i am in need of a new starter, and there are a number of companies out there, any suggestions on who to use or who to stay away from?

74 1.8 in case anyone has a good used one.
thanks
Brian

They are all the same (1.7 / 1.8 / 2.0). Commonly called the VW Automatic Starter .. Rebuilding is done by many companies ... Robert Bosch contracts with a stateside rebuilder ... don't know who it is currently. By Bosch numbers you want an SR17X. If they try to give you an SR15X it won't fit as it is for a Type 1. The Lester Number is 16300. OEM is 0 001 212 005. The electrical catalogs are wrong and they won't change it.

I use the Hi Performance starter off eBay for my sixes and previously for my 4s. About $119.00. It's a new starter with a nose compatible with Porsche.

ron, do you have a link?

Thanks Slits...

I have a good shop near me that rebuilds starters and has been in business for 25 years. He charges $75. I have cores and could take him one to rebuild. Total would be $115 shipped. You can find them listed at local auto parts stores and it is a crap shoot as to what you get. There cataloging is often wrong and you get a VW bus starter.
I just checked O'Reilly's and they show #16300 one for $40 an a $15 core charge. They do show the same part number for a Automatic bus. Maybe Slits is right. It has happened before

I have one freshly rebuilt by a neighbor in my shop complex. He's been doing all kinds of starters and alternators for me for 15 years. Haven't gotten a bad one yet.

90 bucks shipped priority mail in the US.

Pm me if your interested

Get a remanufactured unit from PepBoys - $35 with a lifetime warranty.

PepBoys starter

Though the lifetime warrantee is nice, how often do you want to replace the starter. A friend had to install three before he got one that worked!

I had a bad experience with a FLAPS stater...it worked intermittently for a while then stopped working all together while I was on a road trip.

I ended up going the hi-torque mini starter route from this ebay vendor and I am very happy with it so far:

http://stores.ebay.com/hiperformanceofamerica/

He appears to be out of stock for the 914 right now though. I paid $120.

Well I guess I'm the opposite side of that story as I bought mine, installed it, and haven't thought about it since.

That's odd...a SR17X works in a bug, so wouldn't you just use the bug starter version in a 914?
SR17X was standard in the VW automatics, many put them in standard trans bugs.

The SR 17X has a built in bearing in the nose, and is designed to operate in an application that has no bearing/bushing in the transmission case. The SR 15X requires a bushing in the case. The SR 17X will work in either application, the SR 15X will work only in cases with the support bushing. The armature doesn't like flopping around in the starter body.

The Cap'n

I was pointing out that the starter in the ebay link says it is for a bug and is self supporting like a sr17x.
It's been common practice for years to replace a SR15X with the SR17X in a bug because of a worn out bushing or just as an upgrade.

Thanks for all the feedback, this is very helpful...

Be careful of the Hi-Torque. Some of them don't throw in far enough and will ruin the ring gear. I found out the hard way. So did Jeff Fort.

Very important if you use one of these aftermarket units that you check the pinion depth when engaged.
I see the ebay one comes with an alignment shim so the seller does know there can be issues and his sales invoice wording most likely covers his ass.