Starter motor replacement

[1981George]

Hello,
I'm having issues starting my car. I thought it was due to a current drain meaning the battery was going flat but a mobile mechanic has had a look and thinks it's the starter motor.

What brand would people recommend?

I've looked at a few videos and this doesn't look that difficult to do yourself but it does require taking quite a few things out to give access. Has anyone had trouble with replacing a starter motor?

[marcb]

What Volvo is it?

I would get the mechanic to do it. I got a mobile outfit in Birmingham to do a starter on my son's car (a Kia though) and the bill was only £200 including the motor.

[Simmy]

Originally Posted by 1981George

Hello,
I'm having issues starting my car. I thought it was due to a current drain meaning the battery was going flat but a mobile mechanic has had a look and thinks it's the starter motor.

What brand would people recommend?

I've looked at a few videos and this doesn't look that difficult to do yourself but it does require taking quite a few things out to give access. Has anyone had trouble with replacing a starter motor?

check the battery condition and alternator before going down the starter motor route.

[wynnj]

Easy to change on S60 - did once once in a theatre car park by torchlight. Get a recon Bosch one.

[Georgeandkira]

Year, model (engine) and mileage often helps us.

Absolutely see to the soundness of your battery -how old is it?- and its connections in the boot.

An 'out of vehicle' charge with a modern charger can work wonders.

Coincidentally, here in No. America a Bosch reman is frequently the way to go ass there are many real cheap rebuilds being distributed about the planet.

[SnineT]

ECP do recons, not sure if a Volvo one is stocked but worth a look, fully warranted but you do have to pay a surcharge until you return the old one.

[Missing Lincs]

Before changing the starter motor try cleaning the solenoid terminal/connector. It's a known problem and loads of videos on YouTube showing where the terminal is.

[1981George]

Hello everyone,
Thanks for the comments. I should have said it's a 2004 Volvo XC70 2.4 D5 163bhp with ~210,000 miles.

It's been sluggish starting pretty much since I got it in summer 2019. I bought a new battery for it in December 2019 this was after a service as the garage said it was coming to the end of its life. This didn't cure the problem.

It gets worse in winter and better in summer. In the summer of 2021 after another service at a different garage I bought a new battery as it was sluggish to start. It seemed better but now struggles to start, battery testers show the battery is in good health.

The car roars into life once it's got warm, I had thought there was a current drain which led to my first post about it being the starter instead.

[VOLVOBOY]

Poor earth lead .
Take off the main one from tranmission housing to chassis behind nearside headlamp and clean terminals .
Resistance test the lead as it corrodes internally , High resistance makes for poor cranking .
Difficult cranking in cold , damp weather and much easier cranking when warm and dry are classic symptoms .

[1981George]

Originally Posted by VOLVOBOY

Poor earth lead .
Take off the main one from tranmission housing to chassis behind nearside headlamp and clean terminals .
Resistance test the lead as it corrodes internally , High resistance makes for poor cranking .
Difficult cranking in cold , damp weather and much easier cranking when warm and dry are classic symptoms .

Thanks I'll have a look. Is the earth lead easy to identify? I guess I look at the transmission housing and look for a fairly large cable running up to near the headlight?