Thread: Starter Solenoid

It appears that the Freelander 2 suffers from the same starter solenoid problem that I experienced with my Td5 D2 - dirty and worn plunger and contacts on the high amperage contacts.
The case of hearing the solenoid click in but no power getting to the starter is becoming too regular so today I ordered a solenoid contact repair kit from the UK. I was surprised with the difference in delivery time between basic mail (4 to 6 weeks) and express mail (4 to 6 days). So for double the shipping cost I opted for the express mail as I don't think it will last untill after Christmas and I wouldn't be too popular is SWMBO was stranded somewhere with a no-start situation.

Any special tips/tricks for removing the starter motor or is fairly straight forward?

Hi All
Had my I6 starter crap itself , replacement costs are ridiculous so stripped it down and did a bit of research......
the brushes / armature commutator seem to be the main sources of trouble ( at first i thought it was solenoid )
the brushes had disintegrated at 130 k and arced so badly the armature commutator was pitted and plates bridged with molten copper ( from the brush copper pigtail )

on stripdown and with a bit of research i was going to go with the volvo I6 replacement and just swap the nose ( same motor but different mount ) cheaper by @ $100 to $150 over the FL2 OEM
research told me the BMW's were fitted with a variant of the same model starter - then i went for a walk at the wreckers and the first starter i looked at was in a 70k 2013 3 series .
2 hours later i was back at the same car - because every other Beemer was a real PITA to get to the starter ......... wreckers price was $30 for the starter so not much to lose.

Once home i stripped it down ( hint - leave the original solenoid in place until rebuild finished ) - lo and behold the starter was a German made - not made in Hungary like the original

but the body - Armature and the brushes and brush holder were like new and appeared to be a better build quality .... and a 100% replacement - go figure

Straight forward re-assembly - ensure the planetary gears are cleaned and re-lubed as well as the end bush.

Once reassembled it works just like when i first purchased the FL2 - all up cost $35 inc degreaser from supercheap........and about 3 hours of research - 2 hours of hunting - 1 hour of rebuilding......

Much better than the $300 to $600 replacement costs quoted by the no longer able to rebuild - replacement only auto electricians...........