Kind of caught with my pants down. My 1967 Cougar needs a new starter and it is stranded in an uneven location that is down a hill and kind of difficult to deal with. It will be difficult to jack up and difficult to move to a new location. I’ve never replaced the starter. Do you think I can do it without jacking up the vehicle? If I crawl under the car from behind the passenger wheel, I can see two bolts (on the passenger side of the starter) connecting the starter to the vehicle, and one bolt connecting the positive lead wire to the starter. There is some type of metal strap (about 1" wide) around the forward part of the starter housing. In addition there are a couple of fluid lines just under the starter. The fluid lines get pretty close to the lower of two bolts which connect the starter to the vehicle. Here are my questions:
Are there only the two bolts on the passenger side of the starter connecting the starter to the vehicle? The reason I ask this is because I’m concerned there might be a third bolt which is currently not visible to me on the driver side of the starter, which I won’t be able to reach without jacking up the vehicle.
Does the metal 1" wide strap around the forward part of the starter housing bolted to the vehicle somewhere? The reason I ask is because I’m concerned I won’t be able to reach this (if it exists).
How hard is it to remove the two bolts connecting the starter to the vehicle, particularly the lower one with the fluid lines being so close? I think I can get a wrench in there but it may be a tight fit.
You didn’t mention if it was a small block or not but I’ll assume for now that it is.
The way I’ve done it without jacking up the vehicle is to slip a ratchet in from the front of the engine to remove the top starter bolt.
Then to relieve the headache of trying to wiggle it past the cooling lines and drag-link I simply remove the two idler bolts going into the frame. This allows you to rotate the drag-link away from the starter. Then unscrew the lower bolt carefully while holding it to prevent it from falling on you!
Slip the starter down with the cable attached. Undo the cable with it on the ground and then reverse all the steps to get it back up in there.
Starters can be a bit frustrating to do if you have never done it. If at all possible to do safely I would recommend getting the car on level ground and jacking it up a bit. You should be able to do it without jacking it up, but it will be harder to see what you are doing. The above post sounds like very good advice. The metal strap around the front of the starter is just part of the starter motor not a means of attaching it to anything. Just a warning, starters can be decievingly heavy so be prepared when you take those bolts out. Good luck.
Can you crawl under there with a hammer or a lug wrench? Sometimes, if you’re lucky a good “rap” or two will loosen the starter & it will crank. Start the car, move to level ground and repair as advised above & below.
step 1: disconnect negative battery terminal (inspect all wiring, replace if corroded)
step 2: disconnect wiring to the starter (inspect/replace)
step 3: remove top starter bolt (starter to engine block), loosen lower bolt, then support starter while you remove the bolt & starter.
Reverse steps to install.
[quote=“R Code”]Can you crawl under there with a hammer or a lug wrench? Sometimes, if you’re lucky a good “rap” or two will loosen the starter & it will crank. Start the car, move to level ground and repair as advised above & below.
check to make sure it is not the solenoid on the fender apron that is the problem.
Thanks all for your posts. I whacked the starter several times with a hammer and tried to start the car, but no luck. With the help of my son I was able to pull the starter. We had NAPA test it. It hesitated for a second them came to life. The guy at NAPA proclaimed it good to go. We put it back in the car and the Cougar fired right up. However, a new (unrelated?) problem reared its ugly head which I will post about separately. But long story short, the Cougar would not shut off once I put in park and removed the key! I will title new post, “Cougar won’t shut off.”