914/4 starter is a 914/4 starter. Right??????

I went to a local FLAPS and asked for a starter for my 1972 914 1.7 He asks if a 4 cylinder with manual tranny. I said yes.
The counterman brought it to the counter and it didn't look like the one on my 914.
I had a picture with me that I had printed from another thread of a starter that had been removed from a 914 and being replaced with a mini-starter. I couldn't afford a minui starter is the reason I went to the FLAPS here where I live.
I showed the printed picture to the counter man. He looks at it and then in the catalog he had. He says he has one like that but his catalog said it was for a 72 91.7 4 cyl with an automatic tranny.

Photos show what he showed me and I bought. It is a rebuilt starter and Germany is stamped on it. It looks identical as far as I can see to the one on my 914.
I never knew there was a difference in any starter that fits a 914/ 4.
IS there a difference that we should know about?


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Mike, I had the same encounter. The FLAPS catalogs are wrong.
Went to FLAPS to get a starter, they asked manual or auto, of course I said manual.

Well the starter they brought up was far different from the starter I brought in.
I think I asked them to bring up the "auto" starter and it was the right one. Someone should have a part number.

Same problem from flaps up here.....their listing said it would fit, but when I pulled my starter out it was different...I took mine in and their book said mine was for a automatic....I asked the guy if mine was a auto then why did I have to push the pedal in with my left foot and keep moving the shifter around to get anywhere......they had 8 starters listed in their system (at different locations)...more auto starters then the factory made automatic cars for.

I'm guessing that all the flaps use the same parts software and it's all wrong......

This one is Wonder Wide Automotive, professional series rebuilt starter #16300.
Bought at Advance Auto Parts for $51 + tax. $10 core charge.

I bought the starter and have plans to finally put it on tomorrow if I can find the nut on that longest bolt. I can see about up to a foot with my glasses on and about 5 miles with them off. Starter is about 20 inches away so I am almost blind.
Looks like I have to remove lots of things in the engine bay to get to it. Did the new starter you bought have the bolt head won't turn indent like the original starter? I sure hope this one does as I don't have anyone around to hold while I tighten on the other, out of sight position.

Been trying to remove this starter for over a week. Cold weather is cold concrete.
I am the slowest old slowpoke on earth since I retired but reason is I was a human dynamo when I worked and able to rest now that I am retired.

Hey Bruce, is there a Flaps in wpg? or do they go by a different name here?. Also, how much in CDN$ was it?

-L

My engine is carbed. The bolt is pretty easy to get to for me. I can change a starter out pretty quickly. For a FI car I imagine it's a bit harder to get to the bolt. Someone will chime in. Mine did have the indent for the bolt head so it doesn't move.

The electrical catalogs are all wrong. If you say manual, they will give you a VW Type 1 starter which will not work .... period.

FLAPS = Friendly Local Auto Parts Store = CDN Tire, Parts Source, Auto Zone, ect

I bought the starter for the 70 914 in Calgary when I was bringing it home from Victoria....I was having starting problems that turned out to be the lack of a trans ground strap, so I returned it when figured out the problem....it was 4 yrs ago, but it was about $189 from Parts Source.....no PST as I bought it in AB.....

The catalogs have always been wrong starting with Bosch. I can see that none of your boys has thouroughy read the "Tech Tips 700!!" Shame on you! We are having a test next week and you boys are assured not to pass unless you brush up!!!!
The sr 17x starter is the correct one for both 914s as well as early 911 models. The sr 15x (which bosch lists as appropriate for 914s) is not at all only filling the automatic 411 models. This mispring has been around for years, and any savvy parts man has long ago corrected this mistake in his parts catalog and will give you the correct part without going through the hassle of installing and then removing and then scratching both heads figuring out what is wrong! sr 17x that is the bottom line

This thread is a good example of why it was so scary
when 914xxxxx.com went away for a bit.

patrick

The starter that most FLAPS try to push is wrong. Their catalogs have been wrong forever. They will tell you that it calls for SR15X / Lester 16450 (Bosch Rebuilt number / Lester Catalog number)..and it is wrong.

The starter you need is a SR17X / Lester 16300, also listed as the "automatic" starter. It is 0.8 HP

You can use an SR68X / Lester 16426 which was fitted to the early 911. It has about twice the horse power. It is 1.2 HP and will spin any engine nicely.

Personally, with the cost from a local FLAPS and knowing the rebuilding industry, I would go with the "Mini-Starter" ..... Nipondenso or Hitachi gear reduction with a new nose. The man I trust is Ron from R&B Performance in Parker, AZ ... he gets about $160 for them.

I will accept your challenge......

Bring it on Doc, I can answer any question you can throw at me!

Ok the challenge is on! If one hits the brake pedal and the tach dies what could be the problem?

You didn't push the clutch in!

funny man. maybe we should start a new thread "stump the doctor"!!

#9 fuse is no bueno .....

PS .... I don't own your book so I can't qualify

the man knows his stuff. Maybe the fuse is not blown but it is not making good connection and when the heavy load of the brake lights is placed on it is arcs not making connection. Yet when one looks at it it is still good.

Ok another. What makes the rear tail lights and stop lights and turn signals dim?

Bad ground @ taillight assembly (ground connection "A") ....

Ohh, ohh, I think I know this one. A loose wire falls off the coil with the high g-forces generated from the stop, causing the tach to die.

What do I win?

Edit - I guess I don't know this one, and I'm too slow. Nuts.

bad ground yes at tail light assembly no. Behind the relay board!

the interior light fuse keeps blowing on your appearance group car

Electric clock is shorted out

Got my starter installed and never could see what I was doing.

nope!

Seat belt buzzer?

nope. this is a common gripe though and even with non appearance group cars 73 and up it is common!

1.) Short in the emergency flasher unit.

2.) Short in door contact switch

3.) Diodes in Saftey Belt Warning light blown.

nope
nope
nope

the dot induced defrost indicator light on the center tunnel has two connections a ground and a hot right next to each other to operate the small bulb. They often touch shorting the interior lights since the black and blue wire is an extension of the instrument light loom!

Here is an easy one: It is getting cold, I turn the heat on and the engine stalls! What could be wrong now?

Defective relay board causing the fuel pump relay to drop out.

nope

A 914/4 starter for an automatic tranny does work in a 914/4 5 speed tranny without a problem. For anyone interested in info about removing or installing a starter, the lower nut, seen while under the starter, is 17mm and the other nut is found inside the engine bay area just behind and below the fuel injection throttle body That nut is 15mm.

I wonder why an almost identical starter at a local FLAPS cost so much less than one at an internet based vendor? Because they keep their catalog updated I guess. LOL

Cooley

I would first check the heater fan and/or the wires for a short in the engine

compartment. If not there under the heater lever for a short.

close enough! Either the heater fan is drawing too much power or the fuse for the fuel pump/heater blower motor is not making a good enough connection and shorts when both are operating!

or ...

the tiny wire for the heater "light" right next to the lever is shorting out against the chassis.
had that happen to me. took a while to figure it out. it'll kill all the lights on your gauge cluster ...

Andy

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very very good sir!~

I am driving my 914 along the interstate going down to Hilton Head for the weekend and find that I have to exit to relieve myself, never able to beat this damn 30 plus mpg engine and 16.8 gallon fuel tank..
I come up the the top of the ramp and push in the clutch and notice that there is now a little free play in the pedal. I don't think a thing about it until ten minutes later when I get back on the interstate and shift up the gears. Darn! Fourth and fifth gear are not there anymore!

The price is artifical .... The parts warehouse chains, as a buying group, dictate to the rebuilder what the cost will be and the statement "if you want the business, this is what you have to do". The rebuilder is forced to stock all their stores with what they dictate, and after six months, take back the stock that isn't sold ... in other words, they pay for only what is sold. They also have to provide the "lifetime guarantee". Now, since the rebuilder is not really making a great profit and has to undergo the wholesalers terms, where do you think the costs are cut to provide a little margin. You get what you ask for.

Good info. Sort of like WalMart does their suppliers. Chances are this starter will last as long as I am planning to own this 914 and then some. Never had a problem with anything from a FLAPS other than getting the wrong part sometimes. They do need to update their catalogs like mentioned earlier.

Cooley

.

Clutch tube broke away in the front and is interfering with the shift mechanism at the shifter, not allowing the shifter to rotate fully to the right.

Most of their "catalogs" are online now....type it into a puter and the machine tells them what is needed......the software needs to be upgraded.

When I bought the car in Dallas I ended up with three spare starters (car came with a truck load of parts). So I decided to take them in to a local rebuilder and have them gone thru incase I needed one. That way I would have them on the shelf if and when I needed one. Guy owned a little shop hidden away behind a hair dressers shop. I took them in and he said come back in a few days. I did and all three were good according to him. One he said was a bit weak, but would work. Nice shinny paint on all three. So I wrapped them up in plastic bags and put them on a shelf in the garage. 6 months later I needed a starter, grab one and put it in...didn't work, pulled it out and put #2 in.....it didn't work, so #3 was R & R'ed....yep it didn't work either....... payed $60 for some nice black paint...took all three back and he had closed up shop and retired...... anyone need some nice shinny cores?

Dang. I'm perplexed. Maybe, well, maybe...
throw bearing coming apart?

edit- Slits is right -its the cable tube.

Slits is good at this 700 test. I got none right so far. Ask something I know.
How many time do you look into the rear view mirror for the next 5 miles when being followed by a blonde wearing thongs sitting on the back of a Harley chopper and the big ugly guy looks like he knows what you are looking at and thinking.

Mike, the answer is none. Because if she is riding on the back of a harley and

wearing a thong I'd be driving behind her.

A fine example of intense lecher thinking ...... Let him watch you in his rearview mirrors.

Yeah. I like that idea but what if there are 14 more choppers right in front already doing that.
LOL
Answer is everyone knows the 914 mirrors all come unglued and are sitting in the glove box until we can find the time.

the man is on the money!

How about stopping this thread hijack and starting a new one dedicated to this trivial pursuit? This stuff really jacks up the noise ratio in the signal of good info. Thanks guys

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I agree. I suggested that earlier.