Over the last few days I've had to turn the ignition twice to get the engine to go. I have also noticed that when it starts on different occasions it sounds like a hard start, other times its just very weak sounding. I hope it isn't my starter that is going bad. please help.

 

It could be a starter beginning to go but just as likely it could be a battery simply not putting out the amount of power that your truck needs for a good easy start.

How old is the battery in your truck and what brand is it?
You should also check to be sure that both your battery cables are clean and tightly connected. Corrosion on the terminal connectors can cause insufficient power to be able to be drawn from the battery.

 

foremost thanks for the quick repply. I just bought the truck with 85k so I really don't know how old the battery may be. it seems to still hold good, it is a duralast gold. I'm gonne check the battery cables again but I doubt it since I just got the whole engine steam cleaned and the battery terminals looked good last time I checked. if it does turn out to be the starter how much are we talking to replace it and more important is it easy to replace? I just bought the truck so Im super broke on money and this is the last thing I need going bad NOW...

 

The last one that I bought for one of these trucks was about $150. That's a bit pricey for a repair on a maybe. However you can pull it off and get it tested at most auto parts stores for free.

First thing would be to get the battery tested to make sure it is putting out the right amount of amps for it's rating. Those autozone duralast battery's are pretty cheap and don't tend to last long. Not to mention that the autozone guys seem to like to sell underpowered batteries and batteries that have been sitting on a shelf for a long time.
If the cranking amp rating is to low for your vehicle it can cause hard starts and drastically reduce the life of your battery as well.

The starter is not an overly difficult repair but on some years/models getting the old one out of the hole can be a bit of a chore once the bolts are removed.

The trick on these tight squeeze ones is to disconnect all the cables first and then the bolts. After that you need to tip the starter up into the engine compartment so that the back end is facing you as you are under the truck. Then you need to rotate the starter until you get the exact angle that allows the mounting bracket to slip through the hole. There will literally not be a millimeter of space to spare if it's an OEM starter and it only comes out in one direction so there will be a lot of playing around to get it at just the right angle.

The good news is that the after market starters are shorter and narrower and will slide right in without any trouble at all.

 

I did my research today and downloaded a bunch of diagrams on taking down the starter and it doesn't seem too hard, but it aint that easy either. as for the battery I'm gonne get it checked out for the right voltage tommorow but probably not at autozone considering what you said. what kind of battery would you recommend? if it was the battery that is causing the problem...sears brand die hard? looks like I will have to drop some money into this after all

 

Good and bad news. I took the battery to kragen to get it checked out, they told me it was faulty. So I bought a new one hoping this would solve the ignition problem, well, it didn't I guess it will be the starter afterall. just thought I'd let you guys know. thanks for the help

 

Just be sure to get that old starter tested before you drop the money on a new one. The problem could still lie elsewhere.

 

Well its been a few months and I finally got fedup with the ignition troubles. I am going to finally change the starter. However, I looked into buying one from ebay, they are just cheaper and come with a 1 year replacement warranty, anyone here had any luck buying from ebay? any links on how to remove the starter? I figured I'd take it in to get it tested before purchasing a new one, thanks in advance guys!/gals!

 

My truck was doing the thing where it would take two turns to actually start, it stopped doing this after i replaced the fuel pump and fuel filter...

 

It's very unlikely your starter is the problem..

Did you clean the battery connectors really good with a wire brush??? A new battery is useless if the the connectors aren't shiny with no corrosion. If it cranks really slow, it's probably an electrical issue between the starter and the battery (loose/broken/corroded wires).

Maybe cap&rotor or fuel issue. Cap&rotor is a good place to start.