All, My 2003 Ranger with the 3.0L would not start yesterday. Here is the background story: My wife had been running some errands most of the day and after a couple of hours of sitting in the parking lot she came out to go home and nothing "she described it won't turn over but the dash-lights work" She called AAA and the battery tested fine but the AAA driver tapped on the starter and it started right up.

The truck has the original starter with 224K miles on it so I am not surprised that it is time for the starter to need help. I bet that starter is saying "I need a break I am not working for you whenever you need me anymore" :) Of course once she got home I was able to start the truck multiple times without any issues.

Any recommendation besides of course Motorcraft/dealer? Anyone can recommend a brand of starter to go with as a replacement that will be dependable, I hate to do the work twice? Anyone care to share some do's and dont's, some brands to stay away from, etc.......?

EDIT: Another thought is should I just replace the solenoid and not the entire starter, is there a way to check/test the solenoid by itself?

Thanks for your time!

 

Yes, reads like starter motor has gone bad

I just use local auto parts starter brand, but yes Motorcraft starter will have been tested by a live human being before its shipped so will be working

2WD is not too hard, 4x4s can sometimes be a bit harder

There are 3 bolts to remove, and one wire to CUT(maybe)
Unhook battery FIRST!!!!!
Block a tire, always, when working under a vehicle

The 3 bolts should be 13mm and are on the BACKSIDE of bellhousing, not on starter motor side
Loosen all 3 first, then remove them
Pull starter motor back and out to remove cable on the back of it

Positive battery cable, use 12mm

Now the activation wire usually needs to be cut as the new starter motor will have one attached with a ready to go crimp on end and heat shrink tube, so good to have a crimper and wire stripper handy, you can use cigarette lighter or matches on the heat shrink, just BE CAREFUL not to start a fire, lol.
Or you can try to use 10mm wrench to remove old wire and reuse it.

Put starter motors side by side, to make sure they match up

Clean positive cable end and activation wire end if you reuse it

I think the 3.0l used same starter motor for Manual Trans or Automatic, but many engines didn't so make sure, they have different nose section

 

RonD gave excellent info. Only thing I'd add is that when buying an aftermarket starter get one with a long warranty. Reason being... I used to be an engineer at a company that made aftermarket engine parts. And our "lifetime warranty" units had a high spec. So the parts were usually of higher quality as compared to re-man or lower length warranty.