def 300 tdi starter removal.

[Dave110HardTop]

Hi Guys,

About to attempt this on the defer, and its not something I've attempted before (on any car).

The Instructions in the manual are terse, and to be honest I'm having difficulty even being confident I've located the starter itself (no decent picture unfortunately).

Any words of wisdom, tips or otherwise would be appreciated.. first time around is always a pain.

Symptoms leading to this: turn key starter 'whirs' but doesnt try to spin the engine. Recent activities involved prolonged dunking in muddy water...

Any advice appreciated... if I can just work out what in the hell it is I'm attempting to remove, that would be a big step forward (yes, I'm an idiot).

thanks in advance

Dave

[landrovermick]

sounds like the drive plate to me , it you roll the vehicle in gear so as the drive plate moved to a new spot, does it engage.... else may be the gear onthe starter... any thoughts anyone

[amshaw]

Ive done this on our 300 Disco.

make sure you disconnect the battery and make sure the leads are no where near the battery.

Dont know about fenders , but the Disco one was fairly easy to remove. Being a short **** I have a milk crate to stand on to reach it, just three bolts to undo and few wires etc, just have a look and dont rush it, might be easyier to get too from underneth on a fender??

I would get an auto elec to service the starter for a "start", solinoid is more than likey full of crud etc.....my 2c

[Dave110HardTop]

Thanks Guys,

At the risk of looking even more like an idiot than before (why stop now), I havent pulled the starter on any car previously, so I'm not 100% sure what it is I'm actually looking for to remove.

I'm assuming at has to be able to engage the engine, so must be near it somewhere. I've looked through the haynes, the four wheel drives parts catalog, and of course one of the few issues of LRM I'm missing is the one where they tear down a starter :-)

I've been looking at the front of the engine though, and it looks like its actually located almost directly under the turbo , on the LHS when looking from the drivers seat. Looks like I need to remove the air hose for the turbo to get at it.

This would be even funnier if it wasn't happening to me :-)

cheers

Dave

[amshaw]

Thanks Guys,

At the risk of looking even more like an idiot than before (why stop now), I havent pulled the starter on any car previously, so I'm not 100% sure what it is I'm actually looking for to remove.

I'm assuming at has to be able to engage the engine, so must be near it somewhere. I've got the air con compressor on the top LHS (looking from the front) of the engine, is it under this somewhere, or on the same side as the alternator.

I've looked through the haynes, the fourwheel drives parts catalog, and of course one of the few issues of LRM I'm missing is the one where they tear down a starter :-)

This would be even funnier if it wasnt happening to me :-)

cheers

Dave

Dave, the the 300 the starter is on the passerger side at the back and low down, past the turbo etc.

or if standing at the front , to the right, at the back and low down.

Its long about 1 foot give or take, it should be black clyinder.

mate Im not being a smartarse & I like that you are "having a go", but I think it might be best if you called in a mate or someone with a bit more experance to help you.....I will help you but its a 4 hr drive for you....

[Dave110HardTop]

Thanks Andy,

No offense taken at all mate. I agree, in a perfect world, I'd do that, but unfortunately most the people I know who would be of help are similar distances away. I'll just have to do what I always do, take my time, and stop and think pretty frequently, and take photos as I go so I can remember how it all goes back together again.

Used to do all my own servicing and what ever on other cars, just havent had to mess with the starter before. First time for everything I guess.

Thanks once again...

cheers

Dave

[PAT303]

There a heavy bit of gear Dave so throw a lengh of skinny rope,strong cord around it and take the weight and don't let the starter hang by the last thread on the last bolt or you will damage it.Get a mate to hold it and lower it down gently,take ya time it won't take long and don't be afraid to swear as this often helps with the stress levels.I'd help but i'm 12hrs away. Pat

[sclarke]

I have pulled mine out, easy job...

What i did was just regrease the solenoid and throw mech and all is now good.....

[awabbit6]

Don't know if you have the RAVE CD but this is a picture of the location of the starter motor from the CD. The picture is of a left-hand drive vehicle, but you can clearly see the starter moter behind the turbo.
As already said, the first thing you do when removing the starter motor is always disconnect the battery.

[Dave110HardTop]

Thanks everyone :-)

Its looking pretty simple at the moment. It wont be a 5 minute job as I don't think anyones had it out of there for a while, so lots of WD40 required. Plus, I'm not that fast :-)

Wondering what else I should be stripping and cleaning while I'm under the bonnet at the moment.

cheers

Dave

[Dave110HardTop]

Hi Guys,

Well, managed to get the starter out.
Anyone who can do that in 5 mins is doing very well, this one did not want to move (I dont think its been out in a while).

Its now in two halves on the bench.

From what I can tell, its able to spin, but the gear at the front no longer comes forward to engine the engine.

Its definately in need of some grease and a damn good clean up. Clarkie, which half of it did you pull apart to regrease?

Having got it out and partiallly apart, I've a lot of respect for someone who can pull out one and regrease in minutes...

thanks in advance

Dave

[PAT303]

Your a bad influence Dave as my starter sluck on this morning.Grease the shaft were the throw out gear slides. Pat

[Dave110HardTop]

You'd be amazed the number of times I've been told that. :D

Well, its looking like this starter may be cactus. Lots of rust all through it.. the last extended dunking then sitting for a while was probably the last straw. I could just put some grease on that shaft, but I dont like the feel of the way the coil spins or the rest of it. It feels rough.

Still trying to work out how to get it further apart than the two halves at the moment, or even if its possible without breaking something...

Based on the look of it though, a 2nd hand starter is on the cards I reakon.

Thanks everyone for the help and advice.

Dave

[sclarke]

Hi Guys,

Well, managed to get the starter out.
Anyone who can do that in 5 mins is doing very well, this one did not want to move (I dont think its been out in a while).

Its now in two halves on the bench.

From what I can tell, its able to spin, but the gear at the front no longer comes forward to engine the engine.

Its definately in need of some grease and a damn good clean up. Clarkie, which half of it did you pull apart to regrease?

Having got it out and partiallly apart, I've a lot of respect for someone who can pull out one and regrease in minutes...

thanks in advance

Dave

I greased the bearings and the whole throw out assembly, dont go over board as it will end up on the flywheel....
But strip the lot, easy to get back together....