Just replaced my starter (96) on short notice. Yesterday at 10 minutes to five it locked on me and wouldn't disengage. (92,000 miles). I turned the car off and it stopped, but had nearly every warning light on the dash on, including brake. I didnt try to start it again, since I figured from what I had read here on the board that I had the "welded/ sticking" plunger problem.
After briefly considering just ordering the contacts, I thought about the trip Im supposed to take on Friday and decided to bite the bullet and just install a new one. Local dealer had one in stock
After removing the ds tire and the last rubber flap inside the wheel well, and disconneting the positive battery terminal. I began my education. Wasnt too hard to get the lid of the postive cable connector up, and the bolt off, and for a change the other clip-in electical connection actually clipped out easily.
However, the two bolts that held the starter were enormous PITAs :'(. To break the upper one loose, I used two extensions and a step stool and broke it from above with a pipe extension on the wrench. (It must have taken 40-50 minutes to get to this point by trial and error.) There is not a lot of play at all, and the brake lines are in your way in there. The lower bolt I got from underneath the car and found it to be much easier than the top one, contrary to some other published reports.
I did conclude halfway through that it was foolish/futile to leave the two brackets holding the transimission dipstick pipe in place, so I took them both out, and was then able to actually start accomplishing something. From what I saw, there's very llittle chance of getting a starter out without removing those two brackets to get the dipstick pipe out of the way. You can try if you want to..... if I ever do this again, those are the first two bolts that will come out.(the dipstick pipe just pulls right out of its lower pipe)
Remounting was ok and I have tried it once and it started. Have to give it a road test, but the other warning lights seem to have gone out, so maybe m alternator is still good
. Not sure I would have had the energy to rebuild the contacts after pulling the thing.
After briefly considering just ordering the contacts, I thought about the trip Im supposed to take on Friday and decided to bite the bullet and just install a new one. Local dealer had one in stock
After removing the ds tire and the last rubber flap inside the wheel well, and disconneting the positive battery terminal. I began my education. Wasnt too hard to get the lid of the postive cable connector up, and the bolt off, and for a change the other clip-in electical connection actually clipped out easily.
However, the two bolts that held the starter were enormous PITAs :'(. To break the upper one loose, I used two extensions and a step stool and broke it from above with a pipe extension on the wrench. (It must have taken 40-50 minutes to get to this point by trial and error.) There is not a lot of play at all, and the brake lines are in your way in there. The lower bolt I got from underneath the car and found it to be much easier than the top one, contrary to some other published reports.
I did conclude halfway through that it was foolish/futile to leave the two brackets holding the transimission dipstick pipe in place, so I took them both out, and was then able to actually start accomplishing something. From what I saw, there's very llittle chance of getting a starter out without removing those two brackets to get the dipstick pipe out of the way. You can try if you want to..... if I ever do this again, those are the first two bolts that will come out.(the dipstick pipe just pulls right out of its lower pipe)
Remounting was ok and I have tried it once and it started. Have to give it a road test, but the other warning lights seem to have gone out, so maybe m alternator is still good
. Not sure I would have had the energy to rebuild the contacts after pulling the thing.
