I installed a 2kW starter a couple years ago and it's under limited lifetime warranty from Autozone. It's in need of replacement, but the problem is, Autozone doesn't have the one I installed. According to the DIY Starter Change Swap for Dummies post (which was great, that's how I did it back before) I can replace my 2004 with an series 2 starter instead of the Series 1 upgraded one. So what I have installed currently is the 13 tooth upgraded 2kW. This starter has a cover over the pinion gear.
But it's unavailable. As such, I might be able to try a different starter, but the problem is the 2009 starter has no cover.

I want to say that when I removed the first starter it didn't have a cover either, but I can't remember. I'm afraid to order a starter that is wrong though. Is the pinion cover actually required?
I have a 2004 MT

Thanks in advance

 

Here is my current starter

Here is the 2009 starter

 

Well, the 2009 fits. Has no cover over the pinion gear and when I removed the old starter, that cover was all blackened and the inside of the housing around the flywheel had more fuzzy debris than I had hoped to find, but the new starter mates up nicely and is a huge improvement. And this time I even remembered to let the fuel trims reset (something I didn't do properly when I swapped the battery (which is what degraded my starter in the first place, having to restart so many times on the fly)