Re: starter

[Raffi Tomassian <tomassian@glaserworks.com>]

Mike,

I had the same problem 3 wks ago.  Almost willing to bet you need a new
(rebuilt) one.  When I took mine apart I found there is a plastic gear in
it which had broken to 137 pieces and as a result broken the magnet parts
too.  The whole thing was unusable.  A rebuilt starte should be no more
than $110-120/exchange.  A new one will go $190-220.  The initial problem,
I believe was caused by a fallen shim which caused it to rotate
excentrically.  Otherwise the solenoid was fine.

I and a friend couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the plastic inside an
instrument that is supposed to turn the engine!  Made me a little suspicios
of German technology for the first time.  This almost cries "Built to last
80 000 miles so you can buy our expensive parts."  I can't figure out what
in it is worth $220.

HTH
Raffi


>went to start up my 86 5kcdtq on the weekend....yuck...loud squealing noises
>from the starter. the car did start almost immediately and ran well. i just
>drove it inside the barn and jacked it up to pull the starter. wouldn't you
>know it...a seal went on my floor jack!! borrowed my sons "toy" floor jack
>and got it high enough to put my axle stands in. blocked the rear wheels and
>crawled under. the starter came out easy enough. (i did disconnect the
>battery) along with a few metal scraps. i clamped it onto my 6" bench vise,
>connected the spare battery and ran it... yikes! it sounded even louder out
>of the car. i crawled back under and checked the flywheel...whew, no damage
>there.
>        so my question to the group is...what parts are available to rebuild
>my starter? i'll pull it to pieces today and take a look. it appears that
>the drive pinion or the drive mechanism has siezed to the shaft. i should
>replace the solenoid too. btw it has never before given any hint of noise or
>impending problems, and the car always started within a couple of seconds.
>
>tia
>
>mike
>86 5kcdtq
>84 5ks
>84 5ksw