Possibly the starter but want more opinions.

[NotQuik]

Long story short the car has sat for the last 2 1/2 months due to a broken trans...I did a 3650 swap (hate me now but it's all good) and got the car running and been driving it all week no issues (80 miles a day to work). My wife and I drove it about an hour away yesterday so I can get some parts for my 4 wheeler then afterwards I went to start it so we could go home and got the notorious clicking from the starter it sounded like. I turned the key about 10 times and it ended up turning over. I had to get gas and we stopped for lunch on the way home and it did the same exact thing both times...after I would turn the key so many times I would finally crank instead of click. Sounds like the solenoid or starter is starting to stick or maybe something else I'm not aware of on the 96+? Any thoughts? Battery is new and terminals are tight, it has no issues cranking at all once it finally decides to. These cars don't have a starter solenoid do they?

This is in my 96 BTW.

 

[wmburns]

For a no crank symptom, one possibility is the anti-theft system (PATS). For the 1996-1998 Model Year, PATS disables the starter. This gives a NO crank sympton when activated.

PATS on the 1999-2004 MY disables fuel and spark. This gives a crank with NO START.

For the 96 MY, if the starter does not make any sound at all, it could be PATS, or the neutral safety safety switch, or blown fuse, or a bad ignition switch.

I gather from the post that the starter DOES make a sound when the key is turned. So it is more likely your problem is the starter itself (yes the solenoid is built into the starter).

All of this assumes that the battery is good and the cables are clean and tight. Further that the fuses are all good.

 

[NotQuik]

OK, thank you for the reply. No corrosion on the battery cables and they are tight, the car cranks fine. I drove it to work today and then to lunch and it started fine each time. I guess i'll just keep an eye on it because saturday it seemed fairly consistent when it wouldn't start then after so many tries it finally would.