starter solenoid ??

[Alan Goettel]

A month ago I replaced my starter in my 86 911. The old starter would just click. My first mistake was not sending back the new starter which was delivered with a crack in the ceramic solenoid cap. At the end of a two day DE the car again would not start, and I discovered that the solenoid cap had vibrated to pieces. I tried to get a new cap or solenoid but was informed that Bosch does not make them available to protect the lucrative rebuild market. Can anyone confirm or deny this policy?

My supplier (which has always done me very well) offered to send me a new one and attempt to get Bosch to warrantee the rebuild, but we doubted this would happen as they would probably contend that the cap was damaged in shipping or installation. I did not crack it and the shipping cartons and packing condition make it likely that it was shipped with the crack, but as I doubted any warrantee outcome, my supplier tested my core solenoid an sent it back to me so I could send the new solenoid back as core.

I installed the solenoid and now the starter spins, but does not turn the engine. I suspect that I may not have correctly aligned the shaft at the bottom of the solenoid with the lever of the starter, the shaft is spring loaded and the bottom ring is offset. I would appreciate an insight into how this should be installed, or any tricks that I might have missed.

Thanks, Alan

[Early_S_Man]

Alan,

I don't recall anything special about the actuating lever or solenoid plunger rod ... however, I do always use a liberal amount of moly grease such as Swepco 101 or Valvoline SynPower Synthetic Grease with moly #985 or #986 on every part that moves!

Here are the disassembly diagram, labels, and notes ... for the 1.5 hp Bosch SR-68 starter: