With winter coming on and all the talk of block heaters etc.

I had to recondition the start motor on a 220 block, the shaft was bent, and was regularily wearing out the copper bearings at each end of the shaft, causing starting problems when the thing was warm!

Anyway I got a tip from another forum, try a nine volt.

Took the number of the startmotor, well actually the whole casing, down to the local parts shop and they ordered the part for me. That is the shaft with all the windings on it.

Since then, on the rare occassion that I get to hear the start motor running before the motor kicks in, it sounds like a petrol engine turning over.

The price for the part?, about $50 US.

__________________
306D 1975 (camper) - rusting away
W116 450 SEL 1975 - sold
W114 long wheelbase ambulance, 3 litre diesel 1974

VW Golf 1 convertable - midlife crisis item
VW T4 van - support vehicle

Are you running the 9 v motor off 12v? This would account for the increased speed of the starter but won't you burn it out sooner? let me know more details, part # etc

Steve,

I checked, it's not a Bosch part, it comes from an Italian firm.

The parts shop couldn't direct me to the source.

I'll put an inquiry onto the German site where I first got the hint, and shall replicate this thread in the "Vintage Mercedes" forum, where it probably belongs.

It's really a tip for clapped out old motors with no compression, that I have a habit of owning.

As far as burning out the motor quicker, I was flattening batteries in cold weather before, now it's Brrrrrroooooommmm!!!, on the first couple of turns.

If you know anyone who can speak Italian, get them to type "nine volt start motor" into a search engine and see what they come up with.

__________________
306D 1975 (camper) - rusting away
W116 450 SEL 1975 - sold
W114 long wheelbase ambulance, 3 litre diesel 1974

VW Golf 1 convertable - midlife crisis item
VW T4 van - support vehicle

Using a 9v starter on a 12 volt system wont burn anything out if its just a motor (different if IC). Perfectly fine, the starter just gets more power than it expects. Anyway with a battery system, when the starter is running, it getting closer to 10v due to voltage drop durring high amperage consumption. Tolerances on starters are high and a ~30% increase in power wont cause any problems. Will probally use less Amperes than a 12V equilalent too. Good idea.

Dr. D