AndyP
Member
The starter on my 1.4 TDI has been a bit lazy for ages, it always starts but the first time, especially when cold sounds like it's not going to make the first turn. When my MYP conversion was done the original starter was kept and it made no difference. Recently it's started doing the squeal thing after starting so it's time to do something about it. I searched eBay for a while to track down a 1.6 Bluemotion, stop/start as I wanted the higher rated part. So when the part turned up being 2nd hand I checked it over to make sure it was in good condition and apart from being a bit grubby it all looked good. It was clearly different as the flange that locates with the gearbox was about 6mm greater in diameter and the pinion wheel was also about 13/14 teeth (I forgot to check), compared with the original which was 10 teeth. The correct flange ensured that it did locate very securely, even though the original starter is held both centrally and securely with the two bolts. The other inconvenience was that the solenoid connector was different, so not wanting to modify the loom end, in case the original had to go back, I had to trim the old plug and then ensure it was located securely with cable ties.
Anyway, it all went back together well and the difference is dramatic, it now spins over really fast and catches immediately. There didn't appear to be anything significant wrong with the old starter, so I assume part of the problem was electrical connection, despite having a secondary earth etc. What I did notice was that the old pinion wasn't engaging that well with the flywheel and it appeared to be damaging the teeth a little, however that starter has done nearly 200K miles and probably 20K miles on the MYP box so that may not be significant.
So the real learning is, if you replace your gearbox with an MYP, use an MYP starter too.
Anyway, it all went back together well and the difference is dramatic, it now spins over really fast and catches immediately. There didn't appear to be anything significant wrong with the old starter, so I assume part of the problem was electrical connection, despite having a secondary earth etc. What I did notice was that the old pinion wasn't engaging that well with the flywheel and it appeared to be damaging the teeth a little, however that starter has done nearly 200K miles and probably 20K miles on the MYP box so that may not be significant.
So the real learning is, if you replace your gearbox with an MYP, use an MYP starter too.
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