my cars starter has gone south so i went to replace it, and if you dont know, my car is sitting in a parking lot 20 something miles away from my house. so i throw the car onto jack stands and take the bolts off the starter, but i cant get the starter out, 2 metal lines (goes to the heater core i think) and the exhaust are in the way making it so it doesnt have enough room to pull it out, what do i do? should i unhook the exhuast? i really dont want to do that, thats too much trouble, but if i have to, i will, any suggestions?

 

are these two metal lines your speaking of small round diameter lines ...tranny lines....??

as for dropping the exhaust you shouldnt have too most of the time once you unhook the starter you will have to do a juggling act to rotate it with the back end up in the air and the nose down first between the transmission lines and the exhaust its not extreemly difficult but can be when your in a hurry ..

 

Remember though, general, sometimes you do. I can remember one fairly longtime member of these boards starting an argument with me before about it. depending on the situation from car to car, sometimes you do. Usually you dont though

 

i attempted to remove the solenoid from the starter but since its so old and rusted it wasnt possible, i hope i dont have to drop the exhaust :|

 

true it can happen when it has to be dropped but most of the time you should be able to drop it out without dropping the exhaust not 100% of the time...LOL

 

i have aftermarket exhaust too, 2 and a half inch i think, not sure, could be 3 inch, but im going to have to drop the exhaust i think, great...

 

try to pop that bad boy out of there every which way you can before breaking the exhaust apart...

it can most of the time be dropped out by just manuvering it around and finding a pocket for it to fall into ...

 

unhook the y-pipe if you must. Dont fret though, take your time and get it done right, no hack-jobs or you'll regret it

If anything just loosen up the exhaust from the headers/manifolds, and the cat and then you can move your exhaust just enough to squeek it by.

The hard part of putting a starter in isnt taking it out.... it's holding up that 40lb sucker with one hand while trying to thread it in by hand really quick before your other hand gives out

 

I just finished replacing the starter in my Camaro. The damn thing died right after the engine stalled, leaving it halfway in my driveway and halfway on the road. It sucked.

I didn't have to remove anything to pull the starter. The tranny lines can be pushed away to make more clearance; bend them back when you're done. You may also have to rotate the starter once it's unbolted to clear the transmission.

 

If it's an automatic, it helps to remove the torque converter dust cover...it's only about a half dozen bolts...gives a lot more room to juggle the starter around.

You should be able to get it out without loosening the exhaust, unless you have headers, but even in that case I'd say chances are good you won't have to lower it.

Don't mess with the y-pipe to manifold connections unless you absolutely have to...it's a real bitch to get those to seal back up again.

 

yeah i already took off the dust cover, i dont hvae headers, but after the exhaust manifold i have custom exhaust, and right after where the y pipe connects, it goes across my starter, its funky, and it sucks, is it possible to remove the solenoid from the starter? i tried but the screws arent breaking

 

you might be able to remove the solenoid, but you'll never get it back together up in there (when you put the new one in.

If it helps, you can unplug the knock sensor and the fan switch...that will keep the starter from snagging on the wires.

Trust me, it can come out. The first time I did it, it took me 45 minutes to find a way to get it out. The second time, it took me 3 minutes. You're custom exhaust doesn't sound like its any more in the way than the regular exhaust.

On one f-body I was working on, the only way I could get it out was to push it up, turn it around, and bring it down nose first. It came out real easy that way, but was a PITA to put back in that way.

 

This is why when I replace my starter, I'm going to buy one of those LT4 mini starters for like $120.