The starter for my mazda died over the past few days, it got weaker & weaker till no go.
Checked around the parts stores, everyone wanted >$250, one place wanted just over $400.
So today took mine apart and of course it was shorting itself out with grease & brush carbon. Wouldn't ya know it not one parts store in town stocked brushes for it.
A good cleaning & some fresh grease and I'm up and running, not sure how long it will last. 2 out of the 4 brushes were quite worn, gonna hafta keep an eye out for some big brushes that I can cut down to fit my starter. Is making brushes hard? I haven't played with much stuff that uses brushes yet.
Anywho the point of this story that fits on this board is...
Inside the Bosch starter for a 1989 to ?1994? mazda 3.0i were 6 * magnets that would be perfect for a induction conversion. I think they were 4" x 3/4" x 3/8" * and curved across the short dimensions.
The cage for looked easy enough to release them, didn't try though.
Once I got home, I was talking to my neighbor, turns out he had just tossed a starter from a 8 valve VW Jetta. I dove for it, ripped it apart and to my dismay it ain't a permanent magnet motor. Arrrrgh!
*(Guesstimation based on 8 hour old visual memory)