Hello fellow X300 fans,
What are everyone’s thoughts on having a gear reduction starter for an X300?
I’ve managed to get ahold of one, with the backing plate custom made to fit. The reason I’ve acquired one is because my current one seems to be playing up/giving up the ghost

I’m aware of gear reductions starters being better for older, older cars with massive starters, but this one was well priced and could serve as a good replacement.

let me know if you’ve had any experience with this sort of thing or if you’ve got any insight. Cheers
Below are some photos of the starter, along with a comparison next to an old Bosch motor from an XJ40 for size.



Older XJ40 motor left, new gear reduction right.

 

Original slow in rotation ( 300 normal ) ?

Just not hitting a cylinder until a couple of rotations ?

Camshaft Position sensor code P0340 ? Camshaft is used before the Crankshaft in the starting sequence

Original is a Bosch 110 series to compare torque if you can find the value

 

basically, on cold starts especially, the motor drags and creates a bell/grind sound. My experience from the XJ40 is that it’s usually not a good sound if it consistently does that. After the car is warm it goes away… mostly. sometimes does come back throughout the day driving it.

when I plan to take the original motor out I’ll investigate the gears and parts and see if it’s worth repairing or replacing entirely. I have a full return and refund if I need on the gear reduction motor if need be.

 

G'day Jag 117,

My V12 had a reduction gear starter on it when I bought it 17 years ago and I have had no trouble with it.

One thing worth checking on your car is the integrity of the lead from the battery to the starter and all of the various connectors in the whole starting circuitry including the earth points.

Check the alternator output voltage compared to the actual battery voltage and if there is a difference your battery probably won't be getting a full charge and so you won't be getting a good quick start.

All the bolted connectors on my battery lead and earth lead had loosened over the years and I was getting around a 3 volt drop between the alternator and the battery and it made quite a difference to start reliability after I cleaned and tightened everything up. The starter wasn't the problem but the leads were.

Cheers,
Jeff.

 

What I found with my original Bosch on the inline 6 was the bushing had migrated out from the nose and fell down into the bell housing somewhere

This allowed the ring rear and pinion gear to walk away from each other making an odd unhealthy sound other than the pinion gear not linearly extending in the ring gear and giving the bad solenoid sound

The bushing is common for the 110 series and is porous brass to hold grease and found at a starter shop ( part # in the garage in a file box)

As the engine warms it may be because of less rotation resistance the gears are alot less loaded and the walking away is less and less noise

 

It looks from the photo as if the gear will constantly be engaged with the flywheel. Is this correct?

 

I believe the gear is in the retracted position. As is my broken Bosch one next to it

also further noting Parker’s experience, I’ll try dig up a video of the sound it is making. Mainly on cold start

 

this is an example of the sound I have, bell sound at the end of the clip

 

Here is the video, replied to Parker’s comment (didn’t seem to upload the first time) this has the bell sound I hear frequently