tbennett017

That's really good time to do your first starter.. Sarcasm, yes. I did my starter, and started this whole thread when I was having "issues"

RichieRoo

Yeah, but did you gold plate the terminals?

Wow 1.5 hours... it took me a few hours just to work out how to jack the car up in a narrow garage!

Well done.

hawk911

he musta skipped the step about cursing every word in the book for an hour while you try to get your hands into the small places....

DCIdevil

Crazy thing is i have big hands, bigger than most guys i know.. Maybe it's because of my long fingers i was able to do it so well?? lol
I didn't plate the terminals, not that big of a job to do it again in the future if this one goes out

superpilot27

Ok old post but great info. Definitely some show offs. how the heck can this be done under 3 hours?!!
ha ha ha
a word to some entering into starter hell..

I have an 1987 Carrera Targa and I decided to NOT drop the transmission and used the allen wrench socket with a knuckle and got all the nuts and bolts off the starter, only no matter which way I turned the starter it remained contained by the body and the transmission. hours of hell I spent getting the nuts off then lifting, swearing and wearing out my arm turning that thing every which way..

So in the end, I had to put the starter back on and then drop the transmission.
dangit.
I recommend for anyone reading this to go the original route and drop the transmission. It was easier than I thought that way and could save hours..
or waste them seeing that some show offs did it in 1.5 hours!!!

ZG862

I found that bathing that nut in penetrating fluid regularly for a few days and sticking a ring spanner over the end of a stubby ratchet (they form an arc around the gearbox which gives both clearance and leverage) did the trick for me and mine was on as solidly as I can imagine possible without welding it to the stud. I did follow the workshop manual's instruction about removing the driveshafts and clutch slave though and I suspect the latter is vital for access if you're not going to drop the transmission.

Maybe I was lucky

Z

ZG862

Simple. You're lying on your back with your head towards the front of the car, both starter securing nuts removed and the cable disconnected. The right hand driveshaft is disconnected at the gearbox end and you are supporting the starter with you left hand.

Now, simply adjust your position so that if the starter were to fall, it will drop on your face, painfully. Murphy's law will take care of the rest.

Z

bmohr

And i thought removing a starter on my previous 996 C4 was difficult! Hopefully mine doesn't give up the ghost anytime soon

altarchsa

See photo in this quote (bottom of page 3).

That's the right idea. Now, just put a swivel joint at the end of the extension and add another extension x 12"+ to get your ratchet down to the bottom of the car, free of the trans and suspension, which will give you more free range when turning the ratchet. Seems to give you more torque for removal too.

Crystal Cranks

I joined the the starter motor replacement club last weekend, as always Rennist was a great help and I probably would not have done it without the info on here.

I did not need to lower the engine or transmission but my engine mounts are worn so this probably helped.

As said by others it's all about having the right length (quiet down the back) use the new motor to get an arrangement that JUST clears the end of the motor, I used 1/2" ratchet with a short extension the bit holder and a 10mm Allen bit, I had to put a small screw inside the bit holder so the bit stuck out the few extra millimetres I needed.

Oh and make sure you put ALL the wires back so you don't give yourself a heart attack when your car does not start.

911Jetta

Does this make the whole ordeal a lot easier?

Extended starter nut used for easy starter removal on 964 & 993 race cars.


(no affiliation) http://www.rothsport.com/Products/Ch...tarter-Nut.htm

crg53

That would make the job easier, but you still have to take it apart to install the extended nut. To be honest, I did not find it that tough of a job, with the help of RL and proper preparation, the job is pretty straight forward on a C2 anyway.

Metal Guru

+1
I thought the hardest part of the job was actually getting the new starter up through the gap and into position. A small mirror on a rod and a 6 inch long extension and I had the top fastener on in 5 minutes.

RicardoD

Now that my engine is out, this makes me want to refurbish the starter, even though it only has 60k miles, to not ever have to deal with this while the engine is installed. It may not be the mileage anyway but the number of start attempts that determine the life.

Metal Guru

Good idea.
While I had the engine out, my starter went bad just sitting on my workbench. Starters are subject to a lot of clutch dust contamination. They tend to lock up with enough use.