Starting, Please Help... Please Options

[Ross]

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If you have the ware withal to make it through this painful post; I thank you very much. I am looking for any advice based on your knowledge and experiences.

Ok, so here I go – recently our 1972 914 1.7 didn’t’ start. When I turned the key, I heard the fuel pump engage, all interior lights worked, etc… but the starter didn’t turn over. Note - I had one of these 914s when I was a teenager and remembered when the ignition switch went bad and I felt like this was probably the problem again.
I took it to our local Porsche expert and told them what I felt the problem was. After they did their research, they called me and said that it wasn’t’ the ignition switch… it was the starter. Great news… probably less labor than installing an ignition switch, I felt. This is when “the fun” starts:

1. After they installed the new starter, I received a call that the new starter was in. That they had installed a brand new Bosche starter as this was better than all of the remanned starters that were out there. Cool I thought… a little more expensive, but they are going the extra mile. So, they installed it.
2. So, after installing they called and told me that the new starter was in, but upon engaging the starter that there is a terrible grinding noise.
3. When I went to pick the car up, it was further explained to me that the reason for the grinding noise was that the gearing in the new starter was no longer fitting into the old flywheel properly anymore. Made sense I thought. I was also told that it will probably quiet down as the gear and the flywheel began to “marry together”. But the best option would be to put a new flywheel in so that I was dealing with new-on-new. Made sense I thought.
4. I started the car at the repair shop to drive it home and it sounded terrible.. crazy grinding.
5. I got home and decided that the best bet was to have this repair shop replace the flywheel as well. I stated it once right after I parked the car and then I never/started drove the car after this.
6. I called my favorite 914 expert and explained the situation to him. He immediately asked what the part number of the new starter was that had been installed by the local repair shop….
7. I looked at the invoice and told him an SR15N… “a brand new Bosche”. He immediately explained only the SR17X was the right starter. And that the grinding/symptoms were typical of installing a SR15N starter.
8. I really respect this person/company and the advice given to me, so decided to purchase the SR17X starter.
9. Side note – I have also installed starters in the 914 when I was a teenager… and because of many reasons, I decided it was best that I would just install the new starter myself.
10. So I installed the SR17X starter with no issues… I was feeling good
11. I cranked the car, it started with no problems… beautiful… the terrible grinding? no mas. I’m feeling good… feeling competent. Das ist very gut
12. I shut the car off and go to repeat/validate the “successful” process… like any good QA analyst would.
13. The car then had the same symptoms I described earlier (see the paragraph that starts with “ok so here I go”}. It wouldn’t turn over. This is where I remembered Tom Hanks laughing in the “Money Pit” movie… when the bath tub fell broke through the floor.
I think, as I did at the onset of this horrid adventure, that the ignition switch is the problem. Do you all have any insight that I could use. I am looking for advice, wisdom and someone to start a “GoFundme” account. Thanks truly