This.


Especially would like comments from someone who has done it or tried.

 

Yes, make life simple, but will working blindly with the battery disconnected.
Note, steal one of your wives cosmetic mirrors so you can tape in place so you can see over over the top of the starter to see the connectors and terminal nut you need to remove while under the car, before you unbolt the starter from the bell housing via it two bolts.



On the back of the starter solenoid. remove the round green and tan square connector plugs, and the nut from the terminal with two wires connectors remove the two cables off that terminal. The terminal will be the one farthest away from the starter motor, and is the one that is cracked off from the solenoid from the below photo and hanging to the fender side of the car

On the terminal closest to the motor, that is the lead wire off the starter motor to the solenoid, and you will be dealing with it when your replace the starter solenoid once the starter is out of the car.



So round plug is the green connector, next to it is the tan square connector (note where the snap locks for the connector are, hence green one will to the top, and the tan one to the the left of the plug), and its only the terminal nut away from the starter motor on the solenoid that you need to remove to remove the two cables (battery and alternator cables) that connect to it.



Now with the connectors removed from the starter solenoid, remove the two bolts that are holding the starter to the bell housing, and you can maneuver the loose starter out of the car.

If you want more room to maneuver the starter out once loose, then remove the cat on that side from the bottom of the exhaust manifold and the X pipe isntead.


Also, once you have the starter out, take the time to pull the engine block ground bolt, remove the main ground wire, the smaller ground wire connector, clean the works including using 400 sand paper on the motor block face of where the connector will mate up to the block to clean the surface oxidation of the aluminum, touch of dielectric grease on the connectors, and re-bolt all that back in place before you put the starter back in the car.

 

I had to LOL at the cosmetics picture...probably a CF first.

 

You will be surprised on how well they work.

Just snap the mirror lid off the rest of the compact case, back roll some duct/gaffer tape so its sticky side out around a couple of fingers for a few winds to put on the back of the mirror, and you can stick the mirror to just about any part of the car/angle so you can see into a blind spot that you can't get your head in instead.
Hell, the trick works as well if you have to change the oil pressure sensor, without having to pull the intake isntead.


Also, there are the mirrors on a pole, but unless you have someone to hold it for you, the compact lid mirror with tape sticky backer just works a lot better.

 

Brilliant Dano, thanks.

 

Now with the connectors removed from the starter solenoid, remove the two bolts that are holding the starter to the bell housing, and you can maneuver the loose starter out of the car.

I am stuck here. Are your pics from a 2013? I think I only took off one wire terminal and one plastic conn on mine (not 100% sure) Maybe on the `13 they spliced the alt & batt together somewhere? I cannot maneuver it out, a boss on the flywheel side & the cat on the fender side block it from dropping out. Can't pull it fwd enough to get it disengaged from the bell housing. Crap. Guess I'll pull the exh man and cat as one. Double crap.

Phew.

Update on a 13 it is ONE round terminal, I was hung up on it, now free & can move starter fwd more still not enough to get out of bell housing. It hits some wire bundles that I am not going into. Make more problems.

If I take the cat to manifold as one part does it come up the top or out the bottom?

The a/c comp on one end and the huge wire harness bundles on the firewall end make it look unlikely it'll go down.\\

Getting frustrated, I think what works on an 06-12 may just not work on a 13. Model change and in particular these big wire bundles seem to be in the way and maybe different.



Saw on another thread (my??) the exh man comes out bottom dr side and top pass side. Right?

ok to reuse gaskets if not damaged? Need some help here, thanks, car all apart. Getting late, going to soak the bolts with blaster & start fresh am. Help if anyone can.

 

Wed am going at the exhaust manifold, now.



Any help?

 

There are 2 o2 sensors before & after the cat and EXTREMELY hard to get to the wire connections so scrapping the removal of manifold & cat. No idea how they do this at a dealer. Beat the book. Probably cut the wires on the sensors & remove manifold/cat and reinstall with new ones (charge cust for new ones). I'm not willing at this point to buy 2 new sensors.

I am about 80% convinced the poor (hand tight) CONNECTION OF THE BATT CABLE TO THE STARTER IS WHY IT STARTS OK COLD AND BARELY HOT. Sorry caps. At this point I am putting it all back(original starter) and will try with properly torqued nut. I will wrap with DEI wrap. BTW the new starter has steel nuts and the old (original) brass so maybe that's a clue also. Or not.

 

You may have found your problem.

 

No still there.

 

Going in now, will loosen exhaust manifold maybe drop enough to wiggle starter out. Luck?