Which make of starter motor?

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Fell foul of the 'Sticking Starter Solenoid Syndrome' tonight. The RAC guy got it going in 30 seconds & recommended a new starter but not the 'reconditioned cr@p' from ECP (presumably the RTX branded ones).

ECP have a Bosch at £86.46 +£84 surcharge & two Lucas, one at £70.45 + £42 surcharge & the other £142.80 + £54 surcharge (!).

They are all offered as suitable for my '03 3.0i auto but there's no info on what the differences are. Which one should I go for? I'm tempted by the Bosch.
 
Well I've gone for the Bosch starter.

However, while seaching for any info on the job I came across a post that claimed the two Torx bolts hoding the starter to the bellhousing were 'single-use stretch bolts'. I've found no other supporting info on this.

Can I re-use the bolts (with thread lock if necessary) or do I need new ones?
 
GuidoK said:
Lucas.... prince of darkness :roll:
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That's why I was inclined to go for the Bosch.

I'm pleased I'm doing this job on a Z4 - the E46 looks like a real nightmare.
 
Reiver said:
Fell foul of the 'Sticking Starter Solenoid Syndrome' tonight. The RAC guy got it going in 30 seconds & recommended a new starter but not the 'reconditioned cr@p' from ECP (presumably the RTX branded ones).

ECP have a Bosch at £86.46 +£84 surcharge & two Lucas, one at £70.45 + £42 surcharge & the other £142.80 + £54 surcharge (!).

They are all offered as suitable for my '03 3.0i auto but there's no info on what the differences are. Which one should I go for? I'm tempted by the Bosch.
Click to expand...

What's the surcharge for? If you don't trade in your old one?
 
Wildfire said:
I went with Bosch and reused the old bolts. No issues. Didn't think they were Torx though??
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I think they're torx: inverse (or external) torx (E10 or so).

I just refurbished my starter (not that it was broken, but it had some slight noice in the bendix bearing, and when I had my intake off for supercharger install, the starter was so easy to get to.... :roll: ).
It's easy to take apart and most of the times it just needs a good cleaning (although most parts can be sourced individually)
 
GreyZed said:
Reiver said:
Fell foul of the 'Sticking Starter Solenoid Syndrome' tonight. The RAC guy got it going in 30 seconds & recommended a new starter but not the 'reconditioned cr@p' from ECP (presumably the RTX branded ones).

ECP have a Bosch at £86.46 +£84 surcharge & two Lucas, one at £70.45 + £42 surcharge & the other £142.80 + £54 surcharge (!).

They are all offered as suitable for my '03 3.0i auto but there's no info on what the differences are. Which one should I go for? I'm tempted by the Bosch.
Click to expand...

What's the surcharge for? If you don't trade in your old one?
Click to expand...

Yes. Take your old knackered one back to them and they refund you the surcharge.

Mine had bits taken out of the metal around the bolt holes and they took it. I think they recondition them and sell them for a profit.
 
Ok, changed the starter motor this afternoon. The job has been well documented on the net so I won't go through a step by step how-to but a post match analysis might prove useful.

The job is not the nightmare it is on an E46 so save yourself £100 - £200 & diy.

The Torx bolts are commonly reported to need an E12 female Torx socket. On my '03 3.0i auto they needed an E14 socket. Halfords do a 6 piece set for £15.99 or Tesco Direct do a 10 piece set delivered to your local store for £10.

It's best to use the right tool for the job, especially if they are in tight but I found a 10 mm ring spanner fits the E14 bolts perfectly.

You don't need to remove the air cleaner assembley but you do need to remove the sound generator if fitted. There's an over-centre catch underneath the SG - flip it towards you to release it. There's a jubilee clip at one end, the other end just pulls out of the bulkhead.

Starter5s_zps9724953a.jpg


With the bolts out the motor should just pull out but they invariably stick on the locating pin. Try squirting WD40 or similar into the hole to help free it. On reassembly I coated the pin with copperslip.

Starter6s_zpse52b649f.jpg


This is where the pin locates.

Starter3s_zps287484ed.jpg


This is the orientation of the motor in the car - i.e. the view you will have of it.

Starter4s_zpscbef0fc6.jpg


One other thing to note, the 13 mm nut holds 2 red wires, the 10 mm nut holds 1 black wire. There is no 8 mm nut as commonly reported elsewhere.

With it all back together it worked fine, a much smoother start than previously. When I think about it, it always did sound a bit 'clanky' compared to my E36 328.

The only issue I have is that the alarms keeps going off for no reason. I've disconnected the battery again & will try & sort it tomorrow.
 
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