subliminal

iTrader: (1)

My starter went out a few days ago so I am in the process of replacing it. I have gotten all the wires off of it and unbolted however I am having a hell of a time getting it to drop out cause the exhaust pipe is in the way. Dropping the Y-pipe is not an option because the y pipe bolts are badly corroded and would snap before They even budged. I am trying to get the solenoid off the starter and then trying to make it fit through, Is there any other tips you guys could give to help me get it out. Thanks!

elky74

Can you tip it downward by the butt end to fit thru the gap in the y-pipe and oil pan? If not, you'll prolly have to sacrifice some exhaust bolts or drop the entire exhaust (un-bolt from the heads). Or use a sawzall .

PS: I always had to unbolt my exhaust from the manifolds on my El Camino (single exhaust) just to remove the starter, a real PITA.

subliminal

iTrader: (1)

I might be able to get it out that way with the solenoid off, removing exhaust is not an option I do not have the know how or tools to pull the manifolds off and drill the bolts out and put it back together

elky74

Yeah, it'll take some fancy maneuvering and a few choice cuss words to get it out if you can without messing with the exhaust. Plus a lot of beer. Good luck.

83Chevy__Camaro

dont need to remove the exhaust, just have to angle it right, takes several tries but once you do it right once then you know just how to hold it to get it out

subliminal

iTrader: (1)

But you do have to remove the solenoid right? And ill have to take the solenoid off the new one and put it back on once its past the exhaust pipe.

elky74

I've never had to remove the solenoid. Like 83Chevy_Camaro says, you just have to keep trying until you get the right angle and it should come out.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

All I can say is good luck trying to get it out without undoing the y-pipe. I've changed the starter on my 89 at least 3 times, and I dropped the y-pipe every time. Even if you do snap the studs, just wire up the exhaust temporarily, go light on the throttle so the cops don't notice, and take it to a muffler shop to have some new studs put in. Exhaust shops change manifold studs out all the time, so they shouldn't charge a whole lot. One thing I do before even attempting to undo the collector nuts is get the studs heated up good. Since your starter is shot, running the motor to heat them up probably isn't an option. If not, just use one of those hand held propane torches on each stud for a minute or two. You'd be amazed how much easier they come undone when they're heated up. You can also shoot a little PB Blaster spray on them after heating them up, before trying to loosen them. It'll smoke some, but shoudn't hurt anything. The first time I went to undo mine, they looked really corroded too, and I figured there'd be no way they'd come undone without snapping, but they did. Using penetrating oil and "hot-wrenching" them works wonders sometimes.

89Z

I never had to touch the exhaust, or remove the solenoid, when changing the starter in my '89. If you do end up taking the nuts off of the exhaust manifold studs, replace them with brass ones and you will never have a problem with them again.

I H8 WWD

iTrader: (5)

No problems with this mini starter.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

subliminal

iTrader: (1)

If I had the money to take it to a shop and have them fix the manifold I would of just let them put the starter in. Ive moved it in every direction possible and its simply not coming out of there without the solenoid taken off, Even then I might have to convince it to come out by banging on it.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

I did this a while back and me and my buddy did the job with no trouble whatsoever. We just moved it forward past the y pipe and dropped it down and out. No big deal at all. Maybe it would help to ahve an extra set of hands to maneuver it through the gap?

I dont think removing the y-pipe is necessary at all since I've done it without bothering... It wasnt even that hard, the hard part was making sure the starter didn't fall on my face.

Wadebryant

Did you remove the auto trans torque converter inspection / dust cover plate? With that out of the way, you should be able to tilt and drop the starter out without too much trouble without touching the stock exhaust system.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Huh. According to a lot of the replies, I guess I never tried hard enough to get mine out before just undoing the exhaust. Oh well. The only time it was scary undoing it was the first time. Every successive time after that, it's come undone quite easily. I also still have the support bracket on the front of the starter, which would make it even more of a challenge with the exhaust done up. If you do have to end up removing the solenoid, at least they're pretty easy to take off I guess. Hey, I just thought of something else. I wonder if the guys saying it was easy have the T5 style starter. I've got one of those sitting in the garage right next to a 700r4 style, and even the motor casing is smaller on the T5 starter. In fact, I just noticed that 89Z has a T5, so that makes sense. If and when you do get your old one out, you oughta replace it with a T5 one since it'd be easier to put back in. They work just fine with an auto trans, so that wouldn't be an issue. If you use one of those, and also leave off the unnecessary support bracket that goes on the front, it'll probably go back in a lot easier.