CA855R Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Has anyone changed their starter before? Where is it? I tried looking around the bottom but could not find it or maybe I did not look hard enough. Could it be on the top side? Maybe under a whole bunch of crap that needs to be removed to get it out? I know once I find it should be a piece of cake to take out, right? Going to bite the bullet and swap mine out. I think its biting the dust slowly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Caller Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 The starter is underneath the intake manifold,close to the flywheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 As said, just below the intake manifold. You'll see the solenoid, which originally was covered by a plastic cap a little larger than your fist. If the cap's still there, it'll pop off easily. The starter is black, and because of the angle and intake manifold, IIRC, is mostly obscured from view. But can be removed without touching much else. It's quite a bit easier if you remove the radiator fan though, which isn't too difficult.The solenoids fail from time to time, resulting in a no-start, unless you try a couple times, or give the solenoid a whack. I don't see too many failures of the starter itself around here. What makes you think yours is failing? Maybe the contacts just need to be cleaned?Here's a picture of an owner's engine. It's not exactly the same engine, and has been modified. But the starter and other basic reference points are all the same.http://s27.photobucket.com/user/huseinholland/media/CarMods/IMG_0615.jpg.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA855R Posted November 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thanks for the pic. It might be easiest to remove the intake manifold. I did that before when swapping out the PCV box... I believe its not the starter itself but the solenoid doesn't always engage. I can hear the starter spinning but not turning the engine over. Then there is a thunk sound and the car starts. I wonder if the solenoid itself can be changed/cleaned??? I usually thought that they both was one unit and had to replace together. Not sure though. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rsterns Posted November 18, 2014 Report Share Posted November 18, 2014 If your hearing the starter turning, the issue is most likely that the bendex is sticking so not engaging with the flywheel. I'd try tapping on the solenoid before tearing everything apart. My V70 T5 with 420K miles still has the original starter. I realize that is only one data point, but they don't fail often. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 If you're cheap, you might be able to pull the starter off, spray some lubricant on the mechanisms you can affect through the cog's hole. Replace and see how much longer it'll last. The solution if it is sticking enough that you're stranded is to use something like a tire iron to hit the solenoid to free it up. I personally wouldn't remove the manifold. Pulling the fan should be plenty. But it'll be super easy if you do want to pull the manifold. The solenoid is not intended to be a replaceable part as far as I can tell. You might be able to separate it, but it is essentially part of the starter.My solenoid failed me and went from requiring gentle taps to keeping a hammer and a 2x4 in the passenger seat It's a rare situation when a hammer actually fixes anything. Swapped it with a junkyard part with unknown miles or age (looked well used), and it never me trouble again. I think that was 6 years and almost 100k ago. This car saw plenty of salt too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atefitty Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Thanks for the pic. It might be easiest to remove the intake manifold. I did that before when swapping out the PCV box... I believe its not the starter itself but the solenoid doesn't always engage. I can hear the starter spinning but not turning the engine over. Then there is a thunk sound and the car starts. I wonder if the solenoid itself can be changed/cleaned??? I usually thought that they both was one unit and had to replace together. Not sure though. Any thoughts? You don't remove the intake manifold to remove a starter..take the cooling fan out is all you need to do. If its a turbo there's some hoses in the way so I would move the air filter box...this also helps you see the starter bolt..the lower bolt you can get with a 14mm wrench though. theres a third bolt on the starter that attaches to the side of the engine block . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA855R Posted December 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Replaced starter last week. Not too bad except for all the hoses and a fat wiring cable that got in the way when trying to remove the starter bolts. No more weird starting noise or spinning motor noise followed by a clunk when the solenoid finally decides to engage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.