anyone have torque specs for the starter motor to transmission bell housing on a ' 97 altima standard / manual trans made in usa ? the fsm and haynes manual dont have them.

i wouldnt care except i have a nice torque wrench now that i never get to use lol

mac, only a guess , on the safe side 35 ft/lbs , I wouldn't do 40 , nor go over 40- if block "Alloy" go 32 ft/lb

the bell housing is aluminum, now i really want the torque specs. cant edit op but i should have been more specific on make model (i may need specs for a 96) :

97 altima "gxe" standard/manual trans , made in the usa on " 5/1996 "

thanx for the guess mac, i dont have parts yet so ill hope i find the answer or i will do by feel .

mac , yeah Googling IS vague . I tried outta curiosity. Right - when you feel the bolt "build up fast,hard and tight"', you stop , right there usually right-on. That's the beauty of using a torque wrench often -you "learn" the feel of that torque-load buildup of the various bolts - and as you say Alloys you gotta watch.

Bellhousings have been made of aluminum for 60 years, whereya been?

Just use common sense, I haven't used a torque wrench there in so long I cannot say. I only torque like head gaskets, flywheels, and critical engine parts like mains and rods, or ATX valvebodies and TTY parts which need to be watched close.

the torque for starter motor mounting may be in the fsm in the section " MT " and may be 12 - 15 ft. lbs.
i did not use a torque wrench but by feel thats about how much force i used, after meeting resistance i turned no more than 1/8 turn.

question about ignition bypass : my solenoid has 2 wires going in main power and the wire from the ignition / clutch, is it safe to start the car by supplying +12v to the ignition/ clutch wire ( the only wire with a plastic snap on connector) ?

i tried it this way for 1second, enough to know the motor is turning but not enough to start the car. i cant think of any reason why this wouldnt be ok on a car this old but thought id ask here before making a new thread

if i start a new thread for this id like to just make it a faq / tutorial called something like ' how to ignition bypass ' thanx everyone

mac,your talking "hot wiring" the solenoid, that is heavy(Red) cable from starter to pos. battery , a FUSED jumper from solenoid (ign. tab) run , just momentarily "touched to pos." battery term? BE CAREFUL - here's what happened in my 93 J - I needed to do this and being overly SAFETY conscious , I LOOSENED NEG. Battery clamp ready to "pull the plug" if needed! I DID ,because the solenoid DID NOT DISENGAGE (test w/key OFF- I had also removed f/pump AND ECM fuses-glad I did). Treat everything like an EXPERIMENT. I had to install a heavy Shottkey "blocking" diode in wire going BACK INTO IGNITION Ckt.! to prevent SOME SORT of BACKFEED, I believe was from the Theft Control System , NO OTHER CAR I've jumped solenoid EVER DID THIS.Do it w/loose conn. on neg. , AND pull fuses to prevent start ,OR YOU'LL CHEW YOUR FLEX-PLATE & GEAR on starter with engine running!! When it works , AND DISENGAGES WHEN RELEASED ,then go ahead and put fuses back - but I would keep the neg. battery clamp loose , just in case starter didn't properly "cut-out"
on FIRST TRY - "ALL IN" .

sorry was early and in a rush earlier, ill be more descriptive since no more links to manuals,,,

the solenoid has 3 wires , a heavy wire to solenoid from battery, heavy wire from solenoid to starter, thin wire from ignition switch to solenoid ( actually goes through some relays etc but disconnects at the solenoid with a plastic snap on connector ). all are positive +12v wires and grounded through the transmission. I dont have any anti theft system .

the thin wire from ignition switch to solenoid is the wire i want to give +12v. i tried touching the ignition wire (with a long thin jumper) to positive + battery terminal for about 1 second just see if the starter motor turns the engine , and it does. so now i want to know if there is any reason i shouldnt start the engine this way ?

thanks mac for warning about the solenoid and hence starter not disengaging ( if this happens on most vehicles it makes a loud "scratching screeching" noise). and having the negative battery terminal loose ( thats why i jumped to + terminal so i could stand right there ), remove fuel pump fuse & ground/short the power coil to distributor wire (or possibly other wires depending on the car) to the engine all good suggestions. im going for a simple safe do it yourself ignition bypass first for testing purposes, and perhaps expanded to include a push button start for the dash or similar if i write tutorial on it.

the question remains : are there any reasons this car shouldnt be started and run this way ? problems that may occur (besides the solenoid not disengaging,solution=disconnect negative battery termin) ?

mac, I'm about to leave ,so I'll tell you now - you sound like your "ON " it. YES , I turn key to RUN , get all the dash lights , then "touch " battery pos. with that ( must be "tested OK now!) jumper - IT SHOULD/ WILL start this way , if not other problems. In other words your gonna get a "crank to start w/ keyed ign. ON" , is why I say it should work . Good luck , gotta go.
p.s. Just keep that neg. battery cable ready to pull plug if ANYTHING WEIRD

If only 3 wires on solenoid, 2 big and 1 small then the small one is the one that gets 12 volts to start the car. My question is why OP is asking if he can use that wire?, as the car should already be wired to do so. Cannot activate the solenoid any other way.

ignition bypass : she fired right up no problems.

NOTE TO READERS : key (or ignition switch ) must be in " ON " position to put ecu fuel pump sensors etc in " ready " state. make sure you have a way to secure your jumper after starting so it doesnt short out to something and engage the starter / solenoid while the engine is on. i clipped mine to a plastic ziptie near the maf.

when i decide how to wire it and get it done ill make tutorial, for now the info is here till then. . . and thanx mac for the tips

mac, yes, yes, and yes-yes! One thing I did on mine is putting a "reverse block diode" on that jumper , so that IF it were to touch ground/chassis it would NOT short the start voltage from the ign. ckt . Arrow on diode would face the starter direction on that jumper in other words - battery current would goto starter BUT NOT flow back FROM starter to NOT BE SHORTED .