Itinerant Air-Cooled

So what is the deal with these new flimsy looking starters that lack a shaft beyond the pinion, thus eliminating the bellhousing bushing?
Quite a sentence!
But seriously, is this just a cheaping out, or has tech eliminated a nickel bushing? I have one to install but something doesn't seem right. They seem cheaply built, I dunno....

My understanding is these are basically an autostick starter. They don't require the bushing and are "allegidly" stronger (more torque) than the OE units.

My question is where was it made? China? Mexico? Brazil? I bought a brand new Bosch generator a couple of years ago and put it into service recently. The quality was lacking to say the least. It had to be polorized several times to put out any power. Then, the brushes would stick in their holders causing the generator to not charge. When I pulled the brushes to inspect the issue, I immediantly noticed the brush springs where much lighter gauge metal and flimsy. I had a couple of old, German made core generators. I took a spring off one and the difference in quality was very evident. I ended up using the used brushes out of the core generator (they were almost new) and the used springs. It works fine now.

As Colin frequently states, it's shocking how 40 years later, the quality of "new" parts is so behind what was made back then.

Made in Brazil. Bosch, another great has fallen.
You also have to change the terminal from spade to ring on the wire from the key. Why?
Is it better to take chances with a rebuilt, old style starter or am I being reactionary?

They do it because they can, and it pays. These are "aftermarket" parts, not parts made to auto mfr specs, subject to auto mfr quality control and contract
requirements, etc. The few weirdos who choose to drive 40-yr-old vehicles are not going to get much consideration from anyone. I think I got one of the last
Bosch SR15N starters that required a bushing, it was indeed flimsy compared to the original. One good thing about it is that the solenoid has an extra #15a
terminal for direct ignition feed during cranking (bypassing the ign. switch and bypass resistor, if any). I'll betcha you could "strike" one of the original Bosch
starters with a hammer with no ill effect!

hambone wrote:Made in Brazil. Bosch, another great has fallen.
You also have to change the terminal from spade to ring on the wire from the key. Why?
Is it better to take chances with a rebuilt, old style starter or am I being reactionary?

After what I experienced with that "new" generator, I would prefer a rebuilt, German starter from a local rebuilder with a good reputation over that "new" starter. An example- I sourced a used, original German, 1967 only bug generator with the plug in's for my mostly original bug. When it arrived, it looked like a POS, worn out, needed to be thrown in the scrap bin, hunk of metal. I took it to a local rebuilder. For $75 bucks, he went thru it, replaced all the bearings, checked the commutator, magnets, painted it, etc. It looked new when I picked it up. It's worked perfectly for 6 years so far.

wcfvw69 wrote:

hambone wrote:Made in Brazil. Bosch, another great has fallen.
You also have to change the terminal from spade to ring on the wire from the key. Why?
Is it better to take chances with a rebuilt, old style starter or am I being reactionary?

After what I experienced with that "new" generator, I would prefer a rebuilt, German starter from a local rebuilder with a good reputation over that "new" starter.

. . . and here I go again, driving my old Volkswagen to death with no hope of decent replacement parts.
Colin