2001 Forester, 5-speed manual, 156k. This is my daughter's car. Last week, she complained her car was hard to start, like the battery was going bad, and had to jump start it a few times. I tested the battery and, sure enough, came back as bad. I tested the charging system, as well, and everything checked out fine, alternator putting out 56 amps at idle. I put a new battery in for her and the car turned over faster, but still seemed sluggish. This morning, I asked her how the car was, and she said the battery is doing ok, but the car still is slow to crank, but will start.

 

When I put the new battery in, I cleaned all the terminals before attaching them to the battery. Could the starter be on its way out and needing replaced shortly? She goes back to school next week and want to be sure the car is operating normally.

If you have a clamp on amp meter you can check the starting draw or you can remove the starter and truck down to your local advance or AutoZone and they will check it for you.  You will need to be there if it is bad for a replacement and the core charge will be taken care of as it will be with you. 

May I offer my $0.02?  Before I'd buy an aftermarket starter (new or "rebuilt") from a parts store, I'd pull the existing starter and take it to an auto-electric shop--get an honest evaluation and an estimate for fixing or replacing.  Or--go to a P 'n P and grab a decent looking used starter.

 

At any rate, good luck!  (And happy new year!)

Starter contacts are probably going out. They are easy to replace and are a common issue. Aftermarket starters suck in my opinion, I would have that starter repaired rather than replaced

^ What mikaleda said.  You can check the contacts and replace them yourself for just a few bucks.

Are you sure the new battery was fully charged, when installed in your car?? Put a battery charger on it, if you have one. See if it will take additional charge.

My starter did this after i replaced the battery and alternator. bad starter for sure. lucky for subaru a manual trans starter from an 80's model fits in my 96 impreza. I would guess it has a shorted armature: too much draw and not enough torque

Rooster, yes, battery was fully charged when installed. She's still having the slow to crank issue after a lot of driving for a few days. The alternator is putting a good charge to the battery, 14.2v when running.

What is it about the manual starter vs an automatic starter that's different? A manual unit is almost $30 more than an automatic unit.

re: starter solenoid contacts and plunger, I'm wondering if anyone has purchased these parts from nationsautoelectric.com? It looks like they have the parts for OEM Denso starters. A kit including contacts and plunger is $34.95 shipped.

 

Other suggestions would be to clean & tighten all of the positive and ground cable ends and attachment points, and consider the possibility of corrosion within the cables causing voltage drop. You could have a battery to starter voltage drop test done to rule out a bad battery cable before doing starter work.

 

Wondering if it's safe to completely rule out alternator problems even though you had the output tested? This time of year in a cold climate, lights are on, rear window defroster, etc, making it hard for a failing alternator to keep a full charge in the battery? Failing alts can be sneaky devils, as I've learned the hard way. But you did say that after the new battery was installed, it still seemed slow cranking, so maybe it is more likely a cable or starter solenoid contacts problem.

About the copper contacts:  You can get a set of new contacts for $15 or less on-line or at an auto-electric shop.  I've never bothered with the ring on the solenoid shaft--just clean up the face with fine wet-and-dry sandpaper.

 

One word of warning--there are numerous shapes and sizes of contacts.  It's a good idea to remove yours first so you can make a visual match with new ones.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'm going to look over her car this weekend and see if anything looks odd with the cables and/or grounds. Worse case, she gets to be without her car while dad fixes her starter. Who knows, maybe she'll want to get her hands dirty, too. She changes her own oil and filter :-)

Alright, you are now the proud dad of a Subaru owner. Welcome!

Oh, we have (3) Subarus in the family. Daughter's '01 Forester, better half's '99 Forester, and my '95 Impreza wagon.