Starter replacement questions

1) Don't know. Probably. :) My solenoid was defective, but I ended up replacing the entire unit because noone local sold the solenoid on its own and people in this NG suggested replacing the whole thing anyway. 2) I'm definitely medium-skilled, and it took me 2 hrs on my 97 and 1 hour of that was trying to locate a bolt from the starter that I'd inadvertently dropped into the engine bay. Getting the bolts off themselves is a bit of a struggle, but I managed it with a standard wrench and a length of copper pipe as an extension. The Haynes manual is satisfactory in explaining what you need to do....

Thanks for the feedback. Picked up a Chilton book at the library and I'm going to give this a shot tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Could be a bad battery or a bad connection, but probably the starter. Piece of cake on that car. An hour max.

Prob. the solenoid; I had the same issue. Its straight forward as they come - disconnect battery terminal, disconnect one clip, disconnect battery cable from starter, 2 standard bolts for starter need to come out and then yank it out. Reverse for install. You may need to remove some of your airbox, but if you can get leverage you don't really need to.

Nick

If you have a voltmeter, measure across the battery terminals and monitor the voltage when you turn the key to start, report back what the reading is. But, I would guess your battery is weak. How old is the battery??? New Battery is cheaper than starter and easier to install. Does it start if you get jumpered with another car?? May also want to check terminal cable for corrosion. Remove cable terminals from battery terms and clean cable and term area with (solution of water and baking soda) to neturalize the acid. Use a wire brush or fine sandpaper on the terminals and reconnect to battery and try to start. jjsan

Usually if you just get a "click" it means you either need a new battery or the corrosion on the battery cables needs to be cleaned off.

Its do-able. Take off the air ducts on the top of the engine and you will find the starter on the driver's side. Access from above.

Well, I got it done. (For those that suggested, I had already tried the battery.) It took me about 2 hours, most of which was just trying to get wrenches to fit in the proper places. Now there's a slight complication, although the car starts fine now, the check engine light is on and there's a slight ticking and buzzing noise coming from the area of the mass air sensor. I assume it's related to me taking the air box assembly off to reach the starter. I need to take it to the shop to get a tire repaired anyway, so I'll have them check that out too.

Thanks all for the help. It sure is nice to save a couple hundred bucks by investing a couple hours.

You probably disconnected a hose or clip, double check them.

Nick