Thread: Starter woes.....

My starter has been on it's way out for a while now, and it's on death's doorstep as we speak. I bought another starter and figured that just about any sr starter should work. When I pulled my original starter, and was comparing the old vs the new, I noticed that the new starter has an 8 tooth gear, while my original starter has a 9 tooth gear.

So I did some searching, and I found one site that shows the 8 tooth starter being listed for my application (1996 200sx 2.0l):

Dah Kee Co., Ltd.



But the starter's having a different number of teeth concerns me, and tells me that it won't work. Here's some links for the specs on both starters.

Original starter: 100 NEW Hitachi 12 Volt 9 tooth Starter: Starters & Starters

New starter: 100 NEW Hitachi 12 Volt 8 tooth Starter: Starters & Starters


So am I screwed, or would the 8 tooth actually work in place of the original 9 tooth without destroying the flywheel???

I just checked the starter from my b14 and it's an 8 tooth so I wouldn't worry about it. The flywheel isn't in rough shape either.

I guess I could throw it on there and give it a shot then.

i'd put it in and do a couple quick pulses and see if any weird noises crop up. Looking at their reference charts, though, looks like the 8-tooth is for a different Nissan application, as the Nissan manufacturer numbers dont match between the two.

Well, I even thought about swapping the gear off the new one. Looks like it's pressed on, so I'd have to take it to a shop with a press. Surely it would be cheaper than having to go buy another starter.

See if it works, if it doesn't return/exchange for the other one. Starter's simple enough to get on/off that you can just try it out. Just don't go crazy on it until you're confident it isnt eating your flywheel teeth.

If you've got a spare flywheel, you can put it up to the starter gear and see how the tooth alignment is between the two to give you a better idea of what's what.

I'll try it in the morning. Enjoyed a "lazy" day today. Plus, I've been outside almost every day this past week, and the a/c in here was just feeling too good to consider going outside today.