BX17 TZD starter motor confusion

andycadabra · Post by **andycadabra** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 5:37 pm

I bought a much-needed new starter motor for my BX 17TZD on eBay for £50. Because of the cold weather I'd thought I'd allow me the luxury of having the garage fit it. 40 minutes after dropping it off I got a call from them saying it was a completely different design to the old one and couldn't be fitted.
The one I bought was a FRS612 and after a lot of research on the net, decided that it could be an FRS148 that I needed. Having bought one of those from a local motor factors, the garage said the same thing about that. Left with no alternative but to take the old one off myself & try and fit the original one I'd bought on eBay, and managed!.
The 2 were certainly very different designs (I think my old one was a Mitsubishi type design) yet interchangeable, so to save anyone else the trouble I've been through, thought I'd mention it on the forum.

Next time I go to that garage I just hope they remember that I paid them half the job fee for sending me on a wild goose chase and then doing the job myself!

Post by **Defender110** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 6:19 pm

Not much of a garage, i think I would be giving it a wide birth from now on!

andycadabra · Post by **andycadabra** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 6:31 pm

To be fair, they did appear to be completely different... I'll give them one more chance as I'm now running out of local garages that A. haven't already let me down, and B. will get involved with old Citroens!

citronut · Post by **citronut** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 10:15 pm

maybe the one you bought was for a petrol BX, as the diesel version has a built in gear box for the extra torque,

can you put up picys of both types

regards malcolm

andycadabra · Post by **andycadabra** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 10:29 pm

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... AX:IT#shId

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Starter-Motor-Cit ... 2c51d55e4b

the first one is the one I bought and fitted the FRS612, and the 2nd one resembles the one that came off. They refer to it as the FRS 148, but the FRS148 I got from the local motor factors looked more like the FRS 612!.
I think the clue to solving the riddle was this statement in the specifications.

"Application Advice=Mitsubishi type open faced type shown interchangeable with Bosch and Valeo nose coned types"

andycadabra · Post by **andycadabra** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 2:59 pm

Malcolm - built in gearing would explain the shape of the 'Mitsubishi' type. however, the new one seems so much more powerful than the old one, the gearing might not have been necessary. This could explain why the FRS148 now comes in both types?
Also bearing in mind that the spindle of the old one had about 8 mm of lateral play in it, the replacement, which supports the spindle on either side of the flywheel would appear to be better engineered?

citronut · Post by **citronut** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 7:12 pm

they both look like they have the gear box attatched, but i have never seen a citroen or peugeot starter without support at the nose end of the armature spindle,

the only cars that i have seen like that are VW's as the bush/bearing is in the clutch housing

regards malcolm

JayW · Post by **JayW** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 7:39 pm

The "footprint" of the starter motor for ALL BE3 gearboxes is exactly the same - that'll be the top one of those two. This has been the case for every XU'd BX i've ever seen.

I suspect your garage must have been referring to the physical size of the starter casing, they vary, however they all fit each other.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:21 am

i agree wih JayW even a starter from a petrol will fit, but just like for like when healthy the petrol one wont have as much kick as the diesel one,

regards malcolm