I have isolated my starting problems to a faulty starter. I plan to change it, but I have to do so in a dorm parking lot! Where is the booger, and how hard is it to change? I don't have my hayne's manual yet, but I just need a general idea of time and difficulty!

 

Its pretty darn easy to do as long as you have a jack and some tools. I beleive you will need (2) 14mm wrenches and a 10mm wrench. It should take no more than 15-30 mins to do depending on how good you are. Oh yea and it is located on the lower drivers side of the tranny, can't miss it. Have fun.

 

Thanks! I hope this works! If not, bye-bye 7, hello MR2!

 

On my car you need the 14mm wrenches and either a 13mm or 12mm for the nut on the wire. I'd bet on the 13mm though. Crescent works fine too.

 

Hey Hailers, what should I chech if the starter is not the problem? I'm the moron who rigged my battery ground wrong, and fried my system.

 

I should have mentioned that when you change the starter, in fact before, be sure to take one of your battery cables all the way off so you don't arc the wire when you take it off.
This contradicts the above, but when you first go under the car, have a piece of electrical wire in hand with both ends bare. Now with the car in neutral(very important if you are the one under the car)touch one end of the wire to the blade that the real small wire is attached(only two wires on the starter) and the other end to the large wire on the solenoid. If the starter or solenoid is worth a darn the engine should turn over. That said, I'd go ahead and change the starter anyway. My turboii was doing the click, click nonsense a couple of weeks ago, and although I could make the starter work by wapping it up the side of the head with a hammer, it was going **** up. You might make sure that the ground wire that is attached to the outboard, long bolt is secure. By secure I mean *was the bolt and nut tight when you tried to loosen it?* Thats should be the ground for the starter and engine. At least thats where its on my engine. If the starter does not work after putting a new one in....duh! If that does happen, do the jumper with the wire that you carried under the car on the new starter. Should spin. If it does, and does not work with the key....well, write back. Open circuit in the interlock sw or ?????? key or???????????????

 

Should the starter go bad when I sccrewed up the gound? Or was this all just coinsidence?

 

I think it did it on its own. There's been a rash of starter solenoids going bad on this site in the last three weeks. Like I said, mine went bad a couple of weeks ago. No big event caused it. I did manage to slap it up the side of the head a couple of time to make it work, but heck, its winter and I don't want to do that when its raining and 30 degrees. I did the thing where I got under the car and jumpered the big and little wire. Did not do squat, so I hammered it once and repeated. Worked then, but for how long? So I put my spare on. I doubt that you made it go bad. Its time was just up.

 

Well, she's workin now, but I got a spare on the way! Thanks Hailers! On my next trip to DFW, I need to come and shake your hand! Even though you made that Aggie comment! WHOOP!

 

Man, you guys like really like to spend your money don`t you????

These rotory starters are like bullet proof!!! Almost the only thing that ever goes wrong with one is the brushes!! {obviosly not allways}. I have over 250,000 miles on my original starter, and I`ve only changed brushes once!!!

They are easy to change and can be had at any auto electric shop for about $30.00!

I grease the gears in my starter about every year durring an oil change, sence the starter is so easy to remove and disassemble!!

Bullet proof man, Bullet proof!!!!

HUMMER

 

I spent $30 on a working one for a backup. Always good to have a spare!

 

The nut on the wire on my starter is a 12mm.

My starter isn't bulletproof, the bendix went out in it

 

Rico, if you get an MR2 never show your face up in here anymore

 

The brushes are indeed a good idea. But then again, at Apple Wrecking I can get the whole starter for thirty dollars soooooooo.....lets call it a standoff?????? Ah, I can't help myself, I don't think it was the brushes on my car. It was and is the bloody solenoid. Bloody solenoids cost bucks.