The alternator is charging, and the battery is good. I even swapped in another battery which i know is good to see if that would work. The car cranks extremely slow, and then picks up speed and the car starts. Doesn't matter if its hot or cold. The starter says re manufactured on it. I know where a 79 300sd in pick n pull is with a starter with only 70k on it (they put a sticker under the hood that says when it was replaced). Is that considered an old starter and is it even worth my time to go get it?

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1981 300SD 512k OM603

I don't know what car this is on, but on my 300SD the starter looked like a nightmare to get at. I can see why MB put the starter on the other side on the 603.

Considering how hard it is to get at, I'd get a Bosch rebuild. Or have a good local place rebuild it.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Do not condemn the starter until you have attended to the grounding and supply connections. Make sure that they can pass high amperage.

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Dionysius

imo, that job is fairly easy though a bit of a bear on the side of the road. I put a junkyard one in and had to change it a year later, then I dropped the $125 on a lifetime warranty one.

Those pick n pull prices sure are cheap though, plus you get the education of how to do the job. if you have the time...might be a good deal.

tip: have someone with you to gently rock the steering wheel (very carefully so you don't get pinched) while you work the starter out through, it is a real tight fit, and be careful that puppy is quite heavy.

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Think Alternative Energy!
300CD '80 (now gone but not forgotten...)

Caveat! I just noticed you are working on the SD, mine is the W123, yours might be different

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Think Alternative Energy!
300CD '80 (now gone but not forgotten...)

After you have cleaned up all of your cable connections and test the starter and you hare still having problems:
When the starter is removed take it and have it bench tested at Autozone or another parts place the will do it for free.
You might locate a a good price on a rebuilt before hand that is from a supplier who always has them in stock. Remove the old starter and take alook inside and see if the starter brushes are worn. If not worn out get the rebuilt and put it on. I the brushes are worn out replacing the brushes may fix the problem.
If you are able to remove the back of the solenoid (take pics or make a drawing for reassembly) and get inside; have a look at the contact points. When the contact points go bad the often work poorly when you turn the key until they get hot enough and burn anoth good contact area. Then making good contact the starter runs normally.
Most MOTOR hard cover type repair manuals (Libraries have them) have Unit Repair sections that tell you how to test the Starter Armature.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

removing the starter in the PnP is the way to go. NFW I'd buy a 'rebuilt' one when I could have the practice of removing one in the junkyard. Bring many ratchet extentions!!

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Cheers,
Robert

Its on my 300sd. Today i put the battery from my 30-0d in it, which i know is excellent. It still cranked really really slow then started moving fast. Then, i got in the car an hour later and started it, started on second crank just a tad slow. What the hell? This was still with the 300d battery. Im starting to suspect it is a loose connection somewhere between the battery and the starter because the problem gets worse and gets better (it got better a week ago then went sour again). On a side note, the battery is reading 12.80 volts with no load. At idle, 6.5 amps are flowing back into the battery from the charging system and when charging the system reads 13.8volts, 14+ under throttle.

I just finished this car about a month ago (engine swap) therefore i suspect i screwed up on a connection somewhere

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1981 300SD 512k OM603