Alright, can anyone tell me if this looks like a good LT-1 starter for a 91 305 automatic Trans Am? Seems to be brand new which is a plus over a reman.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/94-95...spagenameZWDVW

There seems to be some general nonconsensus as to whether new bolts are needed or not, so, will these bolts work for that starter in my 91 TA?

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku


Quick recap, I'm replacing my starter, anything other than the heavy original was suggested and I'm going to go the LT-1 starter route, so just looking to clarify if these 2 items will work for me.

 

Be careful with the starter in the Ebay link as it could be an offshore knock-off. For comparison, the same Lester number as mentioned in the ad, brand new, from www.4alterstart.com is $129.00. I have seen premature failures with the offshore copies of these starters.

http://superpageshosting.com/4alters...2&catuid=11378

You might try comparison shopping at the above site. They usually list the correct bolts for these PMGR starters.

 

i've been running an ebay lt1 starter for probably 6 months now. no problems.

the bolts will need replaced, and/or spacers added. other than that it is direct bolt-on.

 

Yes that looks fine, as far as far East copies of OEM parts go. Since that's what it is; as the seller so clearly states, it is NOT a Delco starter, it consists ofwhich is something ENTIRELY different.

eBay doesn't sell starters. eBay only sells listings to people who want to sell things. Therefore, there's no such thing as saying that since one person bought a starter (or anything else) off eBay, and it worked well poorly or whatever, that someone else will buy something off eBay and will have the same experience.

That said, the rule of buying things based on price is, "you get AT BEST what you pay for". (not "you get what you pay for"... as we all know, sometimes you don't even get that). Buying a Far East knockoff item entails some risk, even beyond just the unpleasant thought of deliberately exporting some of some one of your neighbors' jobs, and flooding even more American dollars overseas. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. Maybe it'll provide the same performance as OEM, maybe not. Maybe it'll last, maybe not. And if it doesn't, what then? Will the seller stand behind it? Will the mfr even still exist 6 months from now? (putting "2 yr warranty" in the text sounds great, but any guarantee is only as good as whoever is providing it; enforcement is 95% of the law)

Personally I'd prefer a rebuild by a reputable American rebuilder over a new chinesium knockoff, any day. But that's just me.

I believe you will need new bolts. Different lengths. Just get the bolts for the kind of starter you get.

 

As it seems to be new and I've had nothing but nightmares with anything off the shelf(starters only) at Advance/etc, I bought the Ebay one. Also bought those bolts. Summit lists those for the LT-1 and the earlier engines, so hopefully they are correct. If not, I have some washers that would like to meet em. Also, should the starter keel over dead in anything other than a normal lifespan, I WILL resurrect this post and let everyone know.

At the very least, any future replacement will be worlds easier due to the starter being much smaller. Gonna have to make sure I have some sort of prybar ready to pry the Ypipe out of the way or I'll need to partially disassemble the starter before I remove it possibly. We will see once I get under there. I'm just hoping my string of bad luck with starters ends on this newer car and my 79 TA was just a fluke.