Maybe Next Time

[cruiser808]

Well, at 4:45pm Hawaii time, I get a call from the Miss' saying she's got a starter problem. While she's by no means a tech, but she's hung around her kin folk for a long time and now me long enough to know some basic diagnostics. That and she never gets to drive any rear-wheel drive vehicle beyond the 1980's. No front-wheel drives ever (me too)! So, after the basic checks for battery, ignition switch, and alternator the starter was the problem. Hey, my wife is a good ole gal from Citrus County, Florida. Southern twanny accent and all :thumbup:.

That said, I'm upset (not with my gal). But I completely rebuilt the engine ( an all American GM push rod V8) three years ago. The engine is doing fine, so why does the starter suck? I'll tell you why, Hecho en Mexico. I'm 1/4 espanol, so race isn't a factor here. Damn crappy work is! Because this was a good ole USA engine, I fixed the problem in about 50 minutes with another crappy starter, but I'm still upset that the other starter couldn't last. I installed a Bosch remanufactured alternator in a vintage MB that has lasted 23 years, so I don't believe that remans can't be good. End of rant.

[Kevin54]

I installed a Bosch remanufactured alternator in a vintage MB that has lasted 23 years, so I don't believe that remans can't be good.

They can. But there is no money in something that last that long!!!

[JB740i]

Hey, my wife is a good ole gal from Citrus County, Florida. Southern twanny accent and all :thumbup:.


How bout that. That's where I'm from too.

[eschoendorff]

They can. But there is no money in something that last that long!!!

Bingo! Sad but true....

[cruiser808]

Sorry, this was supposed to go in "free parking." Let this be a lesson to you kiddies, it just goes to show what happens when you're cleaning up your tools in the garage after a job and imbibe too many frosty cold ones. :beer:

[Moose-LandTran]

Hey, my wife is a good ole gal from Citrus County, Florida. Southern twanny accent and all :thumbup:.

My ex is from centeral Florida. Loved her accent. Miss it.. :(

[russlaferrera]

They can. But there is no money in something that last that long!!!

IMO there is a big difference in the companies who do the work. It may not be the labor....but the parts used in the process. As we all know parts come in grades. Look at the prices for the replacement part. They vary a lot, by brand.

IMO a company who manufactures the part and re-manufactures the same part is better that a company who just re-mans parts.

[billymade]

Checker and Autozone in particular, seem to use rebuilders that have the lowest prices wholesale; the Bosch rebuilds have been excellent historically IMHO. I have bought multiple alternators, starters, and distributors that have failed or were DOA with in days of installation from Autozone/Checker. If you want a reliable part; many times (just like tools) you get what you pay for and buying "OEM aftermarket" parts is the better way to go and sometimes the dealer will have a better price anyway (Go figure! I find this many times with GM and VW). We get jobber prices because my brother has a shop but online is a good research tool for overall market pricing. Usually defective parts fail pretty quickly after installation.

[SpiderGearsMan]

for chevy = brand new delco
I get decades out of delco starters
ha , boss kettering invented the self starter at GM for delco

[SpiderGearsMan]

The world hates change, but it is the only thing that has brought progress." - Charles Kettering

The first electrical ignition system or electric starter motor for cars was invented by GM engineers Clyde Coleman and Charles Kettering. The self starting ignition was first installed in a Cadillac on February 17, 1911. The invention of the electric starter motor by Charles Kettering eliminated the need for hand cranking. United States Patent #1,150,523, was issued to Charles Kettering of Dayton, Ohio in 1915.

[nissan_crawler]

Napa rebuilts have not done well for me.

The '57 had an especially bad run. Although it worked, the 40 year old starter had seen better days, and I figured I would replace it, while I was doing everything else.

Get a Napa rebuilt, and put it in, try to start it...bendix never engages.

Get another one and try to start it...breaks nosecone and blows bendix into the bell housing, fragging the ring gear.

Pull engine, replace ring gear, install new starter...bendix sticks and won't disengage. Try and shut it off...keeps running on the generator. Fawk. Rev the old 265 up like mad trying to get it to disengage, no dice. Smoke pours out from under dash as instruments start on fire. YAY! Pop hood, cut flaming battery cables with bolt cutters.

Buy NEW CHEVY starter, get Napa to pay half for all new cables, Dakota Digital gauges, and a painless wiring harness.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, dumbass.:lol_hitti

[Charles (in GA)]

Cheap rebuilders re use many of the old components, thats why they don't hold up. Neighbor lady took her 2000 VW bug to dealer in Jan for a recall. While there it would not start up, battery nearly dead, they said it was the alternator, and did not have one, so they apparently bought one from local parts place and installed it, put "90 day warranty on parts" on the invoice, and charged her $328 for the alternator and another $300 in labor. I was at work and the dealer was 100 mi away, so nothing I could do to help.

Other day she calls and says here batt light is on, but car runs fine. I checked and battery was 12.6v and with it running it was down to 12.2 from ign/fuel pump loads. Bad alternator! It was in the evening of July 3. If it had been a normal week, I'd give her my car and taken the alt by the local alternator/starter rebuild shop, a one man affair that does good work, but what do you do on July 3? We called O'Reillys and they had one, $179 so I ripped off the old one, we went down and got it. It was a like new looking Chinese rebuild. Guy say they had not had any of those come back on them, O'Reillys seems to have good parts, anyhow it was lifetime warranty so she won't have to buy another one.

While installing it, I keep wondering what a couple of brackets that were sticking up from the motor were for. Finally realized the big plastic cover that goes over the motor was gone, the dealer had left if off in Jan when they replaced the alternator. She called them and got the run around until she threatened to call the BBB and suddenly the service mgr said he would ship her one.

Apparently everyone says this particular VW dealer is a rip off, why should that surprise you?

Charles

[billymade]

My experience with my local VW dealership has been horrendous! I love VW's but their dealers and service departments are incredibly incompetent! Now my Beetle is out of warranty, I am doing all the work myself and my VAGCOM is making all the difference! http://www.ross-tech.com/