Another Starter Replacement doityourself

[GT172I]

well, i've made some progress over the last few days - only have the opportunity to work on this outside of work, etc....

i did finally get the starter bolts out. i've got the starter loose - then it was dinner time.....

so, next time i get a chance to work on this i'll be concentrating on getting the starter out of the car.......

It's not too bad actually getting the starter in an out, just like Operation only you don't give a shit about banging the broken metal starter into other metal parts [no don't force it, just saying it's just a few maneuvering steps(twist, down, twist, over, twist etc)]. I did it a few times when I first forgot the starter pin then couldn't get the new starter on the old pin and had to sand off the crud. Just a warning to check those things!

[shadowpuck]

GT - you've done a great job here and in the other thread describing the process. The skinny arm option box wasn't checked for me, so I had to do things a bit differently.

The lower bolt, I was able to hit from under the car. I could easily reach it and get the socket on it. Then, it was just a matter of applying enough torque and getting the u-joint turned the right way. I used a 1/2 breaker bar to break the bolt loose then went to the ratchet. that one wasn't too bad. When I began working on that lower bolt, I couldn't find my u-joint - it's absolutely necessary.

The upper bolt, I couldn't even see or feel from under the car.
I removed a few items from up top and used a 3/8 long box wrench to break the bolt loose. On my car, there's some type of metal shield at the back of the motor, I found that if I removed one bolt from that shield I then had the clearance necessary to get a good shot on the starter bolt.

Once I had the top bolt loose, I was able to then switch to a 10mm ratcheting wrench to remove the bolt. The ratcheting wrench would not work initially as the wrench head would not clear the transmission enough to get on the bolt; however, the box end was skinny enough to clear.

I then went below and with an extension and a hammer, began extracting the starter. It's loose right now, but not out yet. That'll be the next round.

I've done nearly every DIY project one can imagine on an e36, e34, and several on the e46. This, for me, though is the first BMW starter. Wow, is all I can say.

[shadowpuck]

meant to add earlier - i have all the parts coming for the CCV/AOS system. Mine isn't showing any signs of acting up yet, and I do mostly highway driving but I may still end up pulling the manifold and doing that as well. I'm at 130k on this car - so timing would be about right if I go that path....

i've got some photos (there's really not much to show) that i'll post up when i get a chance.

[shadowpuck]

Got old starter out.
Cleaned and sanded pin.
Put anti-seize on pin and new starter pin hole.

Cannot get new starter to cinch down fully on pin. Rest of starter seems flush and bolts are tight.
Not sure whats not right. Starter must not be quite square. Hmmmm.

[shadowpuck]

update:
turned the top bolt a few more turns and that seemed to help the locator pin. it still isn't exactly flush, but pretty close.
decided to put things back together and see if the car would start.
fired right up, no issues....

been putting things back together - car is back on the ground now. just have to finish up installing a trim piece i removed when i replaced the ignition switch....

[danewilson77]

Nice work and excellent sticktoitness.

[shadowpuck]

took the zhp out for a drive today after putting everything back together. despite the rainy conditions, was good to be able to drive the car again.
all appears to be fine.

so - my opinion on starter replacement? not impossible, but definitely be prepared for a lot of work. getting my starter to pop loose took a lot of effort. removing it afterward was easy. installing the new one was generally pretty easy, although the locator pin fought us. a tip for others might be to actually bore out the pin hole on the new starter a little bit to help. we thought cleaning the pin and using anti-seize would be enough, but not quite.

otherwise, it's not too bad. i have a ton of BMW and Volkswagen DIY experience, I've crewed for buddies that race, etc. This was a task...
no idea what the book labor is on this - or what a shop would charge....