Replacement Starter Preferences?
 

1996 XJ 359,000 miles manual 4.0L

Sounds like my starter is acting up again (maybe, going to be checking connections tonight). Has been replaced once, rebuilt once and not real sure how well that rebuild job went, beyond $175 price.

Noticed the selections on Rock Auto all sound reasonable. Anybody have good/bad experiences with AC Delco reman or new (almost the same price)? Bosch or Denso (only reman listed)?

Who knows anymore? I would hope you could trust the name brands. Don't buy anything Cardone. Junk.

I purchased a still in box AC-Delco that a Jeep mechanic had spare for his vehicle, but he had sold the vehicle and was clearing his spares

"Dont buy any Chinese junk" was his warning.

When it turned up in the mail, it had "Made in China" on the box, (even though it was a few years old)

have not yet fitted it, so cant comment directly on its longevity

My point exactly.

My advise, if it's spray-painted black, don't buy it. Some of these rebuild companies throw in a new set of brushes and ship it. When we put my rebuilt motor in, we put in a new Denso that was black on the housing, but the castings looked brand new. Not pitted at all or painted.

I put a brand new Napa one in my '00 about 5 years ago I think.
Been OK all this time. Comes with a lifetime warranty so there is that.
Was pretty expensive but I work there so it lessened the blow. LOL.
Assuming I am looking this up right yours is pretty cheap by comparison

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NNE4...ndex=Universal

Was actually kind of surprised by the pricing.
Buyer's Guide says '87 to '98.
Guessing it is the wiring harness in the Jeep that makes it different then '99 to '01.

Yeah, I've used NAPA starters in the last two XJs and they've been fine so far

Not sure who remanufactures the NAPA units but I've had great luck with them. I definitely prefer the NAPA reman's over a new aftermarket starter. The new ones tend to fade much quicker than the OE reman and man, the NAPA units get the motor firing fast!

Interesting. That is about $30 more than a reman Denso unit at RA. But if it comes to that and I do this one myself, they have a warehouse right down the street from me. However, everything seems ok. At least I didn't find anything wonky and it started fine every time after I made that post.

I put a new Duralast Gold starter in about 5 years/20,000 miles ago. I'm not going to say it's a quality part - the fit and finish is "meh" compared to the OEM unit. But it's been reliable so far and keeps chuggin'.

Though, my starter's death was premature due to oil saturation from a leaking filter adapter. Fixing that leak likely increases the life of any starter below it.

Denso reman

If you find an auto store with a comparable price I'd have them bench test the starter before you purchase it. I had a bad one right out of the box. And if they have a warranty it'll be alot easier to deal with then rockauto.

Being saturated in oil from oil changes, not a leaky filter adapter, over 15 years is why I think what I am guessing was the original one crapped out.

This is one of the reasons that certain things I only by from my store. Just easier to deal with a warranty situation if it comes up. Even though I do pay more.
When I needed an alternator I would have bought a new of those too but only remaned ones were available. But we do sell new starters still which is why I decided to go new on that.

Almost everything is made out of the united states. The Chinese will make whatever the purchaser asks for, to their specs. If the Chinese stuff sucks it's because the company cheaped out on their specs. When someone says "Chinese junk" they should say "Designed in America to maximize profit junk".

Just get whatever has the best warranty and is the most convenient to get replaced if it wont start one morning. That being said mine is from NAPA because there is a NAPA 1 mile from my house.

I will be the first to admit that Napa can be a little pricey.
But like I said. $112 for a brand new starter for your Jeep seems pretty cheap to me.
And no core charge. LOL.