So I have been working on my 89 V12 convert for a year, new interior new top, gone through most everything hooked to the engine, new suspension, on and on. So I am finally ready to pull it out of the shop and drive down to fill the newly refurbished gas tank with gas. Wouldn't you know it, the stupid starter decided it no longer wanted to disengage from the flywheel. Probably the only thing I didn't replace. So I began the torcherous process today of pulling the starter. Got it out and lo and behold it doesn't match the new Lucas spare that I pulled from my parts inventory. It is a Marelli..... My question is, can I just stick the Lucas in there? The wiring is obviously not going to hook up the same. The Lucas has an extra connection that the Marelli does not. I am also wondering if the teeth are the same. Moss has a replacement but they want $400 large plus core charge. There is always the aftermarket gear reduction option. I appreciate any knowledge you may have. Today is a nice day here in Seattle, I was to actually drive it later today but than is not looking like it is going to happen. Thanks.

 

I'm 99% sure the two are interchangable except the connections, as you've mentioned. In fact I'm pretty sure I've used the two interchangably myself.


Let's wait for others to chime in

Cheers
DD

 

I tore the starter apart that came out and overall the internals looked to be in pretty good shapes, sans the gears and bearings were all dry. I was going to clean everything, regrease and reassemble. The lack of grease and buildup of dirt are likely the cause of the disengagement issues. The only thing that causes me to pause was the brushes were pretty worn down and I didn't want to put it back in without new brushes. I went to the local parts store with I figured there was about a 10% chance they would have brushes that would work. Nope, but they were able to order me the correct gear reduction starter for about $160 bucks, which is a pretty good deal considering other options I have seen. I will find some brushes for the other starter and put it back together as a spare. Thanks.