Porsche 944 Starter

3-11-2006

The starter is tucked in behind the oil sump. It's very easy to remove and reinstall.

Tools:

  • 8mm wrench, for ignition wire to solenoid
  • 13mm wrench, for battery cable to solenoid
  • 19mm wrench, for two bolts holding it on.

Some Amazon Parts:

  • Porsche 944 Starter, Budget New DB Electrical
  • Porsche 944 Starter, Budget New LActrical

    • First, disconnect the ground cable from the battery! Otherwise you will get sparks when you disconnect the battery wire. Or even worse, you'll engage the starter. Not good if you are underneath and the car is in gear.

    Remove the two wires going to the solenoid. Remove the two 19mm bolts holding in on. On some models, there is some kind of exhaust shield to protect the starter from exhaust heat. It's not there on my 1986 944 NA.

    The starter drops right down.

    I had to replace mine when the solenoid was sticking. Sometimes it would work, sometimes not.

    There are two 'styles' of Porsche 944 starter. The big squat style, as seen above, and the sleeker style, as seen below. I think the squat style is a direct-drive motor, where the sleeker one has a planetary gearhead. They sound different in operation

    Either one will work fine on a Porsche 944 NA. I think the sleeker style is need for the Turbo cars, as there is not enough clearance for the squat style.

    Porsche 944 Starter

    2012 Porsche 944 Starter Update

    In my experience the solenoid stops working on starters. Fortunately, it is an intermittent failure, so you get warning that it is time to replace.

    I bought a Quality-Built Rebuilt Starter from Amazon. But despite the fact that it was rebuilt, it had a solenoid problem where the solenoid would drop out after about 2 seconds of cranking.

    So I went to eBay to get a cheap replacement ($39 shipped!) so I could RMA the flakey rebuilt starter. My eBay purchase had a frozen solenoid. Not such a bargin after all.

    The seller was apologetic and gave me a refund but it was an annoyance. On the positive side, I was able to remove the solenoid from the eBay starter(three phillips screws)

    I put on a new solenoid ($30 shipped from eBay) and brought it back to life. Interestingly enough, the Amazon seller gave me a refund for the Quality-Built Rebuilt Starter. Seven months after I bought it. No questions asked and I didn't have to return it.