My problem has been replacement parts. I first started by purchasing a reman from a local shop - it was in stock - which meant I would be good-to-go real soon. But the remanufactured starter was merely an evil twin of an OEM. It bolted on the same, but it was built differently. The brushes are in a different place, closer to the flywheel. But the real problem is that it is bigger. So much bigger I could not get the starter back in place.

Take a look at the picture. The Remanufactured starter has a slightly larger diameter, and it has bolts on the outside of the starter body. I had read that some have said to jack up the right side of the engine to change the starter. That must be folks who have dealt with a reman starter like this one. In principle I could not install it, so OEM it will be, right?.

Attachment: Old_and_Reman_starters.gif (179466 bytes, downloaded 5723 times)

So am I happy yet? Nooo. The solenoid looks fine, but the brushes aren't. The brush holder from Infiniti came with only two brushes... the two that were not worn badly. Take a look at the old brushes.... they barely have any spring left in them. My guess is that they could have been the problem. So here I am 10 days later with my car still in the garage, and starter parts on the floor.

grumble... grumble...grumble...

Online I did not see any other part listed that looked like I had to buy a separate part to get all the brushes. I bet this is special order, and it'll be another week before I get my car back on the road. I'm almost ready to jack up my engine and put the reman in. Or get the OEM starter here ASAP. Put this in and hope it works with the short brushes??? Any recommendations?

Thanks, Eric


Attachment: StarterBrushes.gif (172211 bytes, downloaded 5625 times)

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Manual transmissions demistified, explained and pictured. FWD & RWD, foreign & domestic.

My most reliable bet is to get a whole new OEM starter. I hadn't thought of
seeing if the remanufacturer had the part I need. ... I doubt they have exactly this part, but will ask. It'll probably boil down to whether they can fabricate a replacement part themselves. It is a heavy braded wire connecting into two steel blocks - the "brushes".

Also, 90% of Nippondenso starter parts are used on many different cars and trucks, even Fords, GMs, etc. Rebuilders have racks of the stuff. They probably just have an overly loose interchange manual, which is why they sold you a starter that doesn't fit just right.

Thanks for the advice. I brought the starter down to the rebuilder, and they also showed me that the commutator had also become uneven and needed replacing. I gave them the OEM Solenoid and they did the entire rebuild for $89. I am prety sure it was the substantial brush wear that caused the initial problem with the stearter. Works like a charm now.

If I were to do this over again I'd probably bring my starter to the rebuilder first and get it rebuilt instead of looking for another reman that might not fit. 2nd choice is a reman. from Infiniti for about $250.

For those that don't want the step-by-step instructions, what you really want to know is shown in the picture - the tools used to get those hard to get to starter bolts.

List of Tools

* 1/4" drive ratchet with 10, 12, & 14 MM sockets & 2" - 3" extension

* 10 MM box wrench (for PS fluid tubing on rack)

* 1/2 drive ratchet (for upper starter bolt)

* 14 MM Stubby combo wrench

* 3/8" drive ratchet with 14 MM socket,
* 3/8" drive universal joint extention,
* two 6" straight extensions 3/8" drive. (or one 6" and two 3")

Procedure

* Disconnect battery

* Remove under pan from car. You need it off to access one of the bolts later.

* Remove PS fluid tubing from steering rack... the one that is near the starter. (This may not be necessary but I did it to make life easier).
Note that fluid will leak and leak from the tube. plug it with a rubber stopper or ear plug, or just allow it to drain into a containter for disposal. Or empty the PS fluid before starting the job. And be sure to keep the inlet to the rack clean and covered too (another hearing protector is perfect!).

* Remove heat shield for steering rack - two 10 MM bolts

* Disconnect slenoid wire connector.

* Using a 12 MM socket on 1/4" drive, disconnect battery connection to solenoid. You'll need to remove the rubber cover first.

* Completely disconnect the battery wire - so that they are not touching, the the cable from the battery is free to move around.

* Loosen upper starter bolt using a stubby 14 MM combo wrench. To get enough leverage in the weird space, put the square drive of the 1/2" drive ratchet into the cresent side of the stubby combo. Once loose you might use the 1/4" drive set to get the bolt further out more quickly. Remove the bolt.

* Loosen the lower starter bolt. To do this snake the 3/8" drive extensions from in front of the cross member, over the cross memeber, and through to the starter. You might have to tussle with the cables to get it through.

* Once the extention is at the bolt, just crank it off.

* As long as you have an OEM starter I expect that the starter will come out easily. If you have a starter like the reman I pictured above, then you'll need to be creative - rumor has it that you need to jack up the engine.

* Reverse the process to install. Remember to top off the PS fluid before you start the car!

Nice! - no nightmares or band-aids on this repair if you have the right (common) tools. I had to go out and buy the stubby 14MM once I figured out what I needed.

Attachment: starterTools.gif (130527 bytes, downloaded 5034 times)

Yes !!

I have a generator at a rebuilder right now from a 1949 Farmall tractor
-6V Pos. ground. Parts are no problem even for this...

The writeup above needs to be in: http://www.q45.org

Attached for download by interested parties for future use.

Attachment: StarterReplacement.doc (313344 bytes, downloaded 938 times)

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How exactly did you break that top bolt???
I cant turn this bolt. Are you actually ratching the Stubby OR are you simply using the ratchet for leverage to break the bolt??

The bottom bolt trick worked like a champ. But, I cant get this top bolt to move at all
Help!!

I also used a curved box-end 14mm wrench to break the top bolt loose and the two 6" ext with uni-joint to get the bottom bolt off.

Hope this helps someone else out in the future!

Jack

http://forums.nicoclub.com/zer...08805

that said, I have an active and am still struggling with the bottom bolt. There are a lot of hoses in the spot where you would swing the ratchet. Tomorrow is another day. So far I haven't messed any thing up.

I used to be aaronl now aaronl2. for some reason my password didn't work and i no longer have my email i registered with