I’m not quite done yet but the old starter is out:
This job is no joke. Much respect to those who have already tackled it. If it ever goes out again I’m just trading the truck in lol.
Notes so far:
I disconnected the coolant lines from the transmission but you might be able to get away with just loosening the keeper though. If you go this route have pan to catch you coolant. Hilarity ensued for me:
I got at the two bolts holding starter to the block with a wobble and a lot (I mean a lot) of extensions:
The top heat shield bolt is quite literally torture. Like one flat at a time once it breaks loose.
Once I got this far I attempted to take the solenoid loose but couldn’t get the starter clocked around far enough. To solve this I followed one of the tips above and disconnected two of the clips holding the cable that goes to the starter. They are both along the frame and a pain to find.
Once I got the cable loose I was able to disconnect the 12mm bolt holding it on and the trigger wire. Once that was loose I could clock the starter and get the solenoid off.
Final unlock was disconnecting the mid-pipe. I believe that
@TeCKis300 called this method. I don’t know what else I could move out of the way TBH. I didn’t disconnect the O2 sensors, just the 3 stud bolts (14mm) and 2 spring clamp bolts (also 14 I think) and just shoved the pipe out of the way.
Also worth mentioning I didn’t remove my ARB skids. It may have save some time fussing with the power cable but I got around it.