trying to avoid any dumb snags replacing a starter

[daeron]

okay. this is NO big deal to me, as a job... but i am trying my hardest to make EVERYTHING go as planned tomorrow. my starter finally died on me today. It died a few months back, and I took it apart, cleaned it.. the brushes were nominal but I put it back together anyhow and it worked like brand new!! for another 20K miles. today, no more.. it was acting like it might be a dying battery, so when i had to go to work (pizza delivery, yikes) i got a spare battery (of questionable virtue and short recent charge, it usually holds good though and it was charged <2 weeks ago...) and went to work anyhow. i didnt turn the car off after sunset, until i had time to swap batteries... and no dice. the starter is DEFINITELY dead, im making it jump itself over with a screwdriver between hot terminal and solenoid terminal, while hitting the solenoid and/or motor housing with a hammer.. PRETTY sure im hearing the grinding of the destroyed brushes. Anyhow...

 

im going to the JY tomorrow for a starter. any ea automatic, right? i have 2wd, i think they may all be pushtbutton awd autos at my JY.. but im pretty sure any auto starter would work. worst case scenario, i think i may be able to frankenstein in the parking lot but my big question... what else MIGHT be fried?? i tried to use 2 sets of jumper cables to maintain a connection to my car while changing the battery.. (the stereo tuning buttons work rarely, but the memory stays fine... until it gets cleared from no battery ) so i was wondering if there may be a starter relay (i hear a click thats not from the starter when i hit the key, where is it?) that couldve burnt out.. should i grab it out in the boneyard, just in case?

 

thanks for your thoughts, i need as much feedback as i can in the next 12-24 hours or so, because im trying to avoid getting up to the car, and NOT being able to fix it. theoretically, this should be a 30 minute job... its JUST a freakin' starter, right? ive had it in and out several times already, thats not my problem.. my problem is... GREMLINS!!! which ones might bite me?

[GeneralDisorder]

Any EA series starter - they are all the same regardless of transmission type.

 

There is no relay for the start circuit. That's actually the problem since the wireing harness likes to burn and then you need to ADD a relay to get the starter to turn over.

 

GD

[daeron]

no ones been that blunt yet :- )

 

thanks, ill find the lowest mileage car then.

[daeron]

Any EA series starter - they are all the same regardless of transmission type.

 

GD

 

 

all the same.. or all interchangeable??? because this one is almost certainly different.

 

Im getting a ride up to my car in fifteen minutes either way, but a little reassurance would be welcome :- )

[NorthWet]

By "blunt" I assume you meant "straight to the point". GD's answer is right on.

 

The only difference that I am aware of in starters is that the original starters for automatics had a higher KW rating. I have heard a lot of talk about drive differences, but I mixed and matched standard and autos several times without (apparent) issues.

 

all the same.. or all interchangeable??? because this one is almost certainly different...

 

Different how?

 

Also, check the ground cable. I have been unable to jump an EA81, until I tried running the ground of the jumpers to the starter, too.

[GeneralDisorder]

There's some that have a gear reduction inside them, and some that are straight drive. The difference seems to be associated with CA or 49 states vehicles, and in some years auto vs. manual.

 

One spins faster than the other, and personally I like the faster spinning one. Although it's so much of a non-issue to me that I haven't even taken the time to figure out how to tell the difference between them. They all work just fine on any engine I've tried them on. I noticed I had a faster spinning one on my wagon, and transfered it to my daily driver because it "sounds" better. It doesn't sound like my battery is about to die....

 

There's some different brands too that look a little different from the outside. I have a few that are black with zinc plated bits, and others that are silver. I've seen a few painted ones. Bosch, Denso, Hitachi, and I've even seen some Delco rebuilds. Strange stickers abound, but they all mount up the same.

 

GD

[daeron]

well, wrapup post.. the starter i had resembled my datsun starters. large motor housing inline with the ear, eccentric solenoid about 2" in diameter that the battery cable and hot wire go to. the starter im replacing it with is different.. its got what appears to be an offset motor housing like a datsun gear reduction starter, and about that size.. and the solenoid seems to be built into a squarish aluminum housing that is inline with the ear.. IE, the gear that is forced to mesh with the flywheel lines up with the solenoid, axially... not the motor.. so it looks like a gear reduction starter where the solenoid has been hidden in the gear housing, behind the gears... thats the only conclusion i can come to.. there is not external, eccentric cylinder to identify as the solenoid...

 

anyhow, i swapped it in and had no problems.. until the 4th or 5th start. clikc, click, click... popped hood, jiggled the line going into fusible link block.. managed to start it, and then once more with a good start, then back to the click click.... so, for the continuation, see my new post.

[Davalos]

I'm doing mine tomorrow ... I think.

[daeron]

davalos: its a breeze, i shouldnt have had any worries about it.. I have had it off two or three times now... the hardest part is extracting the old starter from behind the heater and AC hoses, and getting the new one in..

 

of course, make sure you disconnect the positive battery cable first.

 

any problems I had, I had because of a faulty circuit that i KNEW I had an issue with... I just hadnt realized it was as simple as installing a relay.