I have a 98 concorde lxi 3.2L it has 215,xxx mi on it without major issue, now the starting is hit and miss. I had the battery tested and replaced it upon recommendation (what a pain) and the starting issue is still there. When I turn the key you can hear the solenoid click but the engine wont turn over. Then at random after continuing to cycle the key it will catch and fire right up (the starter is not freewheeling though). After shutting down the engine it will fire right back up until it sits for a while then it does it all over again. Coincidentally it has been cold outside in conjunction with this issue, I don't know if it is related though. Obviously with this many miles, I dont want to dump too much money into it, even though it is still a nice riding and fuel efficient car.

 

When the problem happens, can you tell if there is a load on the starter? One way you can tell, is to turn on the headlites, turn the key to crank. If the lites stay bright and there is no starter action, you have an open circuit somewhere.

If there is a starter relay under the hood, you can do some testing from there. If you try any of this, make sure the tranny is in park or neutral and the e-brake is set. If you crank the vehicle with the tranny in gear, the vehicle will move, you don't want that.

 

I wonder if your flywheel is worn in that one spot.you do have alot of miles on it. this can't be the original starter ?moe