skaterray

This part was $13. Installed it this morning and it works like new again. They don't carry solenoid rebuid kits at any of the major auto parts stores anymore, I checked. They are more than happy to sell you a rebuilt starter for $200 or more though. I hate to think what the dealer wants.

Since I could'nt find this info anywhere else on the web, I joined this group just to use the search function, but nothing here yet either. Here's what I ended up doing. I limped it along on the start every 4th try after spinning routine for a few days, but I don't recommend it. Using a internet pictrure search, I found one that looked like it was right size and length and ordered it by sight. None of the sites had dimensions listed for the part, just enter your vehicle info and yes or no. This one ended up being for a Toyota but the contacts that came with it do not fit the Subaru solenoid shaft, they're offset slightly.

So the wife's 1997 Legacy wagon with over 250K had an intermittent starting issue that was getting progressively worse. New ignition switch, battery and cables, so that pointed to the starter solenoid as the issue. I ordered a rebuild kit for my make model and year but here's the problem. The Nippondenso starter on my car had a solenoid plunger that was longer than the ones listed. The plunger is as long as the rest of the body at 2 11/16", the one's that are supposed to fit are an inch shorter. I went ahead and installed it, but now the starters spins freely for about 3-4 tries before it catches and starts the car. Anyone else run into this problem? Can't find anything about it on the web. Thanks for your help.