Hi guys... thought I'd pick you collective brains and throw this question out to ya's.

The starter in my ute died yet again. I've already replaced the solenoid contacts about a month ago (after reading posts on here). Worked a treat until a couple of days ago. Now it engages into the ring gear and sorta turns the motor over but sounds awful. Then it just dies. No clicks or anything. I give the starter a smack with a BFH and all is good again for the next restart.

I've had the starter of to check the contacts and run it off the battery unbolted from engine. The starter pushes the sprocket out and turns, but gets progresively faster and faster. Then smoke comes out of it.

So... my question is are these things DIY rebuildable or is it something only a shop can fix?

Thanks guys