Starter Motor Location

Camo · Post by **Camo** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:24 pm

My car wouldnt start last night and not again this morning, it sounds like a starter motor problem from the whir and click noise thats made when i turn the ignition.

I'm just after the location of the starter motor, i know its at the front bottom of the engine bay, but i'm having some pretty bad back pain atm and cant get under it to look around..... Anyone have a pic?

I'm aiming to give it the old hammer trick and then if that works, get it down to my auto elec to get it re-con'ed.

And just in case there was a previous thread to this affect, you should know that I DID TRY TO USE THE SEARCH FEATURE, however as most of you know ITS sh*t =)

Dont mean to have a go at the admin guys, but every time i'm looking for something i do try to use it and never get anywhere.....

Thanks guys!

Post by **aza013** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:49 pm

may be a silly Q. but dose the battery have charg in it as how you tell it it sounds like a flat battery

did you try to jump start it ?

bigpitty1 · Post by **bigpitty1** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:59 pm

Here is a pic, fresh from my phone camera, it sits under the oil filter.

mr-charisma · Post by **mr-charisma** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:28 pm

when using the search you can narrow down your keywords a lot by using AND / OR to state what you're looking for (there are a few others you can do as well, don't rmember off the top of my head)
e.g.
starter AND motor
will search for all topics that include those three words and rejects the ones that only include one or the other - Search results = 50

just searching for 'starter motor' returns 434 results

Anyway, if you're going to be taking it off to check it out this might help;

"Check the wires coming from the starter motor, they may be loose or coming off.."

dj_ules wrote:hey ive had the same problem just recently fixed.. take your starter motor out and check it before u buy a new one..
make sure your batery is unpluged before u take it out
its 2 bolts holding it. open the starter motor up 2screws and 2 long bolts goin in .. not very hard then just pull it out .. and check the copper bits if they are chiped away (like my old starter) then its fuked get a new one.. i tried just gettin that part but have to buy a complete starter all together.. check the brushes.. they might just need replacing.. befoer u need to be replacing it.. but my guess u got a dodgy starer motor.. if u want il take pics of mine on how to pull it apart to show u ive got mine out at the moment .. just so u can check so u dont spend a ridiculous amount of money on another starter .. or some leco who wants to rip you off and say its gonna take 6hours to pull apart and fix lol..

Camo · Post by **Camo** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:58 pm

as per usual good work guys =D

thanks for the pic bigpitty =D

and for the search advice MrC!

Having just had another look at it then and despite the sound it makes, it might be the battery. Although interior light and footwell neons and climate control lights all come on, the radio doesnt turn on. So it might just not have enough juice to start the car.

I have a mate coming round soon to pic me up so i'll try to do a jump when he gets here.

The battery meter is also only showing around 8 rather then 13 (i think thats what it normally sits on) So i'll start with a jump and see how it goes =D

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 5:17 pm

I'm about to punch someone!

Where the hell is the top bolt holding the starter motor in?!!!

jonowong · Post by **jonowong** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 5:32 pm

nacho u angry bloke! he probably just put it in hence the photos!

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:11 pm

Sorry dude I only get angry when I've been looking for a bolt for the last hour and a half. I know where the lower bolt is and I've undone the electrical connections but can't see or even feel where the other bolt is.

Any ideas?

jonowong · Post by **jonowong** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:25 pm

it rolled down your drive way!

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:40 pm

If only...

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:11 pm

Any takers? I've read on here that some members have removed their own starter motor before but didn't go into too much detail. According to Ben there are 2 14mm bolts holding it in. I've found one....where is the other?

I've even removed the oil drip and still can't see any bolts from above. Only other bolts in the vicinity is holding a plastic bracket for the cabling and the engine mount.

khunjeng · Post by **khunjeng** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:14 pm

Nacho wrote:Any takers? I've read on here that some members have removed their own starter motor before but didn't go into too much detail. According to Ben there are 2 14mm bolts holding it in. I've found one....where is the other?

I've even removed the oil drip and still can't see any bolts from above. Only other bolts in the vicinity is holding a plastic bracket for the cabling and the engine mount.

the fto engine / workshop manual has a diagram.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:44 pm

The only starter motor diagram I found in there was in the multipoint injection system section and it shows you how to take it apart for servicing. No photos in there showing how it's attached to the engine.

The engine installation/removal section shows how the aircon unit is attached but doesn't mention the starter unfortunately.

khunjeng · Post by **khunjeng** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:50 pm

Nacho wrote:The only starter motor diagram I found in there was in the multipoint injection system section and it shows you how to take it apart for servicing. No photos in there showing how it's attached to the engine.

The engine installation/removal section shows how the aircon unit is attached but doesn't mention the starter unfortunately.

lol it cant be that hard seriously.

Post by **Supplanter** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:07 pm

The bolt at the top comes in through the other side:

---|

|---

I have awesome ASCII art skillz.

khunjeng · Post by **khunjeng** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 11:34 am

Nacho wrote:The only starter motor diagram I found in there was in the multipoint injection system section and it shows you how to take it apart for servicing. No photos in there showing how it's attached to the engine.

The engine installation/removal section shows how the aircon unit is attached but doesn't mention the starter unfortunately.

you didnt look very hard. Key pages extarcted from workshop manual.

Through bolt connects the to end brackets.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:40 pm

That's all good in theory but once you get here it doesn't really help.

Shot with K800i at 2007-07-28

The only 14mm bolt I've removed so far is the one circled in red. I've also removed the bolts in the purple section just in case there was a hidden bolt up there.

According to the diagram there's meant to be a through bolt in the orange section but there was nothing there from memory. The entire right side of that pic is all transmission so can't get there from the other end.

khunjeng · Post by **khunjeng** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 2:47 pm

as per the workshop manual pics:

Undo the electrical connections and then remove the two bolts holding it on. You should be able to see the front bolt, the second bolt is a bit trickier as it seems to come through the gearbox casing from the passenger side and threads into the starter. Spend 10-15 mins turning the starter to unscrew it off the bolt.

From my experience, the front bolt is obvious and easy to get out (close to the exhaust manifold) pretty much runs from the left side of the car to the right. The second bolt runs the opposite way from the right side to the left and is much more awkward. If you can get the car on a ramp it would make life much easier.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 4:03 pm

khunjeng wrote:as per the workshop manual pics:

the second bolt is a bit trickier as it seems to come through the gearbox casing from the passenger side and threads into the starter

Bingo! Love your work! That's all I needed to hear!