Electrical: Removing Starter Motor

[Duncan R]

I have to replace the starter motor, I have searched the forums for some tips and it seems that the best access is from under the car. I don't have a garage or a driveway and my road is not level also I don't have any axle stands so I have decided that climbing under the car held up with the standard jack is not a good idea! Does anyone think that using one of the half moon spanners from the top of the car would be successful? Failing this I will have to get a mobile mechanic out to do it.

Many thanks

[240]

ive just done mine and its not easy in fact almost impossible to remove bolt from the top. the bottom bolt doesnt need to come out fully just enough to gat the starter off becasue you wont get bolt back in with starter on. i would recomend a ratchet spanner with an angled head, the bottom bolt is 18mm

[Duncan R]

My bolts come through from the back and into the threaded wholes of the starter - why they couldn't have done it the other way round I don't know?

[david philips]

car ramps are a lot safer than jacks and if you need to you can sell them again for almost as much as you pay or in the case of secondhand ones maybe more, only thing against car ramps is the long over hang on volvo bricks you need to make up a kind of wooden starting for them (some old rafter wood) be carefull if you do get and start to use them as at the back if not carefull you can damage the exhaust if the starting ramp is not high enuf,good luck.

[Duncan R]

Hi David,

Problem is that I can't start the car to drive it on the ramps also the camber on the road is quite steep. I hate not having anywhere to work on the car, if I had a driveway I would invest in a pair of stands or ramps.

[c_lee]

How about pushing the car so that the nearside wheels are just on the pavement.
Depending on the height of the pavement above the road you might then be able to gain access from the front by shimmying on your back in the rain gutter of the road.

Colin

[Clifford Pope]

You don't have to jack it up very much to squeeze underneath. Just use the ordinary jack to get the car as high as possible and then put blocks of wood under the wheel and lower it again. Then it can't fall off.

I've found the best way to free the upper bolt is to use a ring spanner put on backwards, ie with the angle pointing away from the bulkhead. If you can't get clearance for the full length of the spanner then cut it off short and use a crow bar or heavy hammer.
That's a good trick for many nuts in restricted places. Cut-down spanners are quite useful.

[wooble]

ASSuming you have the other tools to do the job (you need about 20" of 1/2 drive extensions and a wobble joint to get to the top starter bolt from underneath) Why not buy a jack and stands? You can get a 2-ton compact trolley jack for about £20 and a pair of decent ratcheting axle stands for £15, that's got to be cheaper than a mobile mechanic, and you have the tools for future use.

Alternatively you can get to the starter bolts from above using a flexi-head ring spanner, I have a ratcheting set which are the dog's doodahs, but are fairly pricey if you want a whole set.

EDIT: I've also used clifford's trick of cutting old spanners in half to give two stubby spanners, you can then either hammer them as a makeshift impact driver or use a length of pipe on the end for mega leverage!

[Duncan R]

Thanks guys for all your input. I think I will give the block of wood under the wheel ago. I ordered an offset ring spanner off ebay (local tool shop wanted nearly £20 for a spanner!) I have the socket and wobble bars already,still waiting for the motor to turn up. I should be able to sort it out using all your suggestions. Many thanks again

[Duncan R]

Couldn't get the bolts to shift. Breakdown service got me going by holding the broken section of the solenoid onto the starter, local garage fitted the motor for £30 - they said the bolts were really tight and they had to use an air tool.