Hello again, Jonathan D. B. here again with another guide. The Q45 starter replacement is one of the most frustrating auto repairs I have done. This forum has some horror stories... But this guide will help enormously. There are a few methods floating around here from years past, you may find them by searching. I pretty much came up with my own method, because I do not believe in creating extra / risky work. The FSM is of no use on this one, so don’t bother lol.
In this method you: don’t remove any power steering lines, don’t jack up the engine, don’t have to drop the sway bar, and will not have to do any unnecessary work. Difficulty: 4.5/10, Frustration: 10/10, Time: about 6 real work hours, but most of that was spent with failures. Following along, you could be done in 2 or 3 hours.
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Symptoms:
Intermittent starting, failure to start, difficulty starting. You need to be sure that the starter does indeed need replacing, I don’t even know how irritated I would have been if I had done all this work and it still didn’t start. Check my other threads for a little background and help diagnosing: won-t-start-after-programming-new-remot ... 78914.html. The starter relay is easy to get to, and you should start there. There are two plugs going to the relay. Check the wires on the big plug for +12 volts. These are the hot wires to the starter. At the small plug, have someone crank the key and check to see if you have +9~10 volts during cranking. Replacing the relay takes 60 seconds, so you could try that. Some suggested banging on the starter with a hammer while someone tries to crank it, the starter may come to life that once, if it needs banging on then it’s obviously toast. I didn’t try this so I can’t say.
Note, my starter died with zero warning. One day it was starting fine, the next day, nothing. It did start twice after that point… once to run for a moment, and then wouldn’t start. Then it miraculously started just in time for me to drive it up on ramps and replace the starter lol.
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Sourcing a replacement:
Like any car parts, you have basically three choices. One: new oem dealership part. Two: used junkyard / ebay part. Or three: new aftermarket (non-oem) part from ebay / auto parts store. Note: remanufactured is used, no matter how shiny and pretty they make it look. I decided to go with a new part, because I know a lot about how elec motors wear and fail. I was not willing to risk a used part despite the cost savings (I rebuilt treadmill motors for gyms for awhile).
The unit I got is brand new, made by World Power Systems, purchased on ebay for $76.33 shipped: http://www.ebay.com/itm/400261440472.That link will eventually die, so you’ll just have to do your own search when it does.
This unit works perfectly and starts the car almost violently. It just turns on the engine immediately, requiring no prolonged cranking. The best part is, I felt a great deal of confidence when it arrived with a complete inspection and data sheet.
IMPORTANT: Some members have purchased starters that are assembled differently, with large bolts around the housings. These are apparently extremely difficult to install. Pay close attention to the pictures when sourcing your replacement to be sure it looks just like the original. Mine is exactly the same as oem in every physical way, except not having “Nissan” stamped into it. I had no trouble with fitment at all. In fact it actually felt heavier and much nicer than the Nissan starter… but metals and electrics have changed in 20 years.
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Tools:
This is the most important part, getting the tools together! I spent the majority of these many hours trying to figure out what wacky combination of tools would get those bolts turning. I’ll save you several hours by telling you what will work and what will NOT. I can tell you now that wrenches will NOT work on the bottom bolt nor can you loosen it with your finger once initial torque is broken. I tried every type of wild wrench you could imagine, there’s just no room. At the minimum you will need:
• Many variations of extensions. I had a 6”, a 10”, several 3”, and a 2” extension. You’ll need these for the bottom bolt.
• A low-profile 3/8 ratchet and several size 3/8” drive sockets of 10mm, 12mm, 14mm and or 9/16” and 1/2”.
• A small 1/4" drive socket ratchet with 10mm, 14mm and or 9/16”, and 1/2" sockets.
• Most importantly for the bottom bolt, you’ll need a shallow-well, medium-well, and deep-well 14mm and or 9/16 sockets. It’s a tight space and you’ll need the variety as you screw in/out the bolt.
• Screwdriver and pliers, to pry and pull a couple things.
• PB Blaster or other penetrating lube, hand / tool wipes, and oxyclean for the clothes you’ll ruin lol!
THIS IS WHAT WORKED FOR THE TOP BOLT:
My Craftsman ratchet was too tall for the tight space required to access the bottom bolt, but a cheapo generic Taiwanese ratchet was thin enough. They also make specialty low-profile ratchets which would’ve come in handy.
THIS IS WHAT WORKED FOR THE BOTTOM BOLT: so very classy haha! I got tired of sockets and extensions dropping on my head, so I temporarily taped them. Notice one setup is a tiny bit longer than another. The operating range here is a total length of 11 inches to 11.5 inches from end to end. Any shorter and you won’t reach, and longer and the AC compressor is in the way. Yes it is this much of a pain :/
In one of the methods from years past, a user suggested placing a 14mm stubby wrench on the top bolt and then using a ½” breaker bar to leverage it. I tried this and couldn’t get the angles right, but it worked for some and maybe it could work for you. It would be on the bolt and used like this:
Here is the 9/16” shallow-well, medium-well, and deep-well I needed for the bottom bolt.
Depending on the lengths of your particular collection of extensions and sockets, you may need more or less than what I used. When it comes time, honestly you’ll have to get under there and try a couple extensions to get it just right.
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Get Started:
1. Place the car onto ramps or jackstands on both front sides. Remove the engine undercover. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. This is straightforward.
2. Here’s what it looks like, not very pretty. Sorry the pics aren’t great, cell phone camera and only a few inches to work with between me and the car. Immediately spray the two bolts on the starter with the penetrating lube! They need a few minutes to soak it in, two hours on some bolts like exhaust bolts.
3. Remove the small steering heat shield, two 10mm bolts. One bolt is tucked up behind the shield, so you’ll have to feel your way to this one.
4. Remove the one +12v battery wire from the starter solenoid, one 12mm nut. You’ll have to smush the protective cap boot out of the way to get at the nut.
5. Remove and disconnect this starter solenoid actuator wire, it’s on the tranny, you’ll have to slide it off the bracket to disconnect.
6. Here’s the heat shield, nothing special.
7. There’s a better view now. You can see the troublesome bottom bolt here. The top bolt is directly on the opposite side from here, almost straight up. You can feel it easily. Two 14mm or 9/16 bolts.
8. This is a pic of about how the stubby wrench would go on to the bolt, if you’re inclined to try this. My way is easier though.
9. Remember the setup I showed you that would get to the top bolt? It’s easy to set up, and when the ratchet is set up, use a makeshift cheater bar for leverage. To make a cheater bar, use a deep-well socket that will slip over the ratchet handle, and an extension on the socket. The cheater bar comes down right in front of the steering boot. Yikes she needs new boots! That’s next week.
10. One good pull and the bolt is loosened, and can be removed the rest of the way by hand and with the socket driver.
11. When it comes time for the bottom bolt, I found it extremely helpful to loosen this power steering line bracket, one 10mm bolt, and stretch it out of the way for awhile. This gives you a little more play room for the ratchet. Your ratchet will connect to your extension right at the back of the AC compressor.
12. This is hard to describe and impossible to photograph… your socket and extension setup are going to go as follow: starting at the bolt, socket, extension, over the crossmember, snaked through a couple unknown things, and out to the open area right behind the AC. Here is the end of the extension at AC. You may have to work at this a bit to get it right, but don’t give up, and believe me it’s the only way.
13. If your sockets keep falling on your head, tape em’ up.
14. Here is the ratchet on the extension going to the bottom starter bolt. YOU’LL ONLY GET ONE OR TWO CLICKS if you’re lucky, so this bolt is gonna take awhile, there’s no fast way about it :/ Caution: As the bolt starts to come out, you’ll probably have to switch socket/extension setups! Don’t do what I did and just keep cranking until you run into the back of the compressor…getting the tools stuck and me very frustrated. I then had to get a screwdriver to flip the ratchet switch and then tighten the bolt back down until I could remove the tools, figure out a new setup, and go back to loosening the bolt lol!
15. Once the bolts are loose, knock it with a ratchet or give it a gentle pry with a screwdriver to free the starter. You’ll know when it’s free, but don’t worry it cannot fall on you. You’ll have to turn it and fish it out down by the exhaust manifold. It will feel like delivering a dirty mechanical baby boy.
16. The new unit looks bigger, but it’s just the angle here. It looks the same, in fact the castings even look like they were copied precisely!
17. There’s actually tons of room up there once the starter is out. You’ll have to fish the new one up there in the same awkward manner as removal. I put the bendix end in first, and had to rotate and twist a few different ways to get it in. This might take you a few minutes and a few tries to get right, but it’s not difficult.
18. Get the new starter up in there and situated correctly. You’ll be able to eyeball that bottom bolt hole and get it visually lined up about right.
19. Okay, now reinstalling the bolts. Sorry friends there is no kind, fun, happy joy joy way to do this except patience and determination. I actually started with the TOP bolt, since I thought that I could get my hand up there and start the bolt with my fingers. You’ll have to get the bottom bolt visually lined up as close as possible, then balance, and hold the starter with your left hand, while you keep trying to finger the bolt into the hole with the right hand. You’ll have to carefully move it around slowly until you feel that top bolt hit the hole. You’ll know when it finally drops into the hole, and you’ll be able to get it started with your fingers. Once finger tight, get the socket driver/ratchet combo and get the bolt most of the way down. Don’t tighten the bolt yet, you want a little play to jiggle with the bottom bolt. Now reinstall the bottom bolt using the opposite method of removal, changing socket/extension setups as needed. When both are in, tighten them down very very well.
20. Connect the +12 battery cable to the starter solenoid. Connect it to the screw that does NOT have the black wire going into the starter body. My new one had a 13mm or 1/2” nut instead of the old 12mm. Tighten that down and slip the protective boot over it. Reconnect the new solenoid actuator wire to the plug and slip it back onto the bracket on the tranny.
21. Reinstall and tighten down the heat shield. Reinstall and tighten down that AC line bracket if you removed it. Now before you put the engine under cover back on, reconnect the battery and give it a start. A starter always makes a scary noise the first time, but it’s good after that. Hopefully all is good, and you can finish up under there.
Luckily for me, I got it all right the first time and it cranked right up. Looking back on it, had I known it would be this much trouble, I would’ve paid a shop to replace it. Also, I had all the tools necessary, even if it did take some creativity. I used a pair of Rhino Ramps, but having access to a real lift would’ve made this much easier. If you’re the slightest bit unsure, I recommend having a shop do it.
Coming up later: I’ll open up the old starter and see what failed. I had predicted earlier in the other thread that the brushes are likely gone, and who knows how well the solenoid is functioning. I didn’t need to send in the old starter for a core charge, so I’m just going to take it to the metal recycling center.
Good luck! Feel free to post your suggestions and what worked for you here! This will serve to help those who tackle this tough task in the future.
there's a half-turn of dead spot in the steering, the steering wheel is either way left or way right of it's neutral resting poing at any time, and I don't see anything visibly broken or damaged. I think I know how this happened. 