YL Al

hey guys,i've searched and did not find any DIY for the 3.0 CL starter

is it hard to replace the starter ,and what do i have to do to remove it easily?

thank you for any tips you can provide.

OttaWacK

I dont have any pics, but the starter swap is super easy. I did it all in about 40 mins including taking the old starter completely apart.

Locate the starter, front of motor, down near tranny and battery box. Remove battery and battery tray (just makes life easier with more room to work). Disconnet main lead to solenoid and switch. 2 bolts, one on top, one on bottom (17mm I think). End of story. Repeat in reverse to put back on.

The bolts will be on pretty tight because of the large amount of torque the starter motor has been putting out for the last 10 years. Do NOT use a breaker bar like most guys, greater chance of stripping bolts and messin shit up. So dont strip because you will hate yourself and $$$.

Bench test your starter before you buy a new one. Because it could be a faulty solenoid or the bendix could be broke (it is fun to see how it actually works anyways).

Good luck

YL Al

awesome man, great reply +1

im sure the bendix is broken ,because its just spinning freely and doesnt engage flywheel.

i did think that it would be like you say but i heard rumors about removing cv shafts so i had to make sure.

if i find my camera ill do a detailed DIY and add it to azine because i dont think we have one.

thanks again

OttaWacK

Awesome, good idea to do a DIY, but it is sooo easy once you have located the starter.

If you do a DIY, include the pics of the starter when you completely take it apart (especially if you know the bendix is broke once you have bench tested the starter). Help our fellow aziners understand what they are talking about some times with some good pics because I am more then certain 90% of them have never taken a starter completely apart

YL Al

ya i was hammering away on the bastard all day to no avail. hopefully,weather permitting, ill do it as soon as i can. i already bought me a hat and some gloves,it'll be in the thirties tmrw. but an easy way to see if its broken is if it spins in both ways right? im guessing it only spins in one direction if it works properly?

OttaWacK

Not necessarily. There is a one way clutch in the starter. The main shaft should only turn one way. If it spins both ways, there is something wrong with the incorporated gear mesh.

Hammering the starter is supposed to release the solenoid plunger that acts on the bendix loose when it gets old and sticky.

Bench testing the starter is the best bet. Put it in a bench vice (if you try to hold it, it WILL fly out of your hands because of how much torque it releases). Ground to vice, attach main battery lead to electric motor and the bridge the gap of the main battery lead and what I call starter switch (flat tab thingy) using a screw driver. Your starter should spin and the main drive should extend away from the starter as if it were to engage the engine flywheel. There is going to be a huge arc too.

YL Al

ok sounds good, thanks for helping me understand the visual aspect of the whole process. we'll stay in touch and ill update you guys on the replacement.

YL Al

so im 60% done on that starter.

i've removed battery, metal tray under battery, and disconnected all power cables, removed two bolts from the starter and it started to rain

YL Al

but hey is it the two long screws that go across the starter or the large bolts,because if it is the large bolts then im not sure if i've located the one underneath.

i did remove those two long ones,8 mm i think, not sure if that'll do it.

OttaWacK

Yeah the two long screw things hold the actual electric motor of the starter .

But that is ok, put them back on. They are actually the two big bolts. Well one is ~4" and the other is ~8". The bottom one will take some feeling around. If you have a mirror you can use it see in tricky spots . There are 2 connectors under the starter that are located right beside the second bolt for the starter.

The starter on our cars are a single unit. This means that the solenoid and motor itself are on the same unit. Other cars can have the solenoid located on the firewall or somewhere else in the EB.

If you have anymore questions you can PM and I can try to snap a couple pics for ya.

Good luck

YL Al

found them

lol ok im running back out to take it out

YL Al

that top bolt was really asking for it but i got it to budge,hopefully ill have the same luck with the lower one

YL Al

HELPPPPP

i take the starter out and go test it at a local auto parts store, it tests fine,and its teeth are fine.

then it hit me ... flywheel

so i go back home and check the teeth on the flywheel....its fine, i put everything back on and the starter just keeps spinning

what else can it be?

OttaWacK

Like I said it could be the bendix broke. Starters are really funky in terms of consistency when they start to go. Under load they wont work worth shit, but when unloaded they appear to work fine (like a bench test). Take the entire starter apart and look at the bendix and contact points. The bendix will be with the solenoid it should be a little lever type thingy.

Bench test the starter yourself, the main drive should extend and retract as you turn it on and off. The solenoid might not be strong enough to extend the bendix to contact the flywheel anymore under load.

I had an intermittent starter problem, and when I bench tested it, it worked fine. But didnt do shit on the car. Grounds and everything were perfect. Replaced with reman. one and everything works fine.

YL Al

well what ''load'' would be on the starter?

wouldnt it be under a load ONLY if it has contact with the flywheel? i mean whats the diffrence between it sitting on a bench and sitting in the engine bay. it should extend out in both cases correct?

when they tested it ,it did push out,spun ,and then retracted. maybe my car isnt properly powerin the starter...

thanks ottawack

OttaWacK

when I think of load, it could be the main drive trying to engage the teeth of the flywheel if they are not immediately lined up (flat spot). and the the load of the electric motor turning the flywheel.

What are some more indepth symptoms? But I think it could be starter getting tired after many years.

YL Al

well symptoms are simply i engage ignition and i hear an electric motor spinning (the starter) and not clicking or anything hitting flywheel.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

Did you load test your battery? Did you clean the battery contacts? Do you hear the relay clicking when the starter spins?

YL Al

I did turn the flywheel around to try to get a better spot

no didnt load test battery,everything battery powered is ok. clean contacts and the relay doesnt click. the starter just spins

OttaWacK

sounds strickly like the solenoid not engaging the bendix.

YL Al

does it? whats the possibility of the flywheel gone bad? and how can the bench test be explained? it was good as far as it was tested.

Tehvine

I am not sure if it is the same on the 3.0's but, on the 2.2 manual I can take the cover off the solenoid plunger and manually operate it to see if it is actually working.

YL Al

as i have said the starter was tested on a machine and the drive did extend out and retract after

OttaWacK

i tested mine on the bench and worked fine but didnt do shit when actually installed on the car. Try taking it all apart.

YL Al

ok so should i buy a new starter and try it?

OttaWacK

have you taken it all apart yet?

You can try several things. Get a used starter from a junk yard, get a refurbished one, or a new one (avoid, way to expensive). make sure you can return it or get a solid warranty.

OR you can try buying a new solenoid, will be cheaper, but you might not be able to return and you might have to buy a whole new starter on top of that.

Your call though, im not there and it is a tricky problem to solve sometimes.

YL Al

so i call this parts store and they say:

''sir there is no 3.0 in a acura cl,is ita swapped motor?''

''no no there is,its a honda''

''so its swapped from a honda?''

''no no honda is acura,same engine,98-02 accord v6 same thing''

''ok so its a honda engine?''

''ya it is''

''allright but acura cl doesnt have it right?''



arrghhhh

but no i didnt take it apart,its flurries here and im tryign to fix the situation asap.

but i have the part coming on its way.we'll try it and ill let you guys in on the word on the street.

YL Al

SCORE!!!

put in the new starter and bam took like .5 secs to get fired up !!

thanks to all those who helped me, your help was greatly appreciated!

OttaWacK

excellentacious

Im glad it worked out for ya

Cheers

Jim Truett

It only worked in the store because it had a chance to warm up a little bit. If it was still at ~30* I bet the Bendix would have not extended the pinion gear.