'85 107 500SL Starter Question/Alert
 

Try to start the car when the engine is hot and 'nothing'. Tap the starter with the tire wrench and it starts right up. Tried to get a new starter (which the book shows is the same as for the SL/SEC/SEL) both through Auto Zone and another parts place, but the nose is 180 out. Also, there is only one threaded bolt hole in the starter for the SL/SEC/SEL. Mine has two threaded holes. Parts place suggested I have the starter rebuilt.

Took it to a place that rebuilds starters and alternators to have it rebuilt. Mechanic checked it and said starter is good. Suggested the solenoid was bad. My son replaced the solenoid and same problem still existed.

So, fed up trying to chase the problem to ground, plus find the right starter, I took it to my mechanic and asked him to 'find' a starter and put it on. The mechanic says there is a short in the ground of the starter that goes fully open when it gets hot and that's why it won't start when it is hot. Who am I to argue?

He took the Bosch part number (000 131 4028) off the casing and ordered a starter from German Auto out of Atlanta. Starter came in and he went to replace it. The nose is slightly different on the new starter (same part number as old one) and doesn't mate up to the flywheel, so the mechanic suggested I swap the guts of the new starter into the case of the old one. He seemed to think they would fit. So, that's what I'm going to do tomorrow. I sure hope he's right and that it fits. I don't know how many times the old 'tap it with the tire wrench' will work.

I've driven these "grey market" cars for over 20 years now and this is the first time I have been unable to easily find a replacement part. Any of you other guys with the 500SL ever had a problem like this with the starter? If not, be advised you are likely to encounter the same challenge at some point in the future.

Is this not the correct starter?

http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/F500011364BOS.JPG

The Bosch SR59x was used on most m116 and m117 engines. It should definetly fit your vehicle. As you can see, it has two holes. I can't imagine a starter being held with just 1 bolt...

Tom,

I seem to recall the SR59 number on a sticker that was on the new starter. However, the picture you posted appears to not have a threaded hole on the bottom. It certainly looks as though it could be the appropriate starter, but I can't say for sure.

For sake of clairty my starter casing has two threaded holes...one at the top and another at the bottom. The starter I got from both Auto Zone and the other parts place had only one threaded hole, but it did have another hole (like the one Tom posted a picture of) that was not threaded. I assume this latter hole takes another type bolt that would screw into the bell housing (???) and not directly into the starter.

If you're not making this a concours restoration, you can always put the bolt through the non-threaded hole (assuming it is sized to allow a bolt to pass through) and then just use a nut.
Ever think about checking the brushes?
Gilly

I believe the bottom one is SUPPOSED to have a nut, not just a threaded hole. I am 99% sure the starter I have in my garage is original to my 4.5 (so old it doesn't say SR59 on it anywhere) - and it has a normal hole and a threaded one. It's more likely your old starter was incorrect than the replacement.

As I am the son who tried to fix this for my beloved father...in the hot Florida son, I can say that there is no possible way to get the bolt through from the other side and put a nut on it. This thought did enter my mind. The started in the picture is not the correct one. Once you rotate the starter where the solenoid is on bottom, the "nose" will be 180 degrees off. Hopefully, if the saga ever ends, this will be the final time this started ever has to be replaced. I figure if it took 21 years for the first one to go bad, surely the next one will last equally as long. With that being said, the car will belong in a museum at that age instead of on the road.

So you're saying that the replacement starter you have now is made to go on the OTHER side of the engine (if the solenoid is to remain on the top)? In other words the "window" for the drive gear is on the other side........
Gilly

Gilly,

The brushes are still about 75% of their original length. I suggested to the guy that we might replace the brushes anyway since we had the starter apart and he assured me the brushes were not the problem.

Michael,

Thanks for clearing up the matter whether the starter might be the right one or not. I failed to flip it over from what is shown in the picture.

Everyone,

This is why I started the thread for the 500SL owners. If yours is put together like mine, then this is a hurdle you might have to jump as well. I'm just hoping the guts from the new one will fit in the casing of the old one so it will mount correctly. I don't relish the prospect of continuing to try to find the right starter. Nor do I relish the prospect of lying on the ground and tapping the starter when the engine is hot in order to start the car.

Although.............hey read this part again:
Once you rotate the starter where the solenoid is on bottom, the "nose" will be 180 degrees off.
WHy are you rotating the solenoid to the bottom, the solenoid goes on top on any MB I've ever seen..........
Gilly

Gilly,

If you rotate the starter that is pictured above so that the solenoid is on the bottom, the opening on the one on my SL is to the right. I don't know if it's on the other side of the engine from where the starter mounts on the 380 SL or not, but the opening will be to the right on my SL.

Gilly,

Maybe that is what makes this one different. The solenoid is definitely...and has been...on the bottom on this one.

Michael,

Correct me if I am wrong.

Well huh. Never heard of that, maybe we need a 500SL experten to verify an upside down arrangement for this starter. Is there any type of clearance problem to install it with the solenoid on top? Really, I won't discount what you are saying but hard to believe it's otherwise. Maybe the original failed a long time ago and this is the best they could do at the time to get a starter in it??
Gilly

I want to clarify, in the picture above, assuming the solenoid really is supposed to be on the top, that's the correct starter? The one you have now is just like that EXCEPT the solenoid is below the starter motor not above it??
Gilly

Gilly,

I'm not smart enough to know whether mounting this particular starter with the solenoid on top would kick the engine in the wrong direction (if that's possible) or not. I just know we put it back together like it came apart.

Still, one big distinction in this starter from the one pictured above, other than the fact the opening is 180 out, is that this one has two threaded holes and the others seem to have only the one.