About a year and a half ago I had the starter for my 931B rebuilt at a cost of $400. I started having an intermittent problem with the starter not disengaging and it was getting more frequent so I got some help and took the starter out. It's a PIA on a 931B. Friend dropped it off on Monday at the same repair shop and a guy said they'd check it out and see what they could do. The guy seemed pretty nice. Friend asked them to call him to let him know what was wrong and the cost. Friend got a call yesterday the starter was fixed. Went to pick it up and talked to some other guy that had kind of an attitude. Said it was rusty inside from condensation and the best he could do on the repair was $250 and normally would have been $400 again! He said machines get condensation from sitting. The starter looked like new and had no signs of rust on the drive or shaft. This starter probably started the machine about 30 times and thousands of machines will sit for long periods and not have the starter rust on the inside. $650 on a starter in less than 2 years. Would you be going back to the repair shop and complaining? Seems excessive to me.
Here are my thoughts on the matter. It does not matter to me who is right and who is wrong here. I would not complain or make a stink. Just say thank you and let your fingers do the walking. Find somebody better. Or buy reman out of a box next time. Depends on the situation. All you are going to get by complaining is a hundred bucks at most and zero at the least. And I would not consider that worth my time. And you will have made them an enemy. Even if you do not like or trust them 100%, at least they are not miffed at you [yet]. This way if you have an absolute emergency maybe being local they can still help you out. They do not have to know you are taking work elsewhere. They have no way of knowing how much work you have or do not have for them. Keep everyone on your side is the best policy I think.
I would question the wisdom of rebuilding in the first place. That is a pretty common Nippondenso starter with plenty of availability new. They and others do have a tendency to rust up the main solenoid.
A new starter was around $700. Apparently is was rusty in the brushes too and they did put a new solenoid on it.
Check ebay. I believe that is a 4N0241 starter. Prices start at $377. The days of rebuilding starters are over.
$377 + 25% for exchange rate + $166 for shipping is getting up there.
OK, I didn't catch the Canadian connection. Are there no reasonable sources up there?
I rebuild a lot of starters. I am getting really frustrated with the parts I get. Everything is made in China at the lowest bid. I used to offer a year warranty and might get one back occasionally. Now I will put all new components in them and sometimes they won't last a month. I sell more new now. Even then the quality is not like it used to be.
I agree, China quality is crap but that's the way it's all going. Rebuilders I know are barely hanging on. Just can't justify rebuild cost over new even if the quality is poor.
I just think they could have gave a better deal the 2nd time considering it was only 1 1/2 years after spending $400 on it. Don't they put any kind of anti-corrosion around the brushes?
Stuff lasts what it lasts. Stuff costs what it costs. I'm not surprised anymore about what things cost. Everyone wants pay raises every year, health insurance, retirement, holiday pay and lots of overtime. Not a lot of use complaining about. Figure out what to do about it. Stuff costs what it costs.
Unless a local rebuilder has a torque load test stand to check that their rebuild will operate at full torque, Its all a guess. Our shop only uses new or when it is a reman Genuine Delco only. Road service plus labor will often run $1,000. Truck Shop
If it was honestly rusted up from disuse... Is that really their problem? There is no anti corrosion product for brushholders.
Yes, they will rust up internally in less than a year. I know because I just replaced one on a John Deere tractor last week that was less than a year old. I took it by the local starter shop and he opened it up and showed me the problem, then threw it in the scrap pile and sold me a new one for $300+. Which was the second machine that week that needed a starter. The first one- for a JD dozer- was over $600 from the dealer. And when you've got trucks stacking up or dumping further and further away from where you need the material, you gotta pay whatever it takes. Not that I like it, though.