I agree that the oem units do work just fine. But
there are a few advantages. Such as 5 roller & ball
bearing surfaces compared to 2 bushing surfaces on oem
units. As well as low cold cranking amperage drain, so
cold starting in winter and if you accidentally left
your lights on for a few hours will still allow you to
crank over on the first key twist without a jump.
Personally, I switched over out of frustration. I went
back to the same shop 2 times in a week and 2 times
got problematic starters after my 2 year old oem unit
died. They still had that Freshly painted smell on
them from the rebuild. But they both had issues.
One had a sticking engagement gear, the last one which
I put up with for 2 weeks while I waited on my Sport
starter, would only engage on 1 out of 3 or four
ignitions.
I know someone on the nass list was looking into the
Samurai starter and the response from a Samurai owner
was "not unless you swap out the entire engine will it
fit". I believe I came across an article to swap out
the early spridget or mini oem unit with an isuzu
starter, but it's not the same animal, different
mounting and engagement gear.
But I do agree with the inflated VB price. VB gets
them from TSI (Ted Schumacher) who is selling them for
something like $159.99 compared to VB who is selling
them for $299.99. I've also seen and heard from users
getting the units off of ebay which are selling for
$149.99+, but I heard about it because they don't come
with instructions and they left out an integral jumper
wire to use the OEM solenoid.
Overall, I would say that the $160 for a ball bearing
unit that will out-live the engine more then likely is
better then having to buy one $80 oem unit every few
years.
But I won't argue with the fact that if you get a hold
of a properly rebuilt Lucas unit that it will work
fine for several to several dozen years. If it works,
don't screw with it. But if it brakes, atleast
consider the upgrade.
-Terry
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