aftermarket starters

[john hall]

Talk to me about aftermarket starters. Where do you buy from, is there a "brand" you use? I've got a Kawasaki Mule with over 1900 hours. It gets cranked frequently---more in a month than a lawnmower will in a couple years. I put the 4th starter (in its 16 years) on it this summer. The original starter was a Denso (I think). It croaked after 3-4 years. At the time I could get one from DB Electrical for about 1/4-1/3 of what Kawasaki wanted. I don't remember where the one I got this summer came from, I think it was DB but need to call and verify. Anyway it is suddenly turning over real slow and has a horrible electrical burning smell. Getting tired of the reliability of the import starters, then again not that impressed with how long the original lasted either. If I could find a "factory rebuilt" Denso for a reasonable price, I might be willing to give it a try. The only other import starter I have used is one I put on my 2284--it replaced a melted down Denso as well (at 500 hours). Had to replace a Denso on a car once as well, at 70-80K miles. I'm not that impressed with Denso--dang sure ain't no old school Delco in my opinion.