95 hardbody starter replacement

Forum for the Xterra, Frontier and Hardbody, the smaller workhorses of the Nissan lineup!
Raizor86
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:02 pm
Car: 86 300zx

Post

Hi guys, so first post here. Here real soon I'm going to be helping my buddy change the starter on his truck. Sounds like it stripped the teeth on the drive gear because it doesn't engage at all.

So I watched the autozone video about changing starters and looked up some info on changing this specific starter. The video pretty much told me what I needed to know as far as basic removal of the starter, however some of the info I found says I have to remove the exhaust manifold...

I'd rather not remove it and just remove the starter itself, so my questions for you guys are:

Can I do it without removing the exhaust manifold?
What all do I have to remove to get to the starter to change it?
Specific tools and sockets I need?
Any tips and tricks you guys have picked up that will help me?

Keep in mind I've never changed a starter before, and have minimal experience with working on cars. For me this will be a good experience because one day I hope to be a certified mechanic as my career choice.

Thanks in advance for useful replies!

-Raizor


Raizor86
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:02 pm
Car: 86 300zx

Post

bump.


Anyone? Anyone at all out there?

Raizor86
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:02 pm
Car: 86 300zx

Post

Uhhh. Hello?

Raizor86
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:02 pm
Car: 86 300zx

Post

Well I got it done... No thanks to yall. So let me answer my own questions in case anyone ever needs a reference and happens to come across this thread.

Question 1:Can I do it without removing the exhaust manifold?
Answer: Yes. It can be done. While the EM does make it a complete pain in the a** to do, the starter will just wiggle out of it's place and on the bright side, you don't have to worry about doin a EM gasket.

Question 2: What all do I have to remove to get to the starter to change it?
Answer: Nothing. Just jack up the passenger side of the truck, put a jackstand under it, or what I did was cinder-blocks, and flat pieces of concrete that are similar to the blocks (Don't know what to call it). Or, you could do this easily with vehicle ramps. After the truck is up, you can reach the starter with relative ease by removing the passenger front wheel if you don't go with the ramps.

Question 3: Specific tools and sockets I need?
Answer: 9/16 socket and socket wrench for the mounting bolts, and a 1/2 inch open end wrench. Jack, jackstands/ramps, and a tire iron to remove the tire. The 1/2 wrench for for the electrical connection that provides power to the starter. Oh and a U-joint adapter and two extensions or one long one, for your socket wrench. The top mounting bolt for the starter is in a very confined space. I had to make a trip to the auto store to pick up a U-joint adapter just to get it off since I didn't have one. It did it's job well, just be careful as you could end up stripping the bolt. Even with the U-joint, there's still hardly any room and the socket won't want to seat properly on the bolt head. I managed to keep the bolt head from stripping using caution and common sense.

Question 4:Any tips and tricks you guys have picked up that will help me?
Answer: My biggest problem with this job was when I was putting the new starter in. I didn't disconnect the electrical connection before I actually removed the starter itself. I got the starter off and into a better position to remove it. Because I did it this way, I did the reverse for putting the new starter in, and hooked it up before I got the starter in it's place. Because this is my first time doing this, I didn't think this little connector would get in the way, but it did. First I couldn't get the starter in because this was in the way, and after I adjusted it I probably played with the starter for an hour trying to just get the bolt holes to line up properly. After dinner and some time to rest my mind, I went back out and found that this little connector I adjusted just to get it in there, was now in the way because I adjusted it before. So I adjusted it again, and it lined up just right. After that it was a snap. Just put the bolts back in, tightened down, put the wheel back on, and the truck started right up first try.

You should also have a buddy on hand as the starter isn't light and you have limited space and limited wire length on the electrical connections. It's good to have someone to hold it, while you use both hands to work with the electrical connections. You could also use some engine cleaner and clean up the area around the old starter before you remove it, if you're worried about gettin dirty. I got pretty dirty doin this.

This was a pretty straight forward job, and my biggest obstacle was inexperience.

Hope this helps anyone that needs it.




Well. That's it. If you regs actually read this, I'll probably hang around. I'm real into z31's and I might be pickin up another one here soon.

User avatar
Towncivilian
Posts: 4995
Joined: Sun May 23, 2010 10:21 am
Car: 2001.5 Pathfinder SE 3.5L 2WD A/T
2007 Altima 2.5L CVT
2012 Sentra 2.0L CVT Special
2012 G37 Sedan 7A/T
Location: Florida, USA
Contact:

Post

I moved this topic to the Nissan Trucks forum since it's a more appropriate subforum for this thread.

Thanks for sharing your experience, and welcome to NICO!

JOEMIKER
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue May 03, 2016 10:34 am
Car: 1995 NISSAN HARDBODY

Post

That was on a Z engine. Has anyone done this on the K24 engine? The starter is under the intake
manifold.

whomadewho
Posts: 523
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:32 pm
Car: 1997 Nissan pickup

Post

Great post. Glad everything worked out. I read your post eairler,maybe it is just me but I didn't see a engine size - 2wd - 4x4 - Auto or manual transmission. I was also amassed that you were able to remove the starter with standard size tools instead of using metric tools. I learn something new everyday.

icrf
Posts: 38
Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2015 6:46 am
Car: 2012 Infiniti M37x
1993 Nissan Hardbody
1970 International Harvester Travelall
Location: Chattanooga, TN

Post

I've replaced the starter on my '93 KA24 4x4 twice over the years, and I went in the passenger front wheel well for access. Been awhile, but if memory serves, it was pretty easy to get to once the tire and splash guard were removed.

Also, I know pretty much every official how-to for anything on any vehicle says disconnect the battery before performing whatever mundane unrelated task and you can almost always ignore it. This is one of those cases where you shouldn't. Big fat hard lines straight from the battery to the starter, and sparks fly off the wrench if you fail to do so.

User avatar
jonathan1173
Posts: 75
Joined: Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:09 am
Car: 1997 Nissan Pickup XE 4X2
Location: Houston

Post

Good writeup. I remember the top bolt on the 97 HB was a p.I.t.a as it couldn't be seen from underneath. 1/4 drive, extensions, and u-joint are a must.
I currently have mine stripped down to the block and looks to be quite simple at that point, but I wouldn't recommend it just to change a starter. ;)


Return to “Nissan Trucks Forum”