cant remove starter

[garciaag]

no one can tell me how to remove my starter on my 02 pt cruiser. my mechanic told me to drop the fan, the manual i got at advanced auto parts tells me to take off an engine bracket that i cant locate. also i noticed my starter is loose on the bottom. i can get under the car and jiggle it. there is no bolt nut on the top side just behind the cylonoid and no bolt attached on the bottom side. i really have no idea what is keeping my starter in place. i tried to take off the intake to get a straight shot at it but stopped after i took off the top cap coming from the vacum and filter. it intimidated me a little much!

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum.

If you going to do work like this you should get yourself a Haynes Manual or download the FREE PT Repair Manual that is listed on the top section of the Tech & Performance part of this forum.

I can read you the 4 steps on removing the starter but don't think it will help without seeing what they are talking about.

1. Remove the engine structural collar 5 bolts)
2. Disconnect the electrical connectors from the starter solenoid assembly.
3. Remove the starter motor mounting bolts.
4. Lower the starter motor assembly from the engine compartment.

[garciaag]

I have that book and diagrams but when I lift the car don't see where those 5 bolts are. Are they to the driver side or passanger and is there maybe a different way

[CREWZIN]

If it's the same as my 2001, the starter is right in the middle of the front neither drivers nor passengers side. The starter connects to the flywheel on the transaxle so the structural collar has to be there somewhere.

A different way? Maybe, but I don't know of it. Maybe it's time for a professional.

[garciaag]

so after i looked at replaceing the starter my car didnt have any problems. still no new starter still nothing removed. tightened the cables to the solenoid. started up great. drove it about a week zero problems. went to start it monday afternoon it would not turn over. tuesday morning started on second try. wed started fine all day thursday started fine in the morning. afternoon would not turn on until about the 8-10th try. came home let it sit start no problem, let it sit started with a struggle (battery strain from my afternoon attempts) have been starting and starting with no problem. any ideas? still trying to interpret this damn haynes repair manual on the structural collar...but am i wasting my time and overlooking the real problem

[Hooligan]

Sounds like it is time for the dealer or a trusted mechanic to look at it. I know it will cost some bucks, but what else can you do?

[CREWZIN]

Me again. I would have hoped one our professional techs on this forum would have spoken up buy now.

I did a short search on the Internet and it seems your on the right track with either the solenoid or starter itself with the majority pointing towards the solenoid as the culprit.

[garciaag]

id like to think so. i have changed plenty of starters in my life and this is the one that is kicking me in the @$$. ive never had to remove anything but the starter to get to one. i was under the car for 25 minutes looking for the structural collar. driver side passanger i am going to find out how this thing comes off if it kills me. its my first car and i dont want to be a bong retard and have to take it to a tech every time something is wrong with it! especially when i know what it is and how to remove them.

[CREWZIN]

You can see it from the top. Look over the radiator and down between the fan housing and engine and the solenoid is right there in plain sight. That should give you a good view of how you get to it from the bottom.


A thought just occurred to me. If the fan housing wasn't in the way, you could easily get to the starter and solenoid from the top. Maybe that's how it's done, to give you room to work on it, the fan housing has to come out.

That's a 45 minute job in itself. as the upper manifold has to come off, the upper radiator hose comes off, fluid drained, the front upper radiator support and the horizontal brace bar comes off so the radiator can lean forward and the fan housing can be lifted up.

[garciaag]

that is what my mechanic said to drop the fan so you get a straight shot at the starter. i thought maybe removing the battery and working from the driver side might work but is that bracket at the front of the car or toward the end. maybe that should be my question because to the driver side is the wheel wall and the oil pan comes to the passanger sidealong with the whole mess of alternator ac and junk. UPDATE still starting it 5:30-10:00 pm no problem.