Starter unbolted but won't budge lose from tranny
 

FSM says there are just two bolts holding the starter in place. I beg to differ. There is definitely some sort of voodoo magic holding this thing in place... It took me a good 3 days of effort to pry the top bolt lose but I finally got it off and I swear my starter is super glued to the transmission.

Anyone got any ideas on how to get it loose? I've tried all the usual things: bang it with a hammer (as best you can... there really isn't any room to hit it very hard), push on it real good, pull on it sorta good (again, bad angle)...

There isn't really any room to use a jack on it that I can figure (no direct clearance really from below...)

I seriously have no idea how to get it loose. The crazy thing is that the starter is less than a year old. The guy that replaced my transmission broke the old starter and put this one on. I seriously don't know what kind of witchcraft he used to get it on. Am I missing something here?

2 bolts, I believe 2 wires and it falls right out. I had no problems with it.

Might try heating the bell housing or something.

I wonder if the heat caused it to expand? Did you try to remove while the car was cool?

Yeah the car is cool. Like I said, I've been working on the top bolt for days now, so everything else has been disconnected.

I actually managed to break the solenoid housing trying to use a jack to get it off. Not sure if that's going to void the lifetime warranty or not. lol At this point I don't even care anymore. I just miss driving the Zed.

I don't own a torch. I have a heat gun?

heat it up and whack it with a dead blow hammer....

makes me wonder if they used the wrong starter and forced it in there

I'm pretty sure it's the right starter. Unless Advance gave my mechanic the wrong part.

There's no chance of me getting enough leverage with a hammer. This is the space I'm working in:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....e4d1115ba2.jpg


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....d812013745.jpg

Someone on Yahoo answers mentioned that because I have an automatic, I might need to "turn the crankshaft with a wrench"

Where is the "crankshaft" and what the heck does this mean? I feel like something has to be engaged that's preventing me from removing the starter.

The type of transmission shouldn't make a difference.

Well I think the transmission has to be part of the equation... Or the freewheel inside the transmission that the starter attaches to?

I tried tying a rope around the starter and looping it around the frame, dragging the rope to the back of the Z and tying it to my trailer hitch on my Kia... I used the Kia to pull on the rope and NOTHING. I was scared I was going to pull the Z off the jack stand, so I didn't pull TOO hard, but still. It shouldn't take this much force to remove the starter.

Can anyone tell me how to reassemble the solenoid? I disassembled mine to get at the top bolt thinking it wouldn't matter because I could reassemble it easily once I got it off the car... Well, I can't get it off the car to get a good look at how it fits together and I have two pieces that I just don't understand how they fit. The FSM calls one a "Spring" and the other part of a "Dust Jacket" (4 and 5 in picture) but I don't seem to have the round part of the "Dust Jacket" and I have no idea how the "Spring" fits in to the hole.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....9a0fa805bd.png

Are you sure you're messing with the starter? I didn't have to pull the solenoid off to get to either bolt and mine fell right out. I've had some cars where they kinda corrode in there but it never has taken much effort to remove one.

The starter setup is the same for both transmissions. It's just a spur gear that spins the flywheel or flex plate. Turning the motor over by hand will do nothing for you unless maybe the starter gear is stuck engaged with the ring gear.

:icon18: Do us a favor and make a video the next time you try something so unbelievably stupid. You'll be a Youtube sensation.

Your starter's pinion may be stuck to the ring gear, jamming it to the block. Try banging on it with a mallet or a wooden baseball bat (not like you're aiming for center field, mind you.) You might be able to get the pinion to drop back into the housing. If that doesn't work, re-bolt the starter to the bock, disconnect the battery cables, put your car in gear and rock it back and forth. You might get the ring gear to move enough to make the pinion disengage.

Make sure you read the FSM and go over the starter replacement procedure first. I'm pretty sure they don't recommend pulling it off with a Kia. :icon14:

When you finally get the starter off, have it bench tested at the parts store before you buy a new one. When they bring out the replacement, take it out of the box and have them bench test that one as well before you buy it to make sure you're not getting screwed into buying a part you don't need (hint: if the numbers on the test equipment match for the "bad" starter and the replacement starter, you're getting screwed.)

Do a carbon pile load test on your battery to make sure it isn't the battery causing the problem. Starters are fairly stout and they don't go bad as often as batteries do. You can also test your battery using a CCA electronic battery tester (as long as you know what the CCA rating is for your battery). God knows what it is on the 350Z's OEM battery, since they didn't bother to put a sticker on it.

lol Hope you got a good laugh out of it. If you'll read the above feedback, the general consensus was that I just needed to bang it off the car (ie: use force) and that's what I was trying to do.

I did read the FSM. If there had been a section in there for "Try this if the above steps don't work" then I probably wouldn't have posted here.

Mobile mechanic will come in the morning. I'll post what he figures out to help future people avoid making my "unbelievably stupid" mistakes. :P Thanks for your ideas, though. I'll mention them to the mechanic if he can't figure out how to get it off either (although he seems pretty proud of his 30 years experience and ASE certification - I'm sure he will probably have it off in a jiffy)

Don't feel bad dude. You gotta admit though, that really was a stupid idea. I'm glad you didn't inflict serious damage to you, your Z or your Kia. There's good shade tree work and then there's bad. Using a rope and a car to pull off a starter DEFINITELY falls under the latter category.

Let us know how it turns out with the mobile mechanic. I hope you guys get it figured out.

(EDIT) If you have access to air tools, I've been able to remove stubborn parts with an air hammer in the past. You could give that a try.

What’d the mechanic do
 

What did he end up doing I’m having the same issue

he hasnt logged in for 7 years

(03 350z manual) Having the same problem, about broke my thumb did everything to my mechanic abilities. starter still won’t budge, tried pb blasting it, used a sturdy pole an hit it hard with out trying to hit the housing or lines. Try prying it. Just the two bolts itself was a hassle especially the top bolt. Someone mentioned to roll the car a little, I will try that tomorrow. If not I’m gonna try heating it up and hammering it again, I’ll keep this thread updated with pictures until I get this puppy out