Quote:
Originally Posted by lupin..the..3rd
I've pulled mine before, it's a piece of cake. Make sure you disconnect the battery first, so you don't fry yourself with the starter electrical wires. I had to replace a leaking gasket on the oil/water heat exchanger, but in order to remove that, you have to remove the starter (or you can't reach all the bolts). I did have my intake manifold off when I did this, but I think I removed the starter from below? Can't remember now.
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You must be terribly strong or terribly heavy to call this job a piece of cake! The bottom bolt of the two holding the starter onto the car is hard enough and it's right there in plain sight (I suspect mine has never been disturbed since the factory put it on).
The top bolt can barely be seen or felt and definitely not both seen and felt at the same time. I went out and bought some "obstruction wrenches" (Harbor Freight's "Pittsburgh" brand, set of 5, made in India, $12). The 17mm is the correct size.
As the pictures show, the top bolt is nearly impossible to get at. Even when I had the wrench on the bolt, there was no way to get any leverage. I ended up making an extension from another wrench so that I could lever down with a long screwdriver. I was afraid of breaking the wrench but the bolt did finally start to loosen.
Now that I know I can get the bolts out, I'll be able to remove the starter when the replacement arrives (maybe Friday). Wish me luck.
Jeremy
__________________
"Buster" in the '95
Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .343,000 miles
Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 148,000 miles
My car
Santa Rosa population 177,300 (2026 projected)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 668,300
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970