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French-Made Valeo Starter --- Piece of Junk
Did you buy a Saturn because you didn't want to get left standing or
walking? Did you think you were going to get a 100k miles out of it before it started to fall apart? Have you now been disabused of the notion that Saturn makes a car to compete in dependability with Hondas, Nissans, and Toyotas? Heheheh. I have a crappy Valeo D6RA starter in front of me. If you want to see it cussed, just google it. It's made by eurofaggots in France. It failed at 99k miles and mostly highway travel. Actually only the solenoid is bad, but you can't buy the solenoid. You have to buy the starter too @ $200. Anybody know where I can find a kit just to replace the solenoid? And, btw, the alternator went at 60k miles, the AC at 70K, and the cooling sytem imploded at 90k. I haven't replaced the fuel pump yet but plan to and am crossing my fingers. Otherwise, I'm not all that unhappy with the car. The dohc engine is zippy, uses a quart of oil every 500 miles (which ain't all that unreasonable), gets me 38 mpg, and has a great radio and tape deck. Just a little piXXed about the starter. Besides it was hell to get it out. You have to slide underneath and you WILL bust your knuckles. |
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jls wrote: > I have a crappy Valeo D6RA starter in front of me. If you want to see it > cussed, just google it. It's made by eurofaggots in France. It failed at > 99k miles and mostly highway travel. Actually only the solenoid is bad, > but you can't buy the solenoid. You have to buy the starter too @ $200. Just be glad it isn't a Toyota starter. I had the solenoid fail on the last Toyota I owned. Not only couldn't you buy just the solenoid, the #$@*& Toyota starter was over $500!!!! Fortunately for me, I visited a local automotive electrical rebuilder. The only thing actually wrong with my wonderful awesome really great Toyota starter was the copper contact "bolt" in one end of the solenoid. I took just the "bolt" to the rebuilder. The only thing I did was show him the part and he immediately identified the vehicle. I made some comment to the effect that the part must fail a lot for him to recognize the part. He laughed and said those s&^t Toyota starters don't usually last long enough for that part to fail. You want to hear about the alternator from the same wonderful amazingly unbelievably perfect Toyota? It was total CRAP. Every August I could count on a call from my ex telling me that the car had stopped and all the warning lights were on. Every damn time it was alternator. And once again, Toyota did not sell repair parts except for a complete $500+ alternator. Fortunately the internal regulator (the part that kept failing) was available after market. The reason the regulator kept failing was that those infallible Toyota engineers had located the alternator next to the exhaust manifold, in an area with virtually no air flow - particularly when the car was driven by a woman who never drove on the highway. Then there was the marvelous Toyota AC and the unbelievably wonderful plastic that turned a beautiful shade of white, and the incredible fuel pump relays that improved vehicle safety by immobilizing the vehicle, and should I mention the awesome automatic transmission that let you know it was shifting by rattling your teeth? Or maybe I should mention the cost of a front fender? If you think I hate Toyotas, you got that right. Thanks for the opportunity to vent. Anyhow, back to your original problem - look for an automotive electrical rebuilder in your area. chances are he can get a solenoid. Ed |
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"C. E. White" > wrote in message ... > > > jls wrote: > > > I have a crappy Valeo D6RA starter in front of me. If you want to see it > > cussed, just google it. It's made by eurofaggots in France. It failed at > > 99k miles and mostly highway travel. Actually only the solenoid is bad, > > but you can't buy the solenoid. You have to buy the starter too @ $200. > > Just be glad it isn't a Toyota starter. I had the solenoid > fail on the last Toyota I owned. Not only couldn't you buy > just the solenoid, the #$@*& Toyota starter was over > $500!!!! > > Fortunately for me, I visited a local automotive electrical > rebuilder. The only thing actually wrong with my wonderful > awesome really great Toyota starter was the copper contact > "bolt" in one end of the solenoid. I took just the "bolt" to > the rebuilder. The only thing I did was show him the part > and he immediately identified the vehicle. I made some > comment to the effect that the part must fail a lot for him > to recognize the part. He laughed and said those s&^t Toyota > starters don't usually last long enough for that part to > fail. You want to hear about the alternator from the same > wonderful amazingly unbelievably perfect Toyota? It was > total CRAP. Every August I could count on a call from my ex > telling me that the car had stopped and all the warning > lights were on. Every damn time it was alternator. And once > again, Toyota did not sell repair parts except for a > complete $500+ alternator. Fortunately the internal > regulator (the part that kept failing) was available after > market. The reason the regulator kept failing was that those > infallible Toyota engineers had located the alternator next > to the exhaust manifold, in an area with virtually no air > flow - particularly when the car was driven by a woman who > never drove on the highway. Then there was the marvelous > Toyota AC and the unbelievably wonderful plastic that turned > a beautiful shade of white, and the incredible fuel pump > relays that improved vehicle safety by immobilizing the > vehicle, and should I mention the awesome automatic > transmission that let you know it was shifting by rattling > your teeth? Or maybe I should mention the cost of a front > fender? > > If you think I hate Toyotas, you got that right. Thanks for > the opportunity to vent. > > Anyhow, back to your original problem - look for an > automotive electrical rebuilder in your area. chances are he > can get a solenoid. > > Ed Ed, I got a great kick out of your post and will avoid Toyotas, then. So much for my ability to diagnose the problem with the Valeo starter. I took the damX thing to a rebuilder, who immediately found the armature sheared. I looked at the casting and it looked like pure crap. On Ebay a Connecticut dealer sells these plagued things for $30 apiece but I have yet to receive an e-mail in return for mine to him offering to send a money order instead of dealing through the dreaded paypal. If you see somebody pushing off a Saturn in the hilly WNC area, that would probably be ... I've been doing it now for a week and have it down to a science. Thanks for the advice. |
#4
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In article >,
"C. E. White" > wrote: > Just be glad it isn't a Toyota starter. I had the solenoid > fail on the last Toyota I owned. Not only couldn't you buy > just the solenoid, the #$@*& Toyota starter was over > $500!!!! Toyota starters are notorious for popping. > You want to hear about the alternator from the same > wonderful amazingly unbelievably perfect Toyota? It was > total CRAP. On some hondas, because they assumed the alternatoir would be perfect forever, you have to pull the driveshaft/CV joint on that side to change it. The Saturn alternator's a breeze in comparison. > and should I mention the awesome automatic > transmission that let you know it was shifting by rattling > your teeth? I'm convinced the Japanese do not know how to build automatics. I've yet to drive a Japanese car with a well behaved one. My friend had his Toyota tranny lock up solid on him, without warning... > Or maybe I should mention the cost of a front fender? It's a Japanese car. Parts are $$$$$ Reminds me of the time a friend tried to ressurect his old Honda motorcycle. New voltage regulator? $350. Carb rebuild kit? Don't ask. Get the shims to do the valve adjustments? Nope, they won't sell you those. Clutch master cylinder - a steal at $250. Then the oil pump died. Funny thing about Hondas - they don't have bearings, rather everything runs on hardened aluminum. Lose the oil pump, the motor's toast. There's no way to rebuild it because there's nothing to rebuild. Oh yeah, the adjustment guide for the carbs points out that you need a small screwdriver 'and lots of patience'. He was looking at a new Shadow, and asked the dealer about this on the newer ones. Nope, they still make 'em that way. He went out and bought a Harley instead. At least a Harley motor's rebuildable, and they're all roller bearing anyway. Not to mention, if you think Harley dealers are dicks, try your average crotch rocket shop some day... I don't get how the Japanese got to where they are in ther car market, other than American cars of the 70's must have been truely horrid things... |
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#6
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In article >,
Blah blah > wrote: > Man I knew these things for years and a majority of people still > haven't caught on. At least when you rebuild a harley you increase the > value. Heck dont touch it and the value will still go up. It sounds like > the voltage regulator alone cost as much as what that honda bike would > of been worth. Yeah, he gave up on Honda after that episode. Me? I'm still loving my '99 FXDWG with it's hot rodded motor and custom paint and all.... Then again, GM may have invented depriciation, but the Japanese perfected it :/ |
#7
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>> I have a crappy Valeo D6RA starter in front of me. If you want to
>> see it cussed, just google it. It's made by eurofaggots in France. >> It failed Don't expect too much from these French assholes and you won't be let down. My father spent 3 years in France in the 60's when he was in the United States Army (mechanic in the motor pool). He said that the army employed a lot of local French people to work on the base, and they were about as useless as tits on a hog. They were lazy, took a ton of cigarette and coffee breaks, and didn't work too hard when they were working. He also said they were real rude. Here, we were spending billions to help protect their country and their democracy (after having already saved their asses in WW2), and they treated our boys like crap. What do you expect from a country that thinks snails are a delicacy? What a bunch of friggin' fairies. They sit back and ridicule the USA foreign policy until they get invaded; then they sit back and watch us save their hides. -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
#8
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I read posts here about problems ... but, ... no one I met have ever had any
major problems with their Saturns in the first 100k |
#9
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Don't hold back, Justin! Tell us what you REALLY think!
"Justin" <justin1138@REMOVEnet> wrote in message 7.130... > >> I have a crappy Valeo D6RA starter in front of me. If you want to > >> see it cussed, just google it. It's made by eurofaggots in France. > >> It failed > > > Don't expect too much from these French assholes and you won't be let down. > My father spent 3 years in France in the 60's when he was in the United > States Army (mechanic in the motor pool). He said that the army employed a > lot of local French people to work on the base, and they were about as > useless as tits on a hog. They were lazy, took a ton of cigarette and > coffee breaks, and didn't work too hard when they were working. He also > said they were real rude. Here, we were spending billions to help protect > their country and their democracy (after having already saved their asses > in WW2), and they treated our boys like crap. > > What do you expect from a country that thinks snails are a delicacy? What > a bunch of friggin' fairies. They sit back and ridicule the USA foreign > policy until they get invaded; then they sit back and watch us save their > hides. > > > -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- > http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! > -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =----- |
#10
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" jls" > wrote in message >.. .
> Hello, Tim, I just got through crawling around in the gravel under the > Saturn. The starter I wound up with and just installed was new, made in > China. I found it at a starter repair shop here for $135 and the dealer > let me keep my precious Valeo, which I had misdiagnosed. Plus the pieces > that fell out of it. The Valeo had sheared its shaft just aft of the > needle bearings on the drive end. > > The Chinese starter is guaranteed for 2 years. It has "Brand New Starter" > and some numbers and assurances of OEM and whatnot written on the box. Is it possible that the Valeo was also a made-in-China unit? All the auto companies have really "gone global" in the past decade, to the point where something branded by a Euro company is likely made in India or China... I'm somewhat critical of unknown Indian/Malysian/Chinese suppliers, but if they have been around for a couple of years they often get a pretty good reputation. > Most of the parts suppliers I had called wanted $200 for a rebuilt starter > and the core. Thank you for your support. The little '96 Saturn cranked > right up. Keep in mind that a good alternator or starter rebuild can actually be superior to the factory item. The best rebuilds go through and replace all the wear parts (bearings, brushes, regulator, etc.) with superior components. That said, a lot of rebuild shops use cheap crap parts installed by people with little experience, and it's hard to see the difference from the outside. How hard was it to pull and replace the starter? I've worked on the other side of the engine (alternator, PS pump, idler, tensioner) a good amount, enough to know what you get at from the top and what you get at from the bottom and what you do through the wheel well, but never had to muck with the starter. Tim. |
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