1996 Infiniti I30 starter 8 tooth vs 10 tooth

[mountainmangeorge]

hello, I searched your forums and online mechanic in both the current and archived sections. I have a 1996 Infiniti I30 with a dead spot on the starter. It was starting after a few bangs on it, work for a while and then quit again. I pulled the starter to either get it rebuilt or replace it. When pricing a rebuild at a local shop or the cost of my just dropping in a new one from most parts stores, the prices were about the same. Of course, a dealer part was much higher. Apparetnly, Infiniti switched from a 8 tooth to a 10 tooth starter because they found it to be superior. Also, they will only give you a 2-3 year warranty on the 8 tooth vs a lifetime on the 10. So question is....Is the 10 tooth interchangeable for the 8 tooth or would I have to change the fly wheel as well? If so, is it worth changing the fly wheel? thanks for all your help

[maxhopper]

I would replace it with whatever version you currently have. As easy as the starter is to replace on our cars, I just bought on from Autozone (with lifetime warranty).

[Beancooker]

For the starter, it is not worth replacing the flywheel. The only reason to replace the flywheel is to put ion a lightweight one, to increase HP. Your HP increase will be small, and is not worth replacing the flywheel unless you arre pulling the transmission, to replace the clutch or torque converter. Take Maxhppper's advice.

[mountainmangeorge]

thanks for your help. autozone only stocks the 10 tooth and yes it does have a lifetime. napa does have a 8 tooth but only with a 2 or 3 year warranty and since it does look like the one that I just pulled had already been replaced with a rebuilt/remanufactured one by the previous/original owner at least once since 1996 I was hoping to find a 8 tooth with a lifetime, but haven't had any luck so far.

[86maxima96]

Get the 10 tooth. They are interchangable. Just changed my starter on my 96 Max and did the same thing as you; went from a 8 tooth to a 10 tooth. Get the lifetime warranty and be done with it.

[mountainmangeorge]

I went ahead and bought the 10 tooth starter but was a bit hesitant to put it in at first. I extended the life of my old starter by hitting it every once in a while for a month or two. I put the 10 tooth starter in last weekend and it seems to be working beautifully except for the fact that a check engine light stays on ALL the time. I disconnected the battery terminal for 8 hours hoping to reset the check engine light and it would go out. No such luck. Any thoughts?