I was wondering because after replacing an OE with a rebuilt I can't remember anything about the warranty or if it even has one.
Some of the OEs make it to over 200,000 miles. While others perhaps only ~150,000+ miles. I suppose the difference is how often the starter is used, length of cranking, battery power, hard starts, condition of wires for the starter, etc.
I still have the 1987 original starter out of my first XJ. I've swapped out the brushes a few times.
The vast majority of the time a starter fails, is something to do with the brushes. Either fair wear and tear, covered in oil or packed with mud. Mud and sand packed into a starter can wear the brushes down pretty quickly.
I rebuilt starters for a local Jeep parts supplier, kind of a basement type operation. But we sent starters all over eastern Europe, Russia. the middle east and Africa. The Mitsubishi/Bosch starter is pretty darned well designed.
I rebuilt hundreds, the vast majority of failures were brushes. An occasional bearing, Bendix burr, shorted winding or overrunning clutch. I can't remember ever having to change a solenoid that wasn't physically damaged. I have found a few full of rust.
Many times most of the rebuild is cosmetic, clean it, paint it, a new set of brushes, a dab of grease and we're finished.
If you want the starter to last, remember the fifteen second rule, never crank it more than fifteen seconds, let it cool for a minute or two, then repeat if necessary. If the motor doesn't start after fifteen seconds cranking, save your starter and find the problem.
Used to be you could get a brush replacement kit for $ 12-15 last I looked it was up to $35. Two of the brushes come with a mounting plate, the other two are loose. You can make do with four loose brushes, but the two brushes on the mounting plate are a (minor) pain to change, you can save some bucks reusing the mounting plate, but the brush springs can get weak with age (and heat). They redesigned the bearings about the time Chrysler took over Jeep, which was an actual improvement and not a way to save a few pennies.
which is not fun.
