ok so my starter fried yesterday, i go to a local auto parts store and order a starter for a 1987 RX-7 Turbo II. I made damn sure it was the the correct starter for my application. i get the starter today go home take off my starter and it turns out they are not the same , first i think that the guy at the parts store messed up and call them even dough i practically drilled it to their heads that the starters were different depending on year and model. They double check and the starter i recieve is the correct one for my car.

Next thing i do is go home and check my records, i find this weird paper where it states that the Previous owner bough a JDM FC3S transmission. however i didnt find an installation reciep of any kind.

what i want to do is identify the current starter in my car so i can exchange the one i bought for the correct starter, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

wow wish i can help but no clue about jmd tranny differences..if it is a jdm starter also. i knew that the reverse lights usdm compared to jdm are much diff. i was going to say you can modify it to work but the sizes are all off which means the bolt holes would be way off. the grounds are complete opposite sides too..sorry not much help here. someone with a jdm tranny and starter help this man

 

if its any help, this is what my t2 starter looks like.

also the wire on the new one looks like it was moved or something. in any case, it wont fit.

 

if im not mistaken the jdm TII tranny is the same as the us TII tranny i used a us TII starter from advance auto parts on my jspec tranny and it worked fine just make sure they are same year of starter to tranny but the starter you have the new one is the wrong part looks like a N/a starter to me

 

HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!! thats what i was saying, looks like an N/A starter to me.

the only other issue is knowing if i've got a series 5 or series 4 tranny

 

yup, looks like a n/a starter, and a t2 starter sitting next to each other. ouch, if i do remember correctly, the starter on the right is the n/a starter based on the mounting points.

peace

 

HAHA this is SO coincidental. My starter just kicked out a few days ago, and I ordered a starter for my S5 T2 from Kragen (aka Advanced auto parts). I bought the autolite one, and it was exactly like the one you bought. The mounting points didn't fit. It's just that they messed up in their system, since that starter does NOT fit '86-91 TurboIIs.

I ended up buying the Beck/Arnley starter for about $30 more, and it fits.

 

Your old one is a non turbo starter and the new one is a Turbo starter. Won't fit.

EDIT: OOOOPS. I somehow must be wrong. The one on the left looks just like a non turbo starter and the one on the right looks just like a Turbo starter.

I'd almost swear I'm Right. OH well.

EDIT: I'll put it another way. I've a KNOWN turbo starter in my hand right now and a non turbo starter on the table. I stick with what I wrote above. Your old one is non turbo and the new one is turbo.

JPGS: Non turbo on the left with all the teeth showing. TURBO on the right with little or no teeth showing.

 

The starter I installed today in my 89 T2 is identical to the one on the left (the old starter). Unless my transmission was somehow swapped to an N/A one without my knowledge... seems to me the new one you have is N/A.

 

On my 87 turboII, I pulled that starter on the right out yesterday. The starter in MY jpgs.

 

Oh I did not see your jpgs. I believe you're right. I believe everyone here is right. haha. I just find it ironic that the same thing that happened to me happened to someone else, and within days of each other.

 

These rebuilt units can look funny, and I don't think it had anything to do with teeth or no teeth showing.
I've seen both when swapping out Turbo II starters.

If anything, the bolt pattern will ensure if it fits or not.
Obviously, as everyone else has mentioned, they gave you the wrong one.
Take in both and show the stupid salesguy their computers are wrong.

As for the main power wire being on the wrong side of the solenoid...
It doesn't matter.
If it makes you feel better, you can swap that wire to the other side.
It might or might not make your install easier...


-Ted

 

so, is it the TII and vert starters that can be interchanged, or the TII and Auto starters? i know that there was something like that going on, but cant remember. my first thought was that the one on the left was an auto or vert (wichever) and the one on the right was a TII, but then i went to the shop and looked, and yeah, every one else is right too.

(woah, its the evil post!)

 

Turbo and automatic trans starters can be swapped.


-Ted

 

cool, thanks Ted. i must be tired, becuase now that im reading my previous post, it seems silly.

 

OK first and foremost i would like to thank everyone for helping me out and showing interest.

As a refrence for anyone that might have the same problem here it goes:

the starter i recieved was packaged wrong, and heres how it goes

86-91 Turbo manual trans starters are the same regardless of the teeth showing or not


86-91 N/A manual trans differ from turbo but all N/A starters are compatible

as far as the automatic transmission fitting a turbo i wouldnt know that.