Starter R&R........any tips?

[schubee]

I’m removing and replacing my starter this week. I printed the tech article and it seems pretty straightforward. Is there anything I should know or any tips on this R&R? Thanks in advance for your comments.

[TimT]

hope you have some flexible arms, the top bolt is a bit of a pain!!!!!

[pwd72s]

UNHOOK THOSE BATTERIES...DOUBLE AND TRIPLE CHECK THIS!!!
(Don't ask me how I know...but "a friend" of mine has a 13mm craftsman wrench with a weld like mark.)

[surflvr911sc]

Good luck John! Post some pics/lessons learned when you're done. Does this mean we won’t get to push start you next time?

[cary]

CLEAN THE HEX NUTS FIRST. TWICE.
When the driver fits right, it comes easy.

[widebody911]

Here's some pix from when I replaced mine:

http://vintagebus.com/howto/starter/

[RoninLB]

schubee...not that you should follow my example..I'm into over-kill..a ground strap was run directly from starter bolt to tranny mount bolt...I use Loctite Graphite-50 anti seize, which is 2X as conductive as Loctite copper anti seize...this is in addition to stock ground strap under there...........Ron

[Kevin Stewart]

I think the only trick is to get the car up real hi, (please use jack stands) crawl under and if i remember right the top bolt youwill have to rap your arm around the tranny (drivers side) to get to the top bolt, Kevin

[pwd72s]

UH, any of you guys notice something different about Ron's CV joint in the pic??? Pay close attention...this is a test...

[Kevin Stewart]

Yes its safety wired, must be a race car, Kevin

[pwd72s]

Kevin, you get the gold star...but Ron would laugh at the thought of his road warrior being a race car...

[surflvr911sc]

Is he an Aircraft Mechanic?

[scarebus]

A good aircraft mechanic will have the safety wire tighter
with a perfect reversed 'S'.

[thrown_hammer]

I cut off an allen wrench and had it welded in a socket. This makes it much easier to get the top bolt from under the car without shoving your arm into dark scary places.

[JackT]

I too, learned the hard way.

Did mine Monday night. Took about 1:15, working in a tight garage. I used a Crescent wrench on the hex wrench to get enough torque to free up the top nut.
Does it make sense that the engine runs smoother since I've been under there? Only thing I can think of is that cleaning up the ground strap increased the spark current.

Did Porsche change the motor speed over the years? Or was my old one (original 77, by the look of it) so gummed up that it just couldn't spin as fast as the '82 replacement. The newer one sounds like it's ~3X faster.

[schubee]

Well, I decided to tackle this R&R last night BEFORE I read your comments…..duh! I followed Pelican’s tech article on this and it was fairly simple. One thing though, make sure your car has cooled down for this job.

I agree with the top flare nut being the most difficult to remove for this task. Damn that oil cooler is HOT! I didn’t approach it from the driver’s side. Having small skinny hands, I was able to guide my 10mm allen socket from over the top of the starter. After that, everything was a breeze.

Yes, the first thing I did was disconnect the ground on the battery. However, I could not find my ground strap on the passenger side of the tranny. Am I missing something here or did the PO change the location? I’m now curious on where the ground strap is.

[pbs911]

Originally posted by pwd72s
UH, any of you guys notice something different about Ron's CV joint in the pic??? Pay close attention...this is a test...

Great job on the safety wire, but why is there a zip tie in the middle of the CV boot and NOT one on the out boot end?

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by scarebus
A good aircraft mechanic will have the safety wire tighter
with a perfect reversed 'S'.

My thoughts exactly! I would have to "redline" that CV joint.

[Wayne 962]

The only thing I would add is to install one of the newer-technology high-torque starters, instead of the heavier, older ones...

-Wayne