Originally posted by 98SVT100:
How difficult is the replacement? I have a Haynes manual.. that sucks. Some previous posts say only 2 bolts (no mention of size) and a wire harness hold it in. Is this correct? Also, accessible from the top of the engine? Thanks for the help!
It is very icky!
Disconnect battery. Remove air intake hose and air box. Depressurize and disconnect the fuel lines. May have to disconnect the heater coolant line(s) also. (The fuel and coolant lines are just so you can lift the starter out - it has to come back and then straight up through the hole you made by moving the lines.) Remove two nuts from wire connector on solenoid. There are two bolts on the starter - and they are likely frozen in pretty good
Right side one is a straight shot with socket (13mm IIRC) and 6 inch extension, left one is buried under the mass of coolant hoses and outlets and can only be gotten with a wrench - you really do not want to round it off so be careful! Then just move the power wires out of the way and lift up back and out to remove the starter. I also unplugged the coolant temp sensor jsut to have more room. As long as you can get that one tough bolt out it's a straight forward job. The automatic may be different, and as Jim said may require new flex plate to fix.
My flywheel was only one year old and I only let it grind like 2 or 3 times for a VERY short time, and replacement of the starter fixed my problem - mileage may vary......
