Chinese Starter Motor Vs Genuine

[HaydenT]

Hey,

Jumped in the NM the other day and the noticed that the starter motor was struggling to turn the engine over (4-6 REVOLUTIONS). Over the last week it has been getting worse and worse. Last time this happened I got the starter motor reconditioned and after that it started on the first revolution.

That was 80,000km ago so im guessing it the same problem again?
Battery is definitely fine, alternator is working according to the voltmeter.

I rang Mitsubishi and they quoted me $960 plus GST.
I looked on ebay and they are $290 plus $20 postage.
To get it reconditioned buy a auto electrician last time cost me $190

Is anyone running on of the ebay starters and has anyone had any issues with them?. Because unless the genuine one is going to last 3 times as long, it seems pointless to buy the genuine.

Details:
3.2DiD NM Pagero
Ebay Starter:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/260877000788?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_613wt_1163

Cheers, any help would be appreciated.

[Ian Sharpe]

I agree , Mitsu pricing is outrageous.

what about a wrecker??

[HaydenT]

I agree , Mitsu pricing is outrageous.

what about a wrecker??

Yeah ill check it out, but could just be buying someone else's problems.

Cheers

[HaydenT]

Starter Motor Update..

Rang the wreckers and they quoted $220 for a starter that had done 122,000km

Decided that the after market starter would be the best option.
It arrived in the mail in 3 days, weighed 5.5kg.

Upon inspection it is different to the genuine. Removed the broken one and the comparison is below in the photos.

The after market is a straight style motor and gear box. The genuine has an offset gear box to motor set up.

The change over was easy and the after market starter was easier to place in because it didn't have an offset.

The after market starter motor has plenty of torque and started the engine with ease. VERY IMPRESSED with the product so far.

In Comparison.

Genuine:
2.2kW
Offset construction
$1056
6.2kg (seems to have more weight tied up in the offset casing)

After market:
2.2kW
Straight construction
$289
5.5kg

Hope this helps people make a better decision when replacing their starter in the future.

Cheers

[peanut]

I had my starter motor die a while ago, didnt even waste anyones time checking the price for a genuine one. Got a brand new bosch one for $190, didnt want to go chinese crap. Big mistake, the bosch was made in Korea, and the housing clashed with the ring gear. The auto sparky i bought it off stripped it and the original and put the internals from the bosch into the case of the old one. Aparently this is done on every second bosch he sells, charged bosch more than the cost of the starter to do the work. would look at the chinese copies next time more carefully rather than assuming the 'brand name' quality.

[pauld]

My recent new one came from http://www.ashdown-ingram.com.au/ for around $500

[big mik]

4 cheap ones or 1 expensive one?

I like the odds

There's a guy on Ebay recons in Adleaide, about 190 bux for heavy duty. Not needed his services yet though.

[johnno87]

I'm an auto sparky and have used oex branded units for over 5 years, little bit more expensive rhan the cheaper odd brands but far better qaulity in both fitment and reliability, don't think a lighter unit is better either, the off set design ofthe genuine unit is due to the reduction drive gears built into the unit to reduce load on the starter motor which means less load on your battery while cranking and longer starter motor life span

[goldnugget]

I'm an auto sparky and have used oex branded units for over 5 years, little bit more expensive rhan the cheaper odd brands but far better qaulity in both fitment and reliability, don't think a lighter unit is better either, the off set design ofthe genuine unit is due to the reduction drive gears built into the unit to reduce load on the starter motor which means less load on your battery while cranking and longer starter motor life span

Gday mate...I have fitted my second oex 'enduro' starter to my 3.0 petrol (NH Auto) within a short time, the first I had probs within a couple of days as the solenoid wouldnt kick in to engage the starter and the second one is starting to do the same (if I tap it with a stick while turning the key it will start).
I'm not sure if its a heat issue in the engine bay (it does get a little hot in there) or if these units draw more power to the solenoid that the paj ocasionally is not supplying over the original.
I dont think its an ignition switch issue, like I said if I give it (the solenoid)a tap, it engages and theres no issues for about 10 starts, the starter is only a few months old. Have you experienced this at all with these starters? I am thinking of going back to the supplier and ask them to follow it up with the company for ideas. Once it engages its fine (plenty of power to crank) its just getting the solenoid to engage consisitantly that is the issue. I dont want to change it over again unless I know for certain whether it may be an issue with the starter solenoid or my car (relay or something restricting power) Early voltage tests on my wiring shows normal voltage ranges .

[HaydenT]

Starter Motor Update..

Sorry to bring up an old thread, had to do my first bit of maintenance on my eBay Chinese starter motor over the weekend.

I drowned it in a bog hole out at Lerderderg state park on Good Friday and two weeks later the starter slowly got worse and worse then stopped.

This isn't the first time I've drowned the entire car and had to pressure wash and Rug Dr the interior, but it was the time that starter failed after.

After pulling it apart and emptying the mud out of it, I inspected it and found the rubber seal just before the planetary gear box had failed, hence letting the water in.

I cleaned it with degreaser then contact cleaner and compressed air, put some roof and gutter silicon over the break in the rubber seal and put it back together.

After letting it dry it cranked like a champ! 4 years with only this minor hitch, and at 1/4 the price of genuine, if it failed tomorrow I'd get 16 years before it cost me the same as genuine.

This is only my experience however, I hope this helps anyone with the genuine vs ebay decision.

[Jwc]

Third starter in 14 years

Starter Motor Update..

Rang the wreckers and they quoted $220 for a starter that had done 122,000km

Decided that the after market starter would be the best option.
It arrived in the mail in 3 days, weighed 5.5kg.

Upon inspection it is different to the genuine. Removed the broken one and the comparison is below in the photos.

The after market is a straight style motor and gear box. The genuine has an offset gear box to motor set up.

The change over was easy and the after market starter was easier to place in because it didn't have an offset.

The after market starter motor has plenty of torque and started the engine with ease. VERY IMPRESSED with the product so far.

In Comparison.

Genuine:
2.2kW
Offset construction
$1056
6.2kg (seems to have more weight tied up in the offset casing)

After market:
2.2kW
Straight construction
$289
5.5kg

Hope this helps people make a better decision when replacing their starter in the future.

Cheers

Just put the third starter on. The original lasted 10 years before failing to start at all. In retrospect i wish i had kept that as it was likely just the solenoid failing. But when you are stuck in a basement car park you just call racq and do what they say. The second starter lasted only 4 1/2 years before it started slow turning and seemed about to fail. It was a unipoint taiwan version. The new one is an oex so will see how it goes.

A few points observed. I suspect the offset gearbox on the mm version may be to improve airflow over the armature section as i noticed the second starter seemed as hot as the engine block after driving. Heat could be a significant factor in the life expectancy of these things. On that point i have started towing recently and expect the engine naturally runs a little hotter than normal driving anyway. I don’t think the mm starter would be any lower gearing than the others which are using a planetary gearing configuration.

[rykiel575]

There is a bosch unit available for the 3.2L 4m41.

It is pretty affordable too.

I suspect it is just the unipoint starter as unipoint was bought by Bosch.
I compared the two and they were 99% identical when I replaced my starter in my NP Pajero.

[GHendo]

I’ve got a Bosch installed in my NP Di-D and it seems to be working ok so far – came from Burson’s for a very reasonable price. The original MM starter lasted around 250,000km. before it bit the dust, and I’m a bit sorry I didn’t get a new MM one – the auto electrician maintained the old one wasn’t repairable.

Having said that, be very careful of buying from the Internet – the first new “Bosch” I bought on the web turned out to be a reconditioned MM one that hadn’t been reconditioned very well at all. It was even packaged in a new Bosch box, so be very careful of this type of trickery.

Cheers

Geoff