[Crazy_pilot]

My car has been progressively getting less happy about starting over the last few months (it cranks very slowly, barely getting past the first compression). I changed the head gaskets in August but this was occuring before then. Initially I thought this was because the battery was not holding a charge, but I tried a new battery today and the situation is unchanged. How likely is it that the starter is getting weak and just can't turn the motor fast enough? My experience with starters is that they simply die. Either the solenoid takes a crap or the motor dies, but either way it's a quick affair rather than a slow gasping death.

Now that I think of it I'm also going to check the resistance on the starter cable, make sure it's sending current properly.