1986 fourtrax starter reduction gear set installation.

[Pain]

I just purchased an '86 fourtrax 350, and the electric start didn't work. When I opened the panel on the left crank case, there were no gears. Not that they were ground or broken off, all the gears and shafts were gone!

I found a complete set including the plate on eBay, but when they arrived the set is from an 87 or older model. The pic below shows the one I bought on the left and my old plate on the right.



Now, looking at the exploded parts view I see that all the gears and shafts 'appear' to be the same for all years, and the only difference is the cover plate. The '86 is in the cutout at the top-right.



But, when I took all the parts from the '87 and put it in place, my '86 cover won't fit. All the shafts and gears fit perfectly, but the shafts are about 1/8 too long and prevent the '86 cover from seating.

My question is this. Did they perhaps re-design the '86 cover plate to accommodate the longer shafts, and if I just bought a new '86 plate it would fit? Or, am I out of luck?

I fear that some or all of the original parts will not be available at the dealer, and of course they will be twice as much as the ones I got on EBay.

Anyone have any idea?

[Pain]

Sorry. Don't see any way to edit/delete my double post.

[Pain]

No edit function on this forum?

I found another gear set on ebay, so hopefully that one will work.