It is quite common for a starter to act that way in that vehicle. What you can try if you have 2 people to get a hammer and lightly tap on the body of the starter while someone else is trying to start it. If the starter responds to that, you can bet it is bad.

If not, then you will need to test for power arriving at the small wire at the starter when the key is held in start position.

TESTING

These tests must be performed within a 3 to 5 seconds to avoid burning out the coil.

Pull-in

See Figure 1

1. Disconnect the field coil lead wire from terminal C.

2. Connect the battery to the magnetic switch shown in the diagram.

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Fig. 1: Connect the battery to the magnetic switch as shown here

3. Check that the clutch pinion gear moves in the outward motion.

Hold-in

See Figure 2

With the battery connected as in the picture and with the clutch pinion gear out, disconnect the negative (-) lead from terminal C. Check that the pinion gear stays in the outward position.

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Fig. 2: Connect the battery as shown here to test the hold-in windings

Inspect Clutch Pinion Gear Return

See Figure 3

Disconnect the negative lead from the magnetic switch body. Check that the pinion gear returns to the inward position.

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Fig. 3: Disconnect the negative lead from the starter as shown here

No-Load

See Figure 4

1. Connect the battery ammeter to the starter as shown in the illustration.

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Fig. 4: Make the connections to the battery, ammeter and starter as shown here

2. Check the rotation of the starter, it must be smooth and steady with the pinion gear moving outwards. Compare the ammeter reading to the starter specifications chart.