Sometimes long crank before start. New battery. Dealer checked battery and suggested replacing starter motor for $987.

 

i had that too and after procrastinating too long the starter quit.

If you're unable to replace the starter yourself, take the car to a good indy shop. They'll be cheaper.

 

Thanks for the info. Seems it’s about time to replace the starter then. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos in this. Seems not too difficult.

 

videos are good, but check member posts here for useful tricks and time saving methods. Lots of good info.

 

Does it only long crank when cold, does it start right away when only sitting for 20-30 minutes or so or does it only long crank if vehicle haven't been driven after a few days and how is the outside temperature? When the dealer said they checked the battery, what kind of result came out, was it just good and when was the battery last replaced?

 

You can bank on simple mileage, assuming typical trip length. If the starter has more than about 120k miles, it ought to be changed.

When it has the long crank, is it cranking slow?

A long crank when fast can be due to varnish on the intake valves making them stick when cold. Make sure you are using Top Tier gasoline, or pouring a bottle of Regane Complete in the tank once in a while.

 

thanks a lot for the notes. its long fast crank, not slow crank. can not see correlation with cold car or not.
It has 112k miles, mostly short trips. probably its time for new starter motor. 99% of time its using the Sam's Club 93 gasoline.
will perform the engine cleaning and start shopping for the starter motor. either FCP or Rockauto.

 

Just ordered the Bosch starter from Rockauto at $160. (FCP price ~ $210). Labor quote from a Indy shop (4.9/5.0 based on 300+ reviews): $450.

 

Thanks for the update, wish you success in getting this fixed! Please keep us posted but like you and others said, the starter was most likely the culprit so very likely this will do the trick.

 

Changing the starter won't break the bank, and you have used up most of its life anyway.

But brace yourself for the long crank not fixing the problem. You might check to see whether the Sam's gas is Top Tier.

I prefer to get cheap gas from high volume stations, so I go to Autozone and pick up Regane Complete. The research was not trivial, having to look at the Safety Data Sheets, but that is the product which I concluded had the best value for PEA, which is the ingredient in Techron.

If you buy over $20 at a time at Autozone, you get a freebie after five purchases. I get three bottles at $7.49 each.

 

just searched and will pick up Regane Complete at a local walmart

 

Autozone has the 12 oz bottle for $7.49 versus Walmart's 6 oz for $6.34. I believe they are the same product, as the SDS does not distinguish between bottle sizes. So you are getting the stuff at a 40% discount at Autozone.

Pricing on the fuel additives is all over the map. Basically they contain PEA and/or naphtha, with no apparent connection between quantity and price.

If in fact your valves are sticking due to varnish, it will take some time for the additives to clean off the varnish. I had to run a couple of tanks.

If you have a bidirectional tool, such as the Autel MP808 or DAS, you can run the "compression test" when the motor is cold. Uneven cold compression can be due to sticking valves.

 

thanks for the note. will stop by autozone then.

 

Picked up the two bolts on the starter and a nut for the heat shield at MB dealer.

 

Just got the starter replaced. Very happy with the results. Now the GL starts very quickly. The crank speed (rpm) increased maybe 60%. It took my mobile mechanic about 60 minutes. With Bosch starter $160 and Labor cost $140, it’s very cost effective.

 

That is awesome to hear glad it solved it for you thanks for your update, enjoy your car!

 

dude.

for that job, that’s a steal. Would have took me all day and lots of busted knuckles and vertebrae.

 

Yes although I watched several YouTube videos and kind of know the steps needed for the replacement, It’s still so convenient and relaxing to watched it done. The replacement went smoothly except for the step of putting the heat shield clamp back on the new starter. The two big starter bolt were torqued to 45 Ftlb. And no locktite was needed on those long bolts.