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finding the right zetec rwd starter (LRS707)
baz-R - 24/9/25 at 09:49 AM

Morning people

its been a long time and i have just dug my car out of storage

cut a long story short i have had a ZETEC silvertop 1.8 mounted to ford type9 with the usual 1.8 zetec flywheel

now im pretty sure i used a recon version off the original donor car that was a 1992 (k) 1.8 cvh sierra that i seem to recall was a lucas "LRS707"

it struggled on the hot crank and after 3 years of the car been in storage has died of death (cooked) trying to crank over alot so i need a new one

my problems are

1> Lucas online ar no longer showing a product line for the original LRS707/LRS00707 and may have updated
2> there was loads of variants of essentially the same will fit part from 0.8-1.4kw across all the different recon and OE makes
3> the joys of modern auto factors "what reg?" and unable to look up or cross reference anything plus the websites not able to list/lookup a starter for a 35 year old ford

is Starterman still on the forum and could we post a modern list of OE starters of the higher power versions man enough for the job below?

baz-R - 25/9/25 at 07:26 AM

Lucas have finally replied to my email and they are saying they are still having the LRS00707 product availability and I should go to one of the national auto factors that are one of the ones saying that it not available?

I also believe it's 0.8kw? If I'm going to renew it I really want a higher torque version if I can?

nick205 - 25/9/25 at 09:20 AM

Can't help you with a recommendation, but there's a member on here called

starterman

who may be able to advise you.

Sanzomat - 25/9/25 at 11:50 AM

Not sure of the actual model/type but I recall a couple of the guys on kitnet were having trouble with Zetec's getting sufficient cranking torque when hot and they overcame it by fitting geared starter motors. The Wosp brand was mentioned. They seem quite pricey though!

Myke 2463 - 26/9/25 at 04:15 PM

My experience with 2.0 lt zetec with a good earth on engine and to battery terminal std starter ( LRS707 ) works ok hot or cold .

baz-R - 27/9/25 at 03:10 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Myke 2463
My experience with 2.0 lt zetec with a good earth on engine and to battery terminal std starter ( LRS707 ) works ok hot or cold .


we need to be careful the genuine Lucas lrs707/lrs00707 would have been a "fat body" direct driven unit 0.8kw in the size and shape to fit. like i said there where starters upto 1,4kw and some that had a inbuilt gear reduction and im talking about original and pattern parts not the racing market ones

cross referencing can be a bit of a minefield and its not to say that others all had the same units there was issues when people used blacktops and some would not fit even with casting webs removed so thin body starters where needed

I found why my 8000 mile old one wasn't working - the combination of expansion and vibration has made the 2x thin nose to body bolts to come loose probably effecting the ground path? its defiantly a repaired/remanufactured unit and might have been why it had hot crank issues

to be honest due to the cost and hassle plus I will have to take it back out later on i just want to renew and have done with it

obfripper - 27/9/25 at 10:33 PM

I have the starter from when I still had a 1.8 flywheel, it is a mondeo 2.0 blacktop starter body tig'd into a sierra starter casing as in the link below:

Starter pics

It hasn't been used since I changed to a lightweight flywheel, I also have a second unmodified starter for spare parts.
I only changed it because the lightened flywheel had a pinto offset, and no amount of modification could counteract the negative offset required.

Drop me a text if you want to give the starter a try, I'll be out in the car tomorrow if the lane dries up reasonably well, and could probably drop by at some point depending where you have the car stored.

FYI the more modern geared equivalents are a similar idea to mine, just with a valeo d6ra clone motor in a sierra bolt patterned housing, and a common failure of the d6ra was the earth connections coming loose under the endcap.

Dave

baz-R - 29/9/25 at 05:31 PM

quote:
Originally posted by obfripper
I have the starter from when I still had a 1.8 flywheel, it is a mondeo 2.0 blacktop starter body tig'd into a sierra starter casing as in the link below:

Starter pics

It hasn't been used since I changed to a lightweight flywheel, I also have a second unmodified starter for spare parts.
I only changed it because the lightened flywheel had a pinto offset, and no amount of modification could counteract the negative offset required.

Drop me a text if you want to give the starter a try, I'll be out in the car tomorrow if the lane dries up reasonably well, and could probably drop by at some point depending where you have the car stored.

FYI the more modern geared equivalents are a similar idea to mine, just with a valeo d6ra clone motor in a sierra bolt patterned housing, and a common failure of the d6ra was the earth connections coming loose under the endcap.

Dave


hay Dave you still rocking about in your striker?

my starter i got currently is some remanufactured thing all black and the original ID's gone probably form a original ford item like what the 1.8 CVH engine sierra had by the looks of it.

I have got a fair bit of prep work to get the car up to scratch so not in a rush. fuel pump needed a few whacks to get going so was going to renew it and replace all the fuel hose to SAE J30R9 ethanol safe stuff. been as i got a few minor oil leaks and need to change all her vital fluids, upgrade the alternator bracket that keeps cracking and a few other bits i may as well have the engine and box out and do everything over winter.

ideally i would like a new or recon as their not too expensive and the hot crank issue was a PITA. it might be down to earth path through the body and expansion. as long as there was airflow she would spin over fine but if you was in traffic on a hot day, rad fan running and creeping in traffic it would struggle or not have the umph to crank. let me see what i can come up with?

Slater - 2/10/25 at 06:19 PM

Sorry for late reply... just got back off holiday in Yorkshire Dales

I got this starter motor off e-bay back in April, fitted and works a treat. for 1.8 Zetec silver top/flywheel & type 9.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324193257804

obfripper - 2/10/25 at 11:06 PM

Hi baz,

The striker's still going well, has had some major work at the start of the year though but it has all panned out fine.
I've just come back from Wiscombe after a few hours of closed track running, something I thought would not appear as an opportunity again.

In the same vein, my starter decided to start random clicking today so I also need to replace the solenoid again (although I'm going to strip and regrease the plunger first), the plunger wore though the brass liner in the first solenoid and was jamming halfway down it's stroke.

I would go back to the old modified starter if it was possible to get the longer nose/pinion in there, that never had any mechanical issues and would crank faster than the current and original bosch starters.

I have amp clamps and an oscilloscope if you want to see what is going on with the current draw with your existing starter, checking the battery voltage simultaneously with the starter current draw may help to show if there is any underlying issue, or just a past it starter.

Dave

baz-R - 3/10/25 at 11:42 AM

quote:
Originally posted by obfripper
Hi baz,

The striker's still going well, has had some major work at the start of the year though but it has all panned out fine.
I've just come back from Wiscombe after a few hours of closed track running, something I thought would not appear as an opportunity again.

In the same vein, my starter decided to start random clicking today so I also need to replace the solenoid again (although I'm going to strip and regrease the plunger first), the plunger wore though the brass liner in the first solenoid and was jamming halfway down it's stroke.

I would go back to the old modified starter if it was possible to get the longer nose/pinion in there, that never had any mechanical issues and would crank faster than the current and original bosch starters.

I have amp clamps and an oscilloscope if you want to see what is going on with the current draw with your existing starter, checking the battery voltage simultaneously with the starter current draw may help to show if there is any underlying issue, or just a past it starter.

Dave


I seem to recall back when you sorted me for a wideband sensor you mentioned suspension arms cracking? Jesus that was a long time ago!

Wiscome park closed track running? its that something like a arrive and drive track day thing? I did the wiscombe hill championship a few years in a row before the MSA rule changes pushed a lot of road going low production and special's out plus licence and entry fees etc was a luxury i couldn't justify with divorce dragging on

i have a couple of scope meters but no DC clamps well not at home but work has one or two i think the issue with what i had fitted was it was all coming undone (heat & vibration i suspect) i have stripped it to see what was happening and its all good internally and my money was bad earth path through the case hot and failed because it was all so loose the outer winding was shorting on the body? new 1.4 kw unit just arrived in the post

baz-R - 3/10/25 at 11:52 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Slater
Sorry for late reply... just got back off holiday in Yorkshire Dales

I got this starter motor off e-bay back in April, fitted and works a treat. for 1.8 Zetec silver top/flywheel & type 9.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324193257804


i orderd a QH QRS2175 in the end as listed as 1.4 kw QH QRS2175

although what was in the box looks like the slim line versions kicking around on ebay

obfripper - 3/10/25 at 12:39 PM

The suspension arms were sorted a few years ago, I patterned a jig so I can make a replacement in a couple hours now.
I had a loss of compression when cold, was due to valve sealing face recession - strangely on the inlet valves though. New valves, guides, recut seats along with fresh cams (had some end journal wear) made for an expensive april.

The wiscombe thing was just by chance, we had permission from Tim and Sara to use the course a couple years ago, and were given permission again on short notice for yesterday, very much close friends and family though.

The changes to the blue book pretty much put out any chances of me being able to enter any msuk competition without rebuilding the car with an approved full cage, so it was a good chance to have a few good runs up the hill.

I'll drop you a message later when I'm done at work.


Dave