Anyone ever get a quality replacement starter for their LT80? I bought one from EBAY (the $62.95 one) and it lasted all of 3 weeks.It never sounded as fast as the OEM one on a friends machine and during cranking on its last start it made a clattering sounds and then you could just hear it spin. It would never engage again. The seller is supposed to give me a refund and yet I will need a new starter. Most of the ones I see have that gold tone motor housing and all look the same. I don't want another disappointment.
There is nothing worse then telling your kid "it's broke, it will take a while to fix" just when he started his spring riding.

Anyone buy one from a good place and have it last??

 

Ouch, looks like $200.00 for a new oem. Any chance your old one can be rebuilt? I think there is a place called Ricks or something that specializes in atv/dirtbike electronics, probably a local place that could do it too.

 

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For what it's worth, this is the first negative response from the ebay starters I've heard of.
For a hundred bucks off, I may try another ebay starter. Maybe you just got a bad one.

 

Thanks for the input.

I bought the LT80 knowing that it didn't start but that it was not locked up (figured it was a dirty carb (yep) and a bad crank seal (yep) and a bad petcock (yep). The guy that I bought the quad from thought that he was doing me a favor by trying to start as I pulled up to buy it. He putt a 20 amp battery charger on it and was trying to crank it when I arrived and just roasted the armature. I took it apart and it is just burnt and nasty. A new OEM armature is about $100. The gears and brushes looked good so I may consider rebuilding it now.

I thought that I would take a chance on the EBAY starter. I usually have good luck, but not this time. The box was advertised to be shipped UPS (3 to 5 days) and instead they shipped it priority snail mail and it took 11 days to get 600miles from Virginia to Detroit. Kinda disappointing when I supposedly paid for UPS, but not a deal breaker. It was shipped on a Monday and I told the kids it should be here by the weekend. That didn't happen. Then the crimp on the power feed was done wrong and the wire was nearly broken off when I got it. Well, I had a new crimp fitting, heat shrink and the like and just fixed it. Still wasn't pissed, little crap doesn't bother me. Then when it crapped out in 3 weeks I got ticked.

I'll probably take a chance on a different vendor that offers a 1 year warranty, so if the replacement starter dies again I can just swap them out. Getting pretty fast at getting the starter in and out through the bottom (unfortunately).

It's odd there there are some $59 to $65 starters on EBAY, then some $129 then some $180 is ones. I was just curious if there was a difference in quality.

 

Hey Stuartshomepc,

Did you ever get a chance to buy another starter for your lt80 on ebay? My son's lt80 starter just took a crap. I been looking on ebay for one. The prices are good, just not sure about the quality. If you did buy one on ebay, can you let me know if those starters are any good?

 

Wow I see what you mean there,s all brands of starters,these guys have 3, one for $50,$135 and $236!
Starters - Electrical - Cheap Cycle Parts

 

I did. The one from DB Electrical offered a 2 year warranty on the "gold" starter. It was $59.95 plus $12 shipping. Looks just like the one from RareElectric that I bought, but it failed in a few weeks. RareElectric was good and refunded my money (except for shipping each way ). Figured they are all probably from the same source (except for the OEM one that looks a different color on the case). So I shopped for the ease of replacement/refund if it failed again.

There was a guy who had a thread about standing the machine up, supporting the front with a ratchet strap or come-along, block the back wheels, pull the bolt that holds the engine to the frame (now on top as you look at it), and pull sections apart a few inches. The twist and wiggle the starter out. It REALLY works! I can do that in about 20 minutes, vs what looked like an impossible job if you followed the service manual.

 

I bought one from RareElectrical about a month ago. The motor is shorter and larger in diameter than the OEM. As difficult as they are to remove/install, I hope it lasts more than a few weeks.

 

The "failed" one that I had would always spin, but sometimes not catch the starter gear. It was probably something wrong with the part that makes the gear rotate out. Nonetheless, It was not right. When I called them they were quite nice, but only offered up a refund, not a new unit. So I had to shop elsewhere.

 

Maybe I'm missing something but why does standing the LT up like that help?