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The only place for a coil spring is up Zebedee's arse
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Evening all
My starter motor gave up the ghost today, luckily I have a spare off my old engine.
My question is this, How the hell do you get to the upper bolt under the manifold, any trick tip or tool would be appreciated.

Cheers Mick

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Which engine do you have? Gems, Thor or Diesel?

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It's a GEMS. I use a 3/8th drive universal joint (wrapped with tape so it doesn't flop about all over the place) and a short extension which brings the ratchet out to just level with the back of the starter. Take the top one out first so the bottom one is supporting the weight and you can spin it out with your fingers.

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In a galaxy far far away ... or indeed another forum. An alternative to Gilbertd's option.

Top bolt

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if you dont have a hex socket but you have the keys just grind a line about 20mm from the end off the key put it in a vise and hit with hammer , it wil brake , then put it in the right socket and tape it , you now have a hex socket.

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that's some real bush mechanics there

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and i still have that piece rolling around in my toolbox, used it many times.

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It's a damn sight easier with the driver's side wheelarch liner removed.

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True, you can actually see the bolt you are trying to undo then.

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Its out!! Used a version or Marshalls tool to do it.
Hard to do blind and I have a bruise on the back of my right hand thats not going away for a while.

The replacements on but it blew a fuse on the second day, I think sitting out for near on a year hasnt done it much good, might need a new one.

I will be finishing up the repairs of my beloved monster in the next few months then its up for sale if anyone knows someone who wants one.

My health is not up to the running repairs anymore.

Thanks for the help on this one.

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and at some point we'll get the LPG system back on and reconnected.....

Damn lockdown!

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Lol yes, Gas would be good.

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Replacing mine has been on the list for a while, until Saturday morning, when a lack of action brought it to the front of the queue. Solenoid working but no whiring from the starter.

I had a new one in stock, for when it would have come to the top the list.

I can highly recommend the following procedure.

Jack up the RHS and sit the front axle on a jack stand
Wheel off
Inner guard out
With the inner guard out, the top bolt is right there in front of you and can easily be attacked with a 1/2” drive T bar and 8mm hex fitting, no need for any extensions. I needed a 3’ long bar to crack off the nuts top and bottom.

New starter in, bolts greased with Copperkote, torqued up, wired up, inner guard back in, wheel on and off the stands. All in all about 60 minutes without rushing at all.

Needless to say, battery disconnected before you start.

So why the issue? Well I dissembled the old starter, which I think is original, and it certainly wasn’t going to rust inside given the lovely black oily grease. But the cause of the failure would appear to be the fact that the brushes had worn down to the extent that brush holders were contraction the commy. I’ll get a bush set, clean the old thing up and back into spare parts.

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Mine's been mothballed over the winter.

Starter spins but doesn't engage.

The spiral thingy that pokes it in is clearly stuck.

Will dipping the entire car in WD40 sort it? Joking aside, will some penetrating spray in the right place do it, or am I under the bloody thing AGAIN?

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Belt it with a mallet from underneath while your tame assistant turns the key. That should be enough to jolt it free, otherwise you will need to take it off to free it.

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Cool. I'll try that in the morning Cheers!