Starter rebuild anyone?

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Just throwing it out there...
I got my manifold off so I'm trying to replace as much as possible. Car got 250 miles
I'm thinking starter would be good to replace while manifold is off.
I could buy new, however I like rebuilding/fixing things.
After much googling I didn't find any DIY or even starter rebuild kits for E53.
I wonder if anyone here has done it?

[semcoinc]

Originally Posted by Bmwe5320023.0

Just throwing it out there...
I got my manifold off so I'm trying to replace as much as possible. Car got 250 miles
I'm thinking starter would be good to replace while manifold is off.
I could buy new, however I like rebuilding/fixing things.
After much googling I didn't find any DIY or even starter rebuild kits for E53.
I wonder if anyone here has done it?

I have not heard of any DIY rebuild kits but some probably exist to supply the independent rebuilders and National Retail outlets with rebuilt starters.

Personally, my thinking would be that since this is such a labor intensive area to access, I would put the best professionally rebuilt starter my budget could support in there.

I applaud your foresight in preemptively dealing with the starter while you have "free" access from the other project you're working on.

Mike

[Bmwe5320023.0]

If I can't find rebuild kits, I'll probably just buy the new Bosch OEM part. It should last another 20-30 years

[oldskewel]

I had the exact same thought as you when I had my manifold and head off a couple of summers ago.

I ended up taking the starter apart, confirming how amazingly good shape it was in at ~186k miles (2001 3.0i). I ended up replacing the brushes, regreasing things and putting it back in. I can't say it's any better, since it was pretty much perfect before.

The brushes (4 of them) had about 70% of their life left. Everything moved well, all contacts looked good, etc. If you find similar, you might just want to regrease and reassemble.

It was a little tough finding the brush assembly, but I did. Let me know if you want me to dig for part numbers.

Here are some pics:

[upallnight]

Don't know what's available in Calgary, but when my alternator to my PORSCHE 911 went out I found a local rebuilder that rebuilt it for me instead of buying a rebuilt or new or going to the salvage yard to procure a used alternator. The business also offers rebuilt starters.

[Clavurion]

Just taking it apart and cleaning all the carbon dust from brushes (and lubricating moving parts) makes it last a lot longer. When the carbon builds up it start to partially short things internally making the motor less powerful. As the motor is grounded via its body make sure all contact faces are clean and add some contact paste.

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Oldskewel
If you have the part number for the brushes I'd appreciate it. I tried looking for rebuild kits for this starter all over the internet and couldn't find anything.
When I rebuilt the alternator a couple of months ago, it was hell trying to find the brushes. I ended up paying $30 just for the brushes on amazon. Bearings were easy to find. I was never able to find a slip ring for less than $25 with shipping so I left it alone.

Upallnight
There are quite a few alternator/starter rebuilders. But in Canada things are more expensive than in US.
I'm sure the rebuilders will charge about $100-150 at a minimum. Then I have to drive there, drop off the starter and then come back to pick it up.
Objectively speaking I have no clue what exactly they did and what type of parts they used...so I won't have a piece of mind.
If it comes to this, I'd rather buy a brand new bosch starter for $300, knowing that everything inside is completely new and quality parts.

Clavurion
That's a good idea, I think that's what I'm gonna do for now and if it's still in good condition, maybe there's no point in changing it.
I'm just trying to replace everything i have access to at this point.

[Clavurion]

Originally Posted by Bmwe5320023.0

That's a good idea, I think that's what I'm gonna do for now and if it's still in good condition, maybe there's no point in changing it.
I'm just trying to replace everything i have access to at this point.

That's what I did on my facelift 3,0d when I had intake manifold off for flap removal and glow plug renewal. Still working good at 300t km. And these M57N starters are notorious for quite early retirement because they were downgraded to 2,0 kW instead of 2,2 kW on the pre-facelift M57 models like my E39 530d with 400t km on the original starter without touching it.

[oldskewel]

If your car ends up being like mine was, Clavurion's suggestion of cleaning and regreasing should be fine.

From my notes (so much of the rebuild process became a research project because of bad information out there, so I noted some of it), here are the part numbers for the starter (and a photo of the starter shell itself from my car is given above):
Part numbers: BMW 12-41-7-501-738. Bosch PN: SR-0474-N. On the starter shell itself: Bosch 0 001 108 190. Decoding the Bosch #: all Bosch starters start with 0 001; next 3 digits, 108 are the series of the starter; final 3 digits relate to exactly what type of car it is for.


I checked my eBay purchase history, and this is the part I bought. Still available:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Brush-H...1/272706630880

lists a zillion compatible part numbers there in the ad. I remember now that it almost fit perfectly. But I needed to do some Dremel surgery on the plastic to make it fit right in some of the aligning notches. Don't remember details. I almost considered transplanting the new brushes to the old brush assembly, but did not.

I have little doubt my starter will last until 500k miles, which is at least 200k miles further than it will need to go.

Make sure you bench test things when you have it all put back together. You don't want to get it installed and have it not spin, then needing to remove it once everything else is in place.

[Bmwe5320023.0]

Great thanks for looking into it!
Not many people are interested in stuff like this these days, so information is extremely scarce.
Just goes to show how long a well build part can last, basically 30 years or more! Compare that to the junk made in China...
Unfortunately for this part the shipping to Canada as always is double the price of the item lol.
I will try searching by one of the compatible part numbers and see what I come up with.
I don't mind taking a dremel to it for slight modification.