Mini starters ??

[kmhemi]

I found some ND mini starters on Evil bay for 120 bucks, In the ad its says:

My Unit is a HYBRID, because it mixes New components with OEM Parts.

So what's the deal on this should I stay away from these? What is the good one to get?

PORSCHE 911 MINI STARTER IMI PORSCHE 912 / 914 / 930:eBay Motors (item 250515966521 end time Dec-16-09 20:03:10 PST)

[MrPerkles]

I bought from there and mines been reliable with a good weight saving

[midlife]

I have been running a small ebay starter, (not sure if its the same one), for about 4 years now on a daily driven 3.2 without problems. It is louder than stock, but it is a lot lighter.

[kmhemi]

thanks that is what I was hoping to hear.

[tobluforu]

I have one for sale that did not work on my 72 due to the bendex not letting go of the ring gear (stuck out about 1\4inch more then the stock one). It has 1 mile on it and it's yours for 50 bucks plus shipping.

[kmhemi]

thats a great deal. I wonder why the bendix didnt release?

[Won]

I got the exact same one a few months ago. It sounds different because it has reduction gear like all other "mini" starters but otherwise works fine.

A couple notes: CIS has the power lead for thermo-time switch (I believe) connected to the starter signal wire at the starter. The ebay unit only had 1 spade connector. I Just used a 2-into-1 "adapter" to connect both leads to the starter, and had to trim the plastic surrounding the terminal a little bit.

The ebay ad said "shim included but most likely not needed..." Well I figured I would try it without the shim. Started up fine after install and drove for ~20 minutes when I started to hear a strange whine... hmm instant supercharger? Not quite, I suppose when everything expanded at operating temperature the pinion was just touching the ring gear. Drove back home and put the shim back on, and the whine was gone. At least now I can R&R a starter on a hot car in 15 minutes

[tobluforu]

Originally Posted by kmhemi

thats a great deal. I wonder why the bendix didnt release?

That's what I wanted to know, but if you look at the parts section of pelican, you will see that they offer different starters for dif. years, but this one is one szie fits all? Hmmmm...... Now, I could have just shimmed it out, but I took that thing off and on twice thinking that maybe it was the installation, and I was done. And we all know what a fun job that is.

[tobluforu]

Originally Posted by Won

I got the exact same one a few months ago. It sounds different because it has reduction gear like all other "mini" starters but otherwise works fine.

A couple notes: CIS has the power lead for thermo-time switch (I believe) connected to the starter signal wire at the starter. The ebay unit only had 1 spade connector. I Just used a 2-into-1 "adapter" to connect both leads to the starter, and had to trim the plastic surrounding the terminal a little bit.

The ebay ad said "shim included but most likely not needed..." Well I figured I would try it without the shim. Started up fine after install and drove for ~20 minutes when I started to hear a strange whine... hmm instant supercharger? Not quite, I suppose when everything expanded at operating temperature the pinion was just touching the ring gear. Drove back home and put the shim back on, and the whine was gone. At least now I can R&R a starter on a hot car in 15 minutes

Sounds like the same issue I had, but mine did not come with a shim.

[beamonk]

I have 2, never needed shims. They work great.

[Brando]

I just recently installed one of the high-torque mini starters. They were on sale for $107.89 shipped a couple of weeks ago. Money well spent! Definitely more reliable and quite a bit lighter than the stock Bosch unit.

[MrPerkles]

ps they also make a great high pitched noise when spinning the engine up

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

"they also make a great high pitched noise when spinning the engine up."

At Chrysler, they used to call it the Highland Park Hummingbird, my friend Pat Bedard once told me.

[NoLift911]

Originally Posted by Brando

I just recently installed one of the high-torque mini starters. They were on sale for $107.89 shipped a couple of weeks ago. Money well spent! Definitely more reliable and quite a bit lighter than the stock Bosch unit.

How much weight savings are we talking about - I was looking into this...

5-10lbs? $107 is not bad and at the right end of the car...

[Bo_66]

Best investment I've ever made
Half of the cost compared to rebuild and twice the torque.
Have it on a 2,2 against 901 box

-Bo / Sweden

[DW SD]

I'm also satisfied. Mine was maybe $120 shipped, from ebay and delivered the next day. I have a very small battery and hot / cold, it has worked like a charm.

Doug

[safe]

I use one, its great.

[derandjer]

I bought the hi torque starter from our host. Works perfectly, much lighter and you don't have to do a partial engine drop anymore to remove the starter or adjust the placement. Cured my hot start issues.

[Ove]

I purchased my lightweight starter a couple months ago from Hi Performance USA (eBay), and I'm very happy with it.

Here are some pictures.








You will have to reach over the transmission to get to the top nut holding the starter. No heater hose clearance problems. Some people have reported problems with that when using non stock starters. I used the supplied shim/spacer between the starter and the trans. It was around 2 mm in thickness.

It's very easy to reach and connect the wires as they are on the underside of the unit (the wire with a fuse is the power supply to my MSD ignition).

[kmhemi]

Thanks to everyone that replied. The pictures were very helpful too. Looks like a good quality unit. The Tip about the yellow signal wire for the CIS was helpful too.
Thanks again....