stupid starter question

[enjoi1968]

For the signal wire it's a spade connector with a plastic shield, no tabs slides in slides off.

You could cut the original spade off and crimp another "weather proof" female spade on if the old one is loose enough to cause connection problems.

 

[Buddy]

that signal wire does seem to be possibly lose, could that cause this?

When I turn the key, I hear a single click

The clicking could be a number of things.
Lose or dirty connection at starter
Lose or dirty battery terminal
Low charge on the battery
Bad starter

Are some I can think of.

 

[mjbrox]

For the signal wire it's a spade connector with a plastic shield, no tabs slides in slides off.

You could cut the original spade off and crimp another "weather proof" female spade on if the old one is loose enough to cause connection problems.

yea, i could not pull mine off.

I am going to get that pulled off and reconnect it

I will also try jump starting it

Maybe it is not the starter.


the PO of this truck replaced almost everything but the starter....

 

[Reed Perry]

Sure, if you remove the exhaust manifold first!

With a very specialized and unique assortment of socket extenders, i managed to get the top bolt from the engine bay... Couldn't for the life of me get enough leverage from below to break it loose.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Sure, if you remove the exhaust manifold first!

You just have to remove the heat shield. I remember when I did one, another tech showed me and the rest of us in the shop were very surprised. I'll have to look at one today and see exactly what you need to do it.

 

[mulisha00]

My starter on my 97 started to be a pain in the ass. Stripped ect. I was using every extension I could find ect. I finally took all the extensions off and used just a standard shallow socket and it came right out with no need for an extension. On the bottom same thing but it was already stripped. Used some vice grips and a bfh and it came loose. I didn't have all the gotta have extension trouble with mine. My biggest problem was the grime all over everything.

 

[Lutzgaterr]

My bendix drive was failing with greater frequency so it was time to tackle this task which I see so many folks complain about.
I am an average wrencher and have watched others far better cuss the removal of the starter motor.
Well, I was surprised how easy this really was.
I removed the heat shield bolt and pushed it out of the way. Probably the biggest PITA part of the this job. I will probably have to remove the O2 sensor to get it back it easily.
My bolts, looking at the starter were at 11:00 (top) and 5:00 (bottom).
Slid underneath and removed the bottom bolt easily enough.
Top bolt I reached easily from inside engine bay.
Sprayed brake cleaner inside allen head, cleaned it out good. Good tip from Will T.
It was very tight but it popped and out it came.
I am taking it to get rebuilt unless they want ridiculous money, then I will get one of the gear-reduction starters from the British company.
I may take Paul's suggestion about replacing the bolts with studs.

 

[ptschram]

I once paid more than $1000 to have a dealer replace my starter when I was stranded out of town for work.

Justice was mine when it took me six hours to remove a frozen solid starter on a client's truck

You guys live in my fantasy world.

 

[mburnett]

Did my son's 97 Disco starter a couple weeks ago in the melting snow. Put on an old rain coat and laid in the water - what fun. The top bolt came out with some patience by moving the heat shield as far as possible and using a 3/8" drive 5/16" allen head on a universal on a 12" extension. Wasn't too bad until I finished and forgot the ground strap. Said a few choice words and did it again. I'm to cheap to pay the tow...

MB

 

[pilot13]

the one on the top is a f-----g idiot. im skinny, i have done the work w/o removing shit. but indeed its a f-----g pain in the ass.

 

[d1driver]

My heat shield founds its way to a landfill somewhere. No way was I putting that back on.

No, it won't hurt starter either. There have been 100's of thousands of V8 engines put into service without a heat shield on the starter and it never hurt anything.

 

[Lutzgaterr]

Well, I predicted putting that stupid heat shield was going to be a PITA, and yes it was. The most difficult part was getting that bolt through the engine mount bracket to align with the heat shield nut... an hour of cussing. It's on and I ever have to do this again, you bet that heat shield is a goner.

Hey, BTW Paul, fantasy land, maybe simple luck and no salt to deal with, just oil and mud. My new Bosch cost me $119. Sweet.

I did ask about the British starters, he said they were a very solid and well built, but for another $120.... I'll take another six years on my Bosch and do it again since it was not that difficult.

Maybe my configuration is different, but if either of those bolts stripped, I could easily get a reverse-socket on and have at it.

 

[jlprice]

A Bad engine ground could cause this too. When that happens the Parking Brake cable often becomes the inadequate ground cable. Melts it in place too.

When it happened to me I saw smoke from the center console vicinty and the parking brake handle was frozen.

 

[ptschram]

A Bad engine ground could cause this too. When that happens the Parking Brake cable often becomes the inadequate ground cable. Melts it in place too.

When it happened to me I saw smoke from the center console vicinty and the parking brake handle was frozen.

Shifter cable too.

FWIW-I've got a pile of brand new Magnetti Marelli starters in stock.

Hey, they make much better starters than alternators!

 

[p m]

starter is easy FWIW. bend the shield up out of the way and it comes out with no problems.

Easy?
It is easy. On a Buick 350 in my jeep - one 9/16 wrench is all it takes.
Trying to snake in an 8mm hex on top of RV8's starter is a pain. And if you strip the damn bolt, you're up for some real enjoyment.

 

[DiscoSux]

As mentioned, check your wires. Pull the cables off the battery and make sure they are clean. Inspect the cable end connections as well.
Check your ground.
Check your battery strength, not just voltage. Any DIY Auto Parts store can put it on a machine to check it under load.
Nothing worse than replacing a perfectly good starter. Don't ask me how I know...

 

[DiscoSux]

And if you strip the damn bolt, you're up for some real enjoyment.

That's what these are for.

 

[discostew]

If its a D1 I think you can get to the top bolt from the engine bay if you remove the heat shield.

Im with jymmie on this. I use a flex head wratchet and no extension . Exhaust manifold is still in place.

 

[p m]

That's what these are for.

oh yes I know. too bad the guys who stripped the bolt managed to take the exhaust manifold off before I brought one to them