how do I change a starter motor...

[Archbish]

ummmm.... how do I change a starter motor?  Hints, tips and instructions would be brilliant!!

[davegttph1]

lol.. cant even see it (unless Im being blind...) every now and then I get the dreaded "clunk" noise instead of the engine turning over... Not good. guessing its a big job since changing spark plugs aint exactly simple

[Martiny]

Owen, first the starter motor must WANT to change !!

[Archbish]

*holds head in hands*  Not entirely the useful input I was hoping for... *sigh*

Trust me - the sodding thing wants to change!! *lol*  I\'m working on the basis it\'s down below the plugs...??  If I take it off, anything I should look for, or is this a fairly simply plug and play kinda swap?

perlease....

[davegttph1]

Erm, make sure you unplug the battery, mucho current will run through them wires shorted them out on a renault 5 before. big bang wasnt the word

Apart from that I wouldnt know, did 1 on a 5 before and took me about 6 hours on my first attempt. usually hiding somewhere below the engine. its never easy

[Wav]

Easy as pie, lemon pie actually

Once you\'ve got the car jacked up fairly high, passenger side will do, disconnect the battery, unplug the power lead (12mm nut) and the solenoid spade connector from the starter motor (tuck them out of the way). Now remove the bottom bolt and the top long bolt with nut holding the starter motor to the bell housing. The long bolt wil require the nut to be held still with an open ended spanner or similar in order to undo the bolt. Once these two bolts are removed the starter should easily pull out of the bell housing as one complete unit. Fitting is the reverse of removal and once that\'s done you can have a swift  :guinness to celebrate.

Paul

[nikp]

I take it we\'re talking FD?

Dead easy - nothing really to worryy about. 2 bolts, and 1 long bolt with nut on the end. I think they\'re 14mm - you\'ll need a spanner on the nut on the long one which is easiest to get through to from the wheel arch. Remove cables from battery as stated earlier. Can\'t go wrong really.

[wookie]

Jack up front of car, put on axle stands.
Remove negative terminal from battery, bash head on bonnet from not covering alarm and now deaf in one ear!.
slide under car from the front, go behind engine to start of gearbox.
look up the left hand side of the engine by the start of the box and there is the starter.
Take off terminals for electricity, one large one held on with nut and one push on terminal i think from memory.
One nut and bolt on the bottom and one bolt on the top or the other way around but one is definatly a nut and bolt. Catch starter before it drops on head, and trust me that hurts lots.
refit is reverse of removal. easy peasy  :yes

[Ada7]

You wait for a while and then 3 helpful people come along together :rollin

Adam

[Archbish]

*lol* cheers guys - you are all legendary warriors of info sharing!!

Now if only the auto leccy can sort out why the alarm won\'t disarm so I can start the car...

*sigh*  last week it was the radiator...

Cheers guys!!

[nikp]

There\'s nothing worse than a buggered up alarm! You can\'t just \'pull the fuse\' from it, cos they\'re designed not to allow easy bypass! What a nightmare! Auto-leccies aren\'t exactly cheap!!

[Archbish]

IT\'S ALIVE!!!  The nice man from Hammond Auto has fixed it up for the fabulous price of £35!!!!  Seriously very cool dude, and has done what can only be described as a proper job!  He\'s my hero.

Tomorrow.  Starter motor... (it\'s intermittent, so should see me through the weekend...)

[nikp]

Aha! Not bad at all! And whats this? A reliable, and reasonable car professional? I never realised one existed!

[jasonlel]

lol.. cant even see it (unless Im being blind...) every now and then I get the dreaded "clunk" noise instead of the engine turning over... Not good. guessing its a big job since changing spark plugs aint exactly simple

Hmmmmm i do have a similiar problem. I\'m using a Pivot start button thou. Sometimes when I try to start the car, it will give me a "clunk" sound instead of the engine cranking. By pressing again or 2 more times then the engine fire up immediately.... COuld it be the starter problem too?? Batt is in good condition.



Cheers,
Jason X