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Had to replace my starter so I thought I'd try throw together this DIY and pay some back to the forum for all the good info that's saved* me a good bit of money and helped me service and personalize my ride. *Albeit, less money than what the site has -ahem- *encouraged* me to spend!) So, humbly submitted, for your consideration, hopefully garage worthy, yadda-yadda...
First, here's pretty much all the service manual has on the procedure, but it covers the precautions and is a basic overview.
Hopefully the following will help fill in the details and get you past the untold obstacles. I bought my starter from NAPA, Bosch reman' for $190, 24 month warranty. $79 core charge on top of that, refunded upon return. If I were to do it over again, I would've had the starter rebuilt at a reputable place, as OEM does seem to be higher quality than probably any new or reman' replacement part. But, I was pinched for time and from searches here, NAPA is one of the better sources, so I don't think I compromised too much. FWIW...YMMV. Okay, so tools used as best as I kept track:
8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 17mm sockets
stubby ratchet (optional, but helps in tight places)
standard ratchet
extended ratchet or use a breaker bar or cheater bar
short and long adjustable wrenches
Battery & Battery Bracket Removal
Remove the engine bay battery cover (just pops up) and loosen the nuts <1> holding the battery. You just need to loosen them enough to drop the hold-down arms, which have hooks at the bottom that can then pivot out of the channel they hook into and the hold-down bracket across the top comes off.
Remove the battery cables <3>, negative first. The battery should be free to lift out, leaving you with this.
The plastic battery pan <4> is just sitting loose. Pop out the cable conduit from the side of it at <5>. Remove the duct?/trim? piece <2> by popping out the two plastic pins holding it.
Taking out the battery bracket: First remove the two 12mm bolts <6> on the right, and the 10mm bolt on the left. Next is the difficult task of loosening/removing two 12mm bolts holding the bottom of the bracket, underneath what's visible. Luckily on mine, the bracket is open-end slotted and all you have to do is loosen them and the bracket should slide up and free. I saw another diagram on here that had holes at the bottom of the bracket, so you may have to completely remove the bolts. It's a contorting, expletive inducing affair, but you have to get underneath to take the bracket out. I don't think getting under the car is much help, but if you have the means, go for it.
With the battery tray bracket removed, you can get to the starter.
Starter Removal
Here is the starter and wires to it that you need to remove. You can also see where the battery tray bolts were.
Pull the boots back and unplug the smaller, blade-type wire (white and black casing), and remove the 10 or 12mm retaining nut that holds the heavier starter cable <8>.
There are two 17mm bolts holding the starter assembly. The top one is accessible and was torqued down tight, but not ungodly tight. However, the bottom was a b----, a little bit because it's not visible and a whole lot because it wouldn't budge with a standard ratchet. A 6" or 8" extension will buy you the space necessary to then use a longer ratchet/breaker bar/cheater pipe. With those two bolts undone, the starter comes right out. Starter and bolts...
...and from whence it came.
Here's a pic of OEM vs. non-OEM replacement. You can see OEM just looks beefier, lesser weather-protecting finish on the replacement, etc.
Installation
Pretty self-explanatory, just install in the reverse order as removal. <9> Take off the lower 8mm bolt holding the starter motor onto the starter assembly. Bolt the starter back onto the engine and mount the existing wiring arm bracket when you reinstall that same long bolt on the starter motor. Make sure the starter is snug and flush to the engine surface when you bolt it back on. I suggest you tighten gradually, one bolt at a time by a little bit at a time.
Replace the wires and make sure the rubber boots are on there straight and snug. Bad juju to get water and debris in there, even where it is, somewhat protected in the engine bay by other parts. DIY'ers tip: put the small duct/trim piece and plastic battery pan back on before you reinstall the battery, unlike me. I got the battery bracket back on, battery cables hooked up, hold-down reinstalled, feelin' like it's Miller time then turn around to see the pan and trim piece on the ground. Cue rage face. Give the new starter a whirl. If you're good to go, re-enter your Nav PIN and radio codes and congratulate yourself on saving $100-300 over what a mechanic, stealership or otherwise, would've charged you.
Skill-wise, if you can unscrew a bolt, you can switch out a starter. I've mostly done exterior mods and the only other thing I've DIY'ed with the engine is the CAI. This replacement takes few or no specialized tools and about 80 minutes time, and that was taking pics and going slow to track the steps in my head. If I made any mistakes, pros please feel free to bring them up and I'll correct them.
Good luck!
Last edited by Chessie724; Apr 11, 2012 at 01:36 PM.
I had to replace my starter as any mechanic would - without papers or instructions lol
It was really like this:
1. Okay here's the starter down there.
2. I can access it but I need room but the damn battery is in the way.
3. Okay remove the battery so I can have room to get down there.
4. Battery removed, but the tray is still in the way.
5. Okay, lets remove the battery tray (PITA!!). Done.
6. Okay now I have access to the starter and just replace it =D
Now lets put everything back together.
Nice find! For that price and no core charge, I may just go ahead and buy one just in case. My 2004 OEM starter is running fine, but at this age they seem to have a moderately high rate of failure. And with no core charge or turn in, I could rebuild the OEM to have on hand as a backup.
The top bolt is easier to get to. I got a little trick that might help with the bottom bolt. Lift the vehicle up a little bit on driver side,turn steering wheel to the left, remove the one clip that secures the fender liner. Drop the liner and with a long extension and swivel socket you can reach straight in to the bottom bolt. Hope that helps.
Sub'd for future use. My starter is making some funny sounds. A buddy of mine said that the starter sounds "dry" and that I should take it off and dab some oil on the pinion. I guess I will just take off the car and inspect it before I do anything.
I had to replace my starter as any mechanic would - without papers or instructions lol
It was really like this:
1. Okay here's the starter down there.
2. I can access it but I need room but the damn battery is in the way.
3. Okay remove the battery so I can have room to get down there.
4. Battery removed, but the tray is still in the way.
5. Okay, lets remove the battery tray (PITA!!). Done.
6. Okay now I have access to the starter and just replace it =D
Now lets put everything back together.
Sub'd for future use. My starter is making some funny sounds. A buddy of mine said that the starter sounds "dry" and that I should take it off and dab some oil on the pinion. I guess I will just take off the car and inspect it before I do anything.
Kind of early for an 07 starter to go out, but if you're going to the trouble of removing it, I might just go ahead and replace it. ~$88 on Amazon...
Looks like AZ moved ch!t around as the original pics are from my album here and the picture links should've been static. AZ broked it. :p Haven't been around much, so if there was a heads up, I missed it. I don't see that I can edit the original post, so here's a shot at fixing it:
Originally Posted by Chessie724
Hey, AZ
Had to replace my starter so I thought I'd try throw together this DIY and pay some back to the forum for all the good info that's saved* me a good bit of money and helped me service and personalize my ride. *Albeit, less money than what the site has -ahem- *encouraged* me to spend!) So, humbly submitted, for your consideration, hopefully garage worthy, yadda-yadda...
First, here's pretty much all the service manual has on the procedure, but it covers the precautions and is a basic overview.
Hopefully the following will help fill in the details and get you past the untold obstacles. I bought my starter from NAPA, Bosch reman' for $190, 24 month warranty. $79 core charge on top of that, refunded upon return. If I were to do it over again, I would've had the starter rebuilt at a reputable place, as OEM does seem to be higher quality than probably any new or reman' replacement part. But, I was pinched for time and from searches here, NAPA is one of the better sources, so I don't think I compromised too much. FWIW...YMMV. Okay, so tools used as best as I kept track:
8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 17mm sockets
stubby ratchet (optional, but helps in tight places)
standard ratchet
extended ratchet or use a breaker bar or cheater bar
short and long adjustable wrenches
Battery & Battery Bracket Removal
Remove the engine bay battery cover (just pops up) and loosen the nuts <1> holding the battery. You just need to loosen them enough to drop the hold-down arms, which have hooks at the bottom that can then pivot out of the channel they hook into and the hold-down bracket across the top comes off.
Remove the battery cables <3>, negative first. The battery should be free to lift out, leaving you with this.
The plastic battery pan <4> is just sitting loose. Pop out the cable conduit from the side of it at <5>. Remove the duct?/trim? piece <2> by popping out the two plastic pins holding it.
Taking out the battery bracket: First remove the two 12mm bolts <6> on the right, and the 10mm bolt on the left. Next is the difficult task of loosening/removing two 12mm bolts holding the bottom of the bracket, underneath what's visible. Luckily on mine, the bracket is open-end slotted and all you have to do is loosen them and the bracket should slide up and free. I saw another diagram on here that had holes at the bottom of the bracket, so you may have to completely remove the bolts. It's a contorting, expletive inducing affair, but you have to get underneath to take the bracket out. I don't think getting under the car is much help, but if you have the means, go for it.
With the battery tray bracket removed, you can get to the starter.
Starter Removal
Here is the starter and wires to it that you need to remove. You can also see where the battery tray bolts were.
Pull the boots back and unplug the smaller, blade-type wire (white and black casing), and remove the 10 or 12mm retaining nut that holds the heavier starter cable <8>.
There are two 17mm bolts holding the starter assembly. The top one is accessible and was torqued down tight, but not ungodly tight. However, the bottom was a b----, a little bit because it's not visible and a whole lot because it wouldn't budge with a standard ratchet. A 6" or 8" extension will buy you the space necessary to then use a longer ratchet/breaker bar/cheater pipe. With those two bolts undone, the starter comes right out. Starter and bolts...
...and from whence it came.
Here's a pic of OEM vs. non-OEM replacement. You can see OEM just looks beefier, lesser weather-protecting finish on the replacement, etc.
Installation
Pretty self-explanatory, just install in the reverse order as removal. <9> Take off the lower 8mm bolt holding the starter motor onto the starter assembly. Bolt the starter back onto the engine and mount the existing wiring arm bracket when you reinstall that same long bolt on the starter motor. Make sure the starter is snug and flush to the engine surface when you bolt it back on. I suggest you tighten gradually, one bolt at a time by a little bit at a time.
Replace the wires and make sure the rubber boots are on there straight and snug. Bad juju to get water and debris in there, even where it is, somewhat protected in the engine bay by other parts. DIY'ers tip: put the small duct/trim piece and plastic battery pan back on before you reinstall the battery, unlike me. I got the battery bracket back on, battery cables hooked up, hold-down reinstalled, feelin' like it's Miller time then turn around to see the pan and trim piece on the ground. Cue rage face. Give the new starter a whirl. If you're good to go, re-enter your Nav PIN and radio codes and congratulate yourself on saving $100-300 over what a mechanic, stealership or otherwise, would've charged you.
Skill-wise, if you can unscrew a bolt, you can switch out a starter. I've mostly done exterior mods and the only other thing I've DIY'ed with the engine is the CAI. This replacement takes few or no specialized tools and about 80 minutes time, and that was taking pics and going slow to track the steps in my head. If I made any mistakes, pros please feel free to bring them up and I'll correct them.
Good luck!
Last edited by Chessie724; Dec 5, 2014 at 07:01 AM.
I changed the starter twice (had to get one replaced as it was a bad rebuild). I did it without removing the battery tray. The starter is one thing easy on this car, on the k24's its a b***h
Mines gone too. Gives me problems almost every time I get in. Sometimes it starts right away, other times it takes a few tries. I'm at around 85k on the odo. Gonna replace with non-oem being as it'll probably have a lifetime warranty and cost about $120. Better than spending $400 at the stealership.
The top bolt is easier to get to. I got a little trick that might help with the bottom bolt. Lift the vehicle up a little bit on driver side,turn steering wheel to the left, remove the one clip that secures the fender liner. Drop the liner and with a long extension and swivel socket you can reach straight in to the bottom bolt. Hope that helps.
damn i wish i thought of moving the wheel, but i remembered my car woudlnt start so not sure how'd manage that--unless i hullked it in neutral.
I removed my wheel and took off 3 fender liner clips to peel back the front. i got the bolt and never reinstalled that bottom bolt, only the easier one--just incase i have to do this again
My co-worker has a trick for the battery tray's bottom screws; cut the bottom of the screw holes on the tray enough so the screws could be pre installed and the tray just slide on top of them. Tighten them as needed.
Why are people removing their battery tray? I did mine twice (first rebuilt starter was running continuously some times!) and didnt have to remove the battery tray. With some finagling I was able to pull the starter out and put the new one in.
Why are people removing their battery tray? I did mine twice (first rebuilt starter was running continuously some times!) and didnt have to remove the battery tray. With some finagling I was able to pull the starter out and put the new one in.
now that i think about it, it is possible to do it without the tray it's just a matter if you have the right length extension that can clear the tray to get the 17mm nuts on the starter.
My co-worker has a trick for the battery tray's bottom screws; cut the bottom of the screw holes on the tray enough so the screws could be pre installed and the tray just slide on top of them. Tighten them as needed.
that's pretty smart, i just didnt put the harder to get bolt back on and bolted the one towards the front.
that's pretty smart, i just didnt put the harder to get bolt back on and bolted the one towards the front.
I did something similar (only one bolt). the battery tray feels incredibly sturdy with just the one bolt so I feel ok about it. I was worrying about rattling but its completely solid. I ended up dropping my bolt down somewhere below the battery tray into what I can only imagine is a black hole. we spent probably 15 minutes trying to find it without any luck. It'll make changing the starter out easier if I ever need to again (seems to be an issue with some of these remans)
I did something similar (only one bolt). the battery tray feels incredibly sturdy with just the one bolt so I feel ok about it. I was worrying about rattling but its completely solid. I ended up dropping my bolt down somewhere below the battery tray into what I can only imagine is a black hole. we spent probably 15 minutes trying to find it without any luck. It'll make changing the starter out easier if I ever need to again (seems to be an issue with some of these remans)
yea, i mean the tray is held down by those (2) 12mm nuts on the chassis on top so that thing isnt moving anywhere.
) So, humbly submitted, for your consideration, hopefully garage worthy, yadda-yadda... 
Cue rage face. Give the new starter a whirl. If you're good to go, re-enter your Nav PIN and radio codes and congratulate yourself on saving $100-300 over what a mechanic, stealership or otherwise, would've charged you. 
