how to remove starter in V6 3.8L olds ?

"chris" wrote

It's been a while since I worked on one of these, but I do remember that the exhaust manifold needs to come out. It's not that big of a deal, I suspect you wont have much problem with the exhaust bolts holding the manifold to the head, but I would prepare the bolt/nuts that hold the manifold to the crossover. I wouldn't use WD40 in this case, use some sort of penetrating fluid. Heat works well as a last resort.

Ian

My mom used to have one of these cars and I agree with Ian. I don't remember all the details either, but get the car up on a good set of jackstands and just remove the pieces that need to be removed. If I remember right it, it a little more time consuming than a regular starter, but not much. BTW, if this car is like my mom's car the oil filter is a real SOB to get at, isn't it? ;-)

WD40 is not a penetrant, it is a *W*ater *D*isplacer, hence the name. Real penetrants that work are Kroil, B'laster, and coca-cola (no fooling -- the phosphoric acid it contains does a great job).

If you want to do the job only once, make sure you get a GOOD starter, not a "remanufactured" piece of junk from a parts store. Check the yellow pages for starter and alternator rebuilding houses.

DS

As I remember, our machinists and mechanics (and I) used to like Liquid Wrench.

There may be better now.

And I agree, the phosphoric acid in CocaCola can free up a lot of rust situations.

I had a 1986 buick Century that needed a starter, same type of vehicle as yours. The dealer dropped the engine cradle to get at the starter, replaced it, and it was done in about 2 hours! I thought they would have to empty the freon also..but they said this was the easiest way. I put in a new GM starter..the bill was 230.00 Andy