Hi-torque starter motors

[OneOff]

It's going to cost me around $300 to rebuild my old starter motor. I can get a brand new hi-torque number for $395 + freight.

Which way would you go??

[grey_ghost]

If time is an issue - then I'd buy the new one and keep the old one as a spare. Repair it when time/money permits.

If time isn't an issue - then I'd repair the old one.

I've found lately that the original parts just can't be replaced reliably with new ones... That's just my experience though.

Cheers,
GG.

[gromit]

No experience but the hi torque starters tend to be Nippon Denso so a bit better quality than the Indian replacements that are on the market.Land Rover (http://www.britishstarters.com/Land_Rover.html)

$300 for a rebuild sounds expensive but if you are paying an auto electrician I guess it's the hourly rate that bumps it up. Most times I've fitted a bush ($10-20) and a set of brushes ($20ish) so it will depend on what's exactly wrong with yours. Most parts are available so as long as the armature, commutator & coils are OK the rest is fairly straightforward.

Colin

[1950landy]

We use a Hi Torque starter on Jaguar race car so mostly only gets used once a month at race meetings usually 4 races for weekend , a few other starts loading & unloading the car on trailer & when doing maintenance. Had 3 start motors in last 7 years . They have solenoid problems were contacts burn away & get hard scale on them & is cheaper faster to buy a new one than to have repaired. We were told that we needed to make sure the batters was fully charged all the time . We kept using then because of the size & weight . We always have as spare at a race meeting.

[OneOff]

Hmmm... that doesn't sound so good. I just put the money down for one of those on Gromits link.

Ah well... I'll keep you posted.