WH Mean Green starter vs. Gear Reduction starter UPDATE Post 26

[70 Steed]

I'm replacing the starter in my Bronco. I'm trying to decide whether the Mean Green at $289 is worth the extra money over their Gear Reduction starter at $99.

I did a search but didn't find where this has been discussed. I would like opinions from those that have had experience with them. I know that both are smaller, lighter and more powerful that the OEM starter. The Gear Reduction requires an extra cable from the solenoid to the starter but looks like a simple install.

 

[tirewater]

I'm using a remanufactured '94 Mustang starter. The '93-'94 Mustangs came with the high torque/mini starters stock.

What are you trying to achieve? Is your engine hard enough to turn over (high compression) that it needs a special starter?

 

[69_ColdDuck]

I've had the gear reduction starter now for about 6 months. I can't imagine needing anything with more torque than this one provides. I contemplated the mean green, but I couldn't justify the price difference and now having installed the gear reduction, do not regret it at all.

 

[SeanT4x4]

I have the gear reduction starter from WH and am completely happy with it. There is a little additional wiring but its a piece of cake and they give you instructions. That starter is a lot smaller than the original I replaced, which is nice.

I think the price difference between the two is that with the mean green you can basically start your bronco without pushing in the clutch going up hill. Probably useful for hard core wheelers but not worth the additional $200 in my case.

 

[WILDHORSES]

I think the price difference between the two is that with the mean green you can basically start your bronco without pushing in the clutch going up hill. Probably useful for hard core wheelers but not worth the additional $200 in my case.

You summed it up pretty well. I taught all the kids not to touch the clutch when rock crawling. Start and stop the rig just by using the key. Make sure you have real good wiring though.

Jim

 

[70 Steed]

I'm using a remanufactured '94 Mustang starter. The '93-'94 Mustangs came with the high torque/mini starters stock.

What are you trying to achieve? Is your engine hard enough to turn over (high compression) that it needs a special starter?

I'm trying achieve a reliable starter. I had the bendex go out on my OEM starter. I had it rebuilt. Just recently it started acting up again. The starter spins and doesn't engage the ring gear.

You summed it up pretty well. I taught all the kids not to touch the clutch when rock crawling. Start and stop the rig just by using the key. Make sure you have real good wiring though.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I have a C4 so starting in gear is not an option. However since bump starting is also not an option reliability is key.

Just wondering if the Mean Green is worth the extra money. I have real good wiring. Not having to modify the wiring is a bonus however not a show stopper for the gear reduction starter.

 

[bronconut73]

I'm trying achieve a reliable starter. I had the bendex go out on my OEM starter. I had it rebuilt. Just recently it started acting up again. The starter spins and doesn't engage the ring gear.



Thanks Jim. I have a C4 so starting in gear is not an option. However since bump starting is also not an option reliability is key.

Just wondering if the Mean Green is worth the extra money. I have real good wiring. Not having to modify the wiring is a bonus however not a show stopper for the gear reduction starter.

The Mean Green is in a completely different class of starters.
Very, very heavy duty.
Mean Green components are QA/QC'd by the company I work for.
Very stout.

Having said that my regular pmgr 94 Mustang starter has served me very well. It will turn the motor over with very little power from the battery. Loving it for about 3 years now.

 

[toddz69]

I used to go through parts store rebuilds of regular starters about every 3-4 years for years on my Bronco. I did the reduction gear starter upgrade about 16-17 years ago using a rebuilt Motorcraft starter - never a problem. It still worked fine but it was starting to get noisy so I finally replaced it last year. Very long lasting. I replaced it with a brand new Bosch starter from Rock Auto and it's working great as well. Never going back.

Todd Z.

 

[DirtDonk]

It is actually kind of hard to argue with that much of a difference in price Steed. But I did argue (with myself) for about a week after deciding I even wanted one. And still ended up with the Mean Green.
I'm with the others that the factory starters are typically very reliable, and I don't have many years of history with the Mean Green personally. Only known of them and sold them for years, but never used one. Finally pulled the trigger on one just two weeks ago as a matter of fact.

The only argument I had for it was after installing one in a customer's rig I was helping install a Painless harness on. It just SOUNDED so BADASS when we first fired it up. All three of us there during the initial fire-up noticed the same thing the first time we hit the button. Man, that thing cranks!
It's very hard to explain actually, when a standard one works well enough for most (and makes your truck sound like a newer Ford truck or Mustang up to the late nineties also), but the MG just sounds so cleaner and well, stronger.
Like I said. Hard to explain the feeling. And it might have been totally self-induced, but that's ok too. I'm gonna like it.

I'm sure it didn't hurt that this is a big Windsor with like 10.5:1 compression big cam and all the cool stuff you'd expect out of a hot Mustang (donor), so we expected it to task a starter for sure. But it did turn that thing over clean and tidy, with no complaint at all.
As you would expect of course.

So I forked over the almost 300 bucks (more after tax and almost five times as much as the standard one we sell) and am not unhappy I did. Well, it did hurt, but I'm still not unhappy.
Other than it's going to sit on the shelf for at least a few more months before I start getting my money's worth!
It's a quality feeling piece of Made in USA stuff.

Good luck with the decision!

Paul

 

[MarsChariot]

Well, I just installed the WH Mean Green starter in the wife's 76 last week. I had previously installed one in the 71. In both cases the difference is night and day. The main thing besides the short life that I did not like about the original starter was that they sound so violent. I mean with the original when you start it goes "clacka-wham". Sounds really stressful on everything.

With the MG it simply goes "kachew-kachew" and you're off and running. Much less stressful sounding. And since the 76 is an auto, the reliability is a big issue. The original starters have a bad habit of suddenly dying, which can mean dying in the middle of nowhere. Not good in an auto. If the MG is truly a 300,000 mile starter, then the peace of mind alone is well worth it.

 

[jckkys]

From what I can see the Mean Green is a Denso gear reduction starter. These are great for fleet trucks that are started hundreds of times a day. UPS bought hundreds of thousands of them. They last so long, they were cost effective in that application. In a DD Bronco they would likely last longer than the owner.

 

[TheGanzman]

It is actually kind of hard to argue with that much of a difference in price Steed. But I did argue (with myself) for about a week after deciding I even wanted one. And still ended up with the Mean Green.
I'm with the others that the factory starters are typically very reliable, and I don't have many years of history with the Mean Green personally. Only known of them and sold them for years, but never used one. Finally pulled the trigger on one just two weeks ago as a matter of fact.

The only argument I had for it was after installing one in a customer's rig I was helping install a Painless harness on. It just SOUNDED so BADASS when we first fired it up. All three of us there during the initial fire-up noticed the same thing the first time we hit the button. Man, that thing cranks!
It's very hard to explain actually, when a standard one works well enough for most (and makes your truck sound like a newer Ford truck or Mustang up to the late nineties also), but the MG just sounds so cleaner and well, stronger.
Like I said. Hard to explain the feeling. And it might have been totally self-induced, but that's ok too. I'm gonna like it.

I'm sure it didn't hurt that this is a big Windsor with like 10.5:1 compression big cam and all the cool stuff you'd expect out of a hot Mustang (donor), so we expected it to task a starter for sure. But it did turn that thing over clean and tidy, with no complaint at all.
As you would expect of course.

So I forked over the almost 300 bucks (more after tax and almost five times as much as the standard one we sell) and am not unhappy I did. Well, it did hurt, but I'm still not unhappy.
Other than it's going to sit on the shelf for at least a few more months before I start getting my money's worth!
It's a quality feeling piece of Made in USA stuff.

Good luck with the decision!

Paul

It only hurts when it first goes in, Paul...;D

 

[hyghlndr]

The Mean Green is a tough starter, you could almost literally crawl up the driveway on its power alone. So the quality is there. For heavy or offroad use, a very good option. That said with my fleet, if I have to replace one I do the DB electric gear reduction starter.

 

[chuzie]

I'm using a remanufactured '94 Mustang starter. The '93-'94 Mustangs came with the high torque/mini starters stock.

What are you trying to achieve? Is your engine hard enough to turn over (high compression) that it needs a special starter?

Is there a difference in torque between the 94-95 Mustang starter and say the 96-01 Explorer? I just assumed most 5.0 mini starters were the same.

 

[toddz69]

Is there a difference in torque between the 94-95 Mustang starter and say the 96-01 Explorer? I just assumed most 5.0 mini starters were the same.

I'm sure they're different part numbers but I'm pretty certain both will work just fine. Ford switched to the gear reduction starters in '92 iirc.

Todd Z.

 

[tirewater]

Is there a difference in torque between the 94-95 Mustang starter and say the 96-01 Explorer? I just assumed most 5.0 mini starters were the same.

I should've clarified that the reason for 93-94 mustang starters is fitment. I imagine the starter motor itself is the same across products. I needed a starter that fit a 10.5" 164 tooth flexplate with the bronco bellhousing.

 

[chuzie]

Thanks for clarifying. Almost had me on a wild goose chase.

 

[DirtDonk]

Most Ford starters of that vintage for the 302/351 engines are the same two part numbers. One for automatic transmissions, one for manuals.

There were one or two other variations, but that's about it that I know of.

Paul

 

[sykanr0ng]

What is the horsepower of the Mean Green starter motor?

There are some for the sbf that have 3.5 horsepower motors, but they are more expensive than the Mean Green.

 

[DirtDonk]

Thought they were rated in kilowatts or something like that. I've seen 3.5kw listed somewhere I think, so maybe that's what you were seeing? Maybe they were listing the HP though. Just not sure.

The ones for our engines have a 4.4:1 ratio and rated at 2x the HP of a stock starter, but I don't know what that equates to in our real world numbers.
I'll have do dig into it a little later to find the exact info though.
I think they even have different rated motors available on some of their other specialty starters.
Letcha know what I find. Or you could always check their site too, in case that info is there.

Paul