking maybe there is a bad spot in the armature that is waiting to bite me.

NM-XJ

Yours or mine? Mine was 100% a leaky filter adapter - it runs right down the bottom of the filter and straight onto the solenoid. New starter doesn't have a drop of oil on it now.

cruiser54

It is so easy to disassemble one of those starters and blow it out with BrakeKleen and put it back together. Done it numerous times and never had the same starter fail again.

NM-XJ

I tried that and it lasted another couple weeks, then completely died. Did a second disassembly and cleaning to no avail.

In a similar vein, an effective trick from the Lionel toy train crowd is to clean the brushes with a gum rubber eraser and some isopropyl alcohol. Do the commutator in a similar manner, but also pick out all the gunk from between the commutator bars with a toothpick. Really makes a noticeable difference.

cpttuna

Oil leaking from the adapter is not good. I Cut up an old tractor tire tube an put a good thickness between the oil filter and the starter. It helps divert oil if there is a leak

Ralph77

Mine. At least that was my guess cause it was really grungy.
Cause that is one thing about my XJ. Best I can tell I have no leaks of any sort.
So I just figured it was from getting doused with oil from removing the filter during an oil change.
I just put a couple rags over the starter when changing the oil to keep that from happening.

awg

I agree with above

My "Made in China" Delco-Remy is more than 3 times as expensive on Ebay than other brands.

In general, best to stick with a name brand, or most convenient exchange, but you can get unlucky

I have stripped down many old starter motors, including some XJ, the points within the solenoid can become burned, think that part may even be available separately

dzywicki

I have two XJs (98 and 99). I have been buying parts from NAPA for both vehicles primarily due to the warranties that NAPA has. Most major parts like starters and alternators are lifetime. I have had to return a couple of things after a few years and got them replaced with no hassle. I have used their lifetime warranty on a starter for my 99. Just bought a steering gear box for my 99 from NAPA too. It's BBB and has a lifetime warranty + AAA discount.