Hi All,

First post...I am looking for a guide on replacement of the starter motor, however in my Google searching, I have not been able to find one (remote starter installs seem to be the only thing out there). If there's a good one, I'd greatly appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

It looks to me like the intercooler and intake manifold have to come off in order to reach the starter, then all the misc stuff attached to them. I just want to make sure I don't miss a step.

Thanks!

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The problem I'm having is the engine won't turn over, sometimes it'll try (weakly) but most of the time I just hear the "click" of the starter.

I realize that sounds like the battery is dead, but it isn't - I replaced it just to be safe, tested with a multimeter (pre and post turning of the ignition) and even used a battery from another car with same cranking amps, known to be good.

All the lights and everything work fine, the battery terminals aren't corroded, it doesn't seem to be a charging issue, so at this point I'm thinking that it must be the starter motor. Sometimes it does "try" to turn over....so it's not like it's completely dead and could be the ignition switch or something.

I've felt that this car has had "weak starts" ever since we got it...it doesn't take a long time to start...as in you don't have to keep cranking and cranking...it just turns over slowly when driven by the starter motor.

 

It's a 2007 RDX, for what it's worth.

 

Hmm...I found a guide for a 2003 CRV...seems similar enough, that might work.

 

Hopefully replacing the starter helps...the way you describe it, as you said sounds like a dead battery. Obviously it isn't, but one wonders if there is some other wiring issue that is preventing a full current from getting to the starter. Once you have everything apart, try to trace the wiring from the starter back to the source to make sure nothing is damaged. Better to be safe than sorry.

You may find something useful in this thread...it's for a TL, but I think the starter location is fairly consistent from engine to engine.

https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tl-1996-1998-101/difficult-change-starter-749070/

 

Good shit, EVO462.
Although, your engine is called the K23 and it would share the same layout as the k24, which can be found in the 2003-2014 TSX's and any other honda as a 4 cylinder.


The V6 engines found in the TL and other Honda's are from the J-series. these use a timing belt, while your 4 cylinder uses a timing chain.

 

so with the RDX, you have ONE additional step before you dive into the TSX DIY.

on the RDX, you have to take off the intercooler, then proceed with the TSX DIY!

here is the TSX DIY:

https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tsx-problems-fixes-128/tsx-starter-replacement-guide-836078/

 

i have a 2010 shop manual would think its abou the same

 

Ah, good to know, thanks!

As I dug into this a little further I realized it's actually not that much like the pilot. And the bottom intake manifold bolts look very hard to get to...so I took a break and came back in to check this thread.

I got the intercooler off, most of the hoses and sensors tied to the manifold, undid the fuel injector clips and removed the wiring rail, etc. If I can just get these bottom manifold bolts I hope to be in good shape.

 

I agree - first thought was battery...even replaced it for good measure...NAPA tested it and said it was fine, surprisingly.

Some of the other threads I saw mentioned weak ground points causing the starter to not get enough juice. However, I couldn't find the dang grounding points nor could I even see the back of the starter to check the connections, so off the intake manifold comes...

 

1. Remove the coolant reservoir from the holder.
2. Remove the support rod clamp bracket.
3. Disconnect and remove the A/C condenser fan shroud assembly.
4. Remove the intake manifold bracket.
5. Disconnect the cables from the starter then remove the starter.

 

Are you saying I didn't have to remove the intake manifold?

Yeah, now that I think about it I probably would have had room to work without doing that.

The intake manifold on the RDX is different from that of the TSX due to throttle body location for the intercooler....so it was much more difficult to remove.

 

Well finally got everything back together and it fired right up.......bad starter at 80K miles.

 

My starter on my 2007 went bad around 80K, too. I didn't replace it myself, however.

 

I'm at 76k miles now....ugh.

 

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I wanted to say thanks for posting these steps and to confirm for anyone thinking about this project that it’s possible to get to the starter without removing the intercooler or intake manifold. I put in a new starter on my 2008 base model today and it took a little over an hour start to finish with me being kind of slow at the beginning. I recently picked up a CD version of the service manual and the steps above match the manual, with the manual adding one step — removing the front bumper. That made no sense to me so I skipped it…maybe it would help if you lifted the car and worked from underneath??

Anyway, a couple of random notes that might help someone else:

- This is probably obvious to most everyone, but the electrical connector on the shroud assembly is down toward the bottom, not the point at which the wires enter the center of the fan or motor. I tugged on those for a bit before I realized my mistake.

- There are two cable connections on the intake manifold bracket. The service manual says to disconnect those when you remove the bracket, but I couldn’t get one off. Didn’t seem to matter much — with one loose the bracket dangled there and could be pushed out of the way.

- The inner starter bolt (14mm) was the toughest spot to access. I used a 3/8 ratchet with a 3-inch extension and had juuuuuust enough room to break the bolt loose. I think I read this in one of the threads linked above — you need to be sure the socket is on squarely and everything is lined up straight. The bolts seemed soft, if that makes sense, and if I was off the smallest amount the edges would start to round off. It didn’t take much to get the bolt out by hand once it was loose. Thank goodness because it would have been one ratchet click at a time given the room you have to work.

- The front bolt (17mm) is much easier to access so rounding off wasn’t an issue there…main concern was slipping and hitting condenser fins with the ratchet handle.

I think that’s about it. Thanks again for the tips in this thread.