Oh, it's a near certainty it'll crank over easier w/ the PMGR starter, Even If The Cables Are Bad.
Because PMGR starter does Not have field coils; it requires considerably less current spin sbc up.
So don't let that fool you into thinking the cables Must be AOK. We cannot see thru the cable insulation and gage whether the conductor(s) are corroded; we can only see the conductor(s) at their terminals.
No I don't KNOW what good cables' resistance range is. Someone else might.
But, it's what's Inside that insulation that hides from us. Trust; but verify.
IIRC, SMP makes a good replacement cable; and SMP did make them for C3 (albeit for side-posts).
Today, I traced the battery cable back from the starter, to the battery. Yes, I understand that there is no way to look inside of the wires, rubber shielding to see exactly what shape it's in, but after 42 years of dealing with welding leads, most of the time, a bad cable, will be swollen where the bad spot is. Water gets in a small cut, or nick, and swells the cable, BC of the green oxidation that builds inside of the cable. If the cable it self has no swollen spots, chances are, it good inside of the rubber shielding. Before all of that thought, the ends are a good indicator of what shape the wire itself is in. If that wire looks good at the connectors, and the cable is still flexible, chances are, it is still in good condition. The next thing is, a bad cable, will be bad all of the time. It will overheat, and eventually fail. Next thing, when I looked at the starter, the rubber grommet, that the flat copper connector goes through, to inside of the starter, from the bendex, has cracks in it. Looking at that grommet, tells me that the starter could be an old starter. IMO, I think at this point, my best option is to go tomorrow and get a junk yard starter. Worse case, you are rite, and I have other issues, besides the starter. If the JY starter, fixes the issue, then good deal. When that starter quits, then I can get a better replacement for it, with the confidence that the rest of the system, is in good shape. A JY starter, is around $40. When I look at starter on line, they are all over the place on price, and dependability. The auto parts stores, are around $150, and up for a new starter, not a rebuild. This is the whole reason, I started this thread. I really would like to know, if anyone has swapped a starter from a 2000-2004 Silverado with a 4.3L. these starter are smaller than a 350 starter. My starter has the offset bolt pattern. So does the 4.3L starter. The JY where I'm going tomorrow is a very big place. Lot of vehicles to choose from. Probably 40 or 50 Acre's, IDK exactly. It's a big place, and everything is very organized. It's so big, that they even rent a golf cart to get around on, if you choose to rent one.