Starter motor fix

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scott.jem
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Starter motor fix

Post by scott.jem »

Hi guys searched to see if you had anything on removing and fixing the starter motor so I thought I should write one up. : )

Safety first - disconnect the battery.

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First you need to get under the car and remove the electrical connections from the starter.
Then undo the first bolt marked in red it is in a bit of a hard place to get to with a socket and the other one is on the other side of the cross member.
The starter motor should then come out with a little bit of jiggling. .

Once you have it out the best thing to do would be to give it a good clean as it just make it easier.

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Now it’s out and clean you need to take it apart and see what’s going on inside.

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Undo the screws and bolts shown and the rest of it can just be pulled apart.

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So here is the inside I marked the location of all the bushes with a red dot and as you can see two of them are gone and i only have one good one left. You can go down to any good spare parts store and pick up some new bushes for a maximum of $20 mine cost $12, (oh and don’t bother with Mitsubishi or at least the one near me as apparently Mitsubishi have never made an FTO lol)
Take out the old bushes and give the inside of the starter a clean the new bushes will need to be soldered into place. If you continue to dismantle the starter you will find three little gears and while you are here you might as well give them a bit of grease, just put everything back together and you’re done just do what I have shown you in reverse to get it back in.

So for the cost of $12 you just saved your starter and that’s pretty good as the cheapest one I could find online was about $130.
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Supplanter
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Supplanter »

4 posts and you have already created a DIY :thumleft:
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Bennoz
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Bennoz »

Nice one! :thumleft:
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zuihoujueding
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by zuihoujueding »

well done mate! good thread!
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Supplanter
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Supplanter »

Are bushes all the same, or do you need to get a specific type? What did you use to clean the insides?
LED ALL the things.
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scott.jem
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by scott.jem »

I’m not sure i just went to my local supercheap and told the guy what i wanted and he just said "yep no worries here you go" i put them in and they work lol. I don’t see why it would matter as they would all do the same job. To clean the inside i just used a few clean rags i didn’t do an all-out clean just got rid of the build ups and then regreased the moving parts.
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Shhtuart
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Shhtuart »

Very nice!

I need to do this too :lol:
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Kustom
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Kustom »

Nice post mate! Good work
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FTO-BOY
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Starter motor fix

Post by FTO-BOY »

What grease did you use?
clif
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by clif »

Confused as to why no part numbers etc?

I went to a couple of local shops and they all said nadda, would need to know brand of starter etc before they could give some bushes as there are a few different types.

So anyone got part numbers or a brand etc???
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spetz
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by spetz »

While on the topic...
My starter motor also has an issue.
When I turn the key it won't crank. However if I feed a direct 12V to it, it will crank and start the car.
From what I gather by reading, it's the solenoid on it which is faulty.

Does this sound right?
Is the solenoid repairable/replaceable, or do I need a new starter?
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Daniel2019
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Daniel2019 »

Same as what happened to me. Solenoid is f*cked/stuck/worn out.

Eh I just got a new starter motor.
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spetz
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by spetz »

Do you know if you can fix it?
I mean, $130 for a new starter motor Vs maybe a $10 part...
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Daniel2019
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Daniel2019 »

spetz wrote:Do you know if you can fix it?
I mean, $130 for a new starter motor Vs maybe a $10 part...
Good question, not sure. I guess it depends exactly whats wrong with it.

I got my starter motor off dstocks for I think it was $65 + postage, but that was used. Not really an issue to me as Im selling the car but yeah, if you dont mind a used part, dwayne might have one or two.
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spetz
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by spetz »

For a wear item like a starter motor I would always prefer to buy new, unless the price difference was substantial

Hopefully someone can shine some light on the matter for us
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Daniel2019
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Daniel2019 »

spetz wrote:For a wear item like a starter motor I would always prefer to buy new, unless the price difference was substantial

Hopefully someone can shine some light on the matter for us
Point. I feel the same way. Only reason I didnt buy new is that Im selling mine so meh!

May be a dumb question but if its like a stuck solenoid.. can you just open up the starter and unstick it...?

Would it not be similar to just tapping the starter motor to unstick it, except it gets properly freed?
I fix cars.
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silverGPX
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by silverGPX »

If you tap it too much all the magnets will start to crack and fall apart and cause more damage.

I bashed mine for about a month until it died, pulled it apart and it was a crumbly mess inside
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Daniel2019
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by Daniel2019 »

silverGPX wrote:If you tap it too much all the magnets will start to crack and fall apart and cause more damage.

I bashed mine for about a month until it died, pulled it apart and it was a crumbly mess inside
Is it possible to open it up far enough to manually free it properly?
I fix cars.
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spetz
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Re: Starter motor fix

Post by spetz »

The solenoid is separate to the motor/magnets.
I was reading that solenoid issues are common in older VW's and they repair them. Not sure if this would transfer over to our starter motors too though
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