I believe the starter is bad on my Durango. It has either been turning over slow or sometimes I hear a click but the motor does not turn. Last night the click went away and nothing happened. I have searched the net and seem to find conflicting information. EHow has an article on replacing the starter that says it's on the passenger side. I have located some threads here that say it's on the driver's side, but those seem be for the 5.2 and 5.9 engines. I think I have located the starter on the driver's side at the back of the engine where it meets the transmission. Any help would be appreciated.

Also, it has been running a little rough and I am getting an error code for cylinder 8 missing. Could it be possible that the starter issue has caused problems with the electrical system so that the timing is not funtioning properly.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

It could be an injector plugging up a little, causing that misfire. I'm not that familiar with the codes these give...is it giving an actual misfire on cyl. 8 code? It could be a bad plug, wire or 'cap, too. Most of the time, when I get a misfire code on something I own, it's from bad/old gas, and a couple of bottles of injector clear it up pretty quick. Your mileage may vary.

As for the starter, yep, sounds like it's been going, and finally went. Again, not that familiar with these (yet), but replacing a starter usually isn't a difficult job at all. I'd search the forum here, someone has probably posted a step-by-step for it specifically. If you're not sure what a starter looks like, you should probably google "starter 4.7 durango" and get a good look at the part you'll be changing so you have a better idea of what it is you'll be doing.

 

Thanks. I have already looked up the starter at the parts store and it appears to be the same part I see on the driver' side of the engine. The Ehow article just threw me off. The threads I have found here seem to be for the larger engines and I wanted to make sure it was the same for the 4.7.

 

If you pay attention, and think your way through it, you probably don't need the article anyway. Just use common sense, and consider everything thoroughly before you turn wrenching. That (usually) keeps things from going wrong and costing you a bunch of money.

Having said that, it wouldn't hurt to find a service manual and follow the procedure while you do the job.

 

how is your battery? try jumping from another car see if it starts

 

Good idea, Monkey....I should've suggested the same, I guess I just assumed he'd ruled that out already.

 

+2 on the battery. They can cause all sorts of electrical mysteries, just like your truck has been possessed or something. Examples are, rough idle, hard starts, excessive alternator output, and if you have a 2002 bonneville the CD player will shoot cds into the back seat.

 

The FSM in the DIY section will answer the where it is and how to's.
The 4.7 is a cop engine(coil on plug),look at the wiring and make sure everything is intact...
+3 on the battery,they're so dependant on power supply,dirty terminals will make em run rough

 

+4 on checking the battery first, it really sounds to me more like a bad battery than a bad starter (especially the clicking when you turn to start following a time of slowly turning over)


if you do find that the battery is good check the 2002 service manual in the FAQ thread (its a pdf file you can dl) and look on page 332 the starter appears to be on the drivers side of the engine/transmission in the diagram.

 

That made me laugh. I was just wondering how long it took to diagnose that one