I really doubt that your flywheel's teeth are the problem. It's often a weak solenoid or starter gear/drive.

I took the old starter out. The flywheel looked fine, teeth in good condition. The starter on the other hand showed some wear. I think the solenoid was on its way out, along with some worn down teeth.

I went to the local auto parts and had the guy look up both a 1978 280z starter, as well as a 1983 280zx starter...they only had 2 kinds of starters (same for both cars). The one i got was this one:

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=WWA&MfrPartNumber=16584&PartType=123&PTSet=A

Basically it was only $69.99 (after 20$ core charge) - There was only one other one for $125.00 or so.

Looking at this page (http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?PartType=123&PTSet=A) , there are quite a few available online from this auto parts chain; although the store didn't seem to have any of those in the computer (besides the beck/arnley one -$125.00)

Anyways, I got the cheaper one...but I figured by the way it looked, its a gear reduction starter and should be fine...or would i be better off with one of the other ones?

Stephen? Advice?

The flywheel - Was hard to get a decent shot, but the teeth are good.

Inner gear of starter. Wear and tear - some of the teeth are pretty chewed up.

It it's the one pictured in the first link, that's the one. It's the same starter that's on my Z and 810.

It comes in tomorrow, so I look forward to getting that install completed.

Thanks a lot for all the help Stephen, you're a real asset around here.

Hey Stephen...are you for sure that a 78 starter, like the one I listed above; should have enough clearance to catch my flywheel? I hooked it all up but it just spun, and didnt catch. The negative bolt on the solenoid was stripped, so im going to return it for another one...but i just want to make sure that the 2nd try will work.

Remember, i have a late 75 (1976 280z) - 4 speed.

Thanks.

This is my old starter

and

This is the one I bought...

It bolts up correctly, but should it work (the starter gear catch the flywheel?)

I saw this post as well, kind of threw me off.

http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/1/1878227/1879050

Some clarification would be great.

Edited October 10, 200817 yr by mikewags

Yes it should work. There's no difference between a 76 and a 78 flywheel. I've used the gear reduction starters on everything from the earlier Zs to 510s and trucks.

I got the starter installed today. The car starts on the first crank now with a distinctly different cranking sound. You can tell the new starter has more torque---getting the car started faster.

The problem before was that I was hooking the battery ground up in the wrong order, of the cable (ground?) coming out of the actual starter. It was causing the starter gear to click out, but not spin. I'm glad I exchanged it anyways though, considering the old one had a stripped ground bolt.

Thanks for all the help Stephen!