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Thread: DIY: changing starter motor

  1. #1
    Senior Member pieman18's Avatar
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    Default DIY: changing starter motor

    ok, this is just a small, hopefully easy to understand guide on how to change ur own starter motor if it carks it one day

    there is a few pics , but my aim for my first ever tech guide is to give confidence to those enthusiasts like myself who have little mechanical experience but are looking to learn by practical means

    this requires little skill really, but a bit of persistance as it is a very awkward process, but well worth it when the engine fires up without a hiccup

    ok here we go:
    using this guide its an 8 step process, which may take around 2 hours if you're careful and slow, probs around 45 to an hour if you're confident in your abilities

    For those of you that dont know the starter motor is here


    located directly under the extractors, its held in by 2 longish bolts, one on the top of the unit and one underneath, in this pic you can just see the top bolt directly under the black piece of piping

    STEP 1:
    disconnect the battery; if this step is missed, when the wires from the starter are disconnected any contact they make with the body will spark up and maybe damage your engine, so this step is essential


    STEP 2:
    unbolt the extractors and slightly prize them away from the engine(depending on how they are made); it was necessary for me to unbolt mine as there was very little room to manoeuvre the starter motor once it was unbolted due to the pipe formation and heat wrapping, once they are undone you may find it helpful to jack it up slightly to give you even more room to remove the starter


    STEP 3:
    Unscrew the 2 bolts holding the starter motor in place; this is where the persistance and patience comes into it, they are quite tricky to get to but if your starter is like mine then once you crack the bolts they are very easy to unscrew, i was able to do it with my fingers, on the TOP bolt there is a metal ring ended wire threaded onto the bolt, DONT FORGET to put this back on when ur bolting the new starter in place (it may be tricky to see it in the pics), once the bolts are removed and the starter is removed from its 'socket' angle the black end up towards you to undo the wires, the wires are located on the small cylinder part of the starter motor projecting out from the side if the unit, there is 1 wire held on by a nut, 1 slide on wire and a plastic cover over another bolt that you SHOULD NOT need to touch unless you are rebuilding the starter motor, the picture in step 4 will show you the wiring setup. This is what you're looking at when the starter is completely removed:

    the starter motor looks like this when removed:

    the old, dead one is on the left, the one i ordered which was wrong in the end, is on the right
    STEP 4:
    Reconnecting the wires; this is reasonably simple, but requires a steady hand, angle the new starter motor with the silver end down and the black end facing you, slide the cirle ended wire over the thread, put the washer over it and chuck the nut on, maker sure its tight, the slide the small blue ended wire onto its metal receiver, in the pic its loacted the the right of the nut wire, place the plastic cover thing over the left side nut, your starter is now rewired


    STEP 5:
    Bolting the starter back in place; this is another step that requires some patience, it can be a bit tricky to get the angle right again due the extractors and some wires that i couldnt see or feel very well, but its also relatively easy, it has to be in so that the small outside cylinder looking thing on the unit is facing up towards you, match the holes up and slide the long bolts in, it is a good idea to put both bolts in loosely before you tighten either one up just to make sure its in properly as it is near impossible to get the right view angle to tell if its in properly, once both the bolts are in, tighten them up, this may take a few mins due to the inability to swing the spanner very far


    STEP 6:
    Re-connect the extractors; fairly straight forward, mine were connected by 5 nuts, use the jack to lift the ectractors to the threads, its possible to lift the exhaust yourself and slide the extractors onto their respective threads, i did it that way, but its bad for your back haha


    STEP 7:
    reconnect the battery; speaks for itself, make sure the connections are tight


    STEP 8:
    Turn your baby on; listen to her purr again, she will love you for it


    NOTE: make sure you get the right starter motor OR one the fits in and has the same connections, i have a 20v st as you can see, and i ordered a starter for an AE86, it was slightly different as i suspect the AE86 unit is for a 4-ac not a 4age, i ended up with one from an ae92 which looks slightly fatter and shorter, but fits perfectly and works like a dream, dont forget to remember all the wires associated with the starter or you may try to turn it on and nothing will happen, trust me, its easy to do

    Well there you go, a small slightly detailed guide to how you change ur starter motor yourself, if your still worried, dont be, its not a really tough job, like i said, it requires patience, persistance and at times a steady hand

    this is my first tech article so any feedback anyone has will be appreciated, or let me know how you went if you use this article if/when you change ur starter

    cheers guys
    Last edited by pieman18; 30th September 2009 at 05:36 PM.
    Formerly: sprinters_r_mad


  2. #2
    Senior Member OMG866's Avatar
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    Default

    very help full and easy to understand. i like the way you explained every step clearly and with pictures.

    Good Job look forward to more

  3. #3
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    in the process of doing this now; awesome tutorial - pictures help heaps. thanks mate.

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