starter removal

Hey guys,

I am in a jam and so im trying to do a little cross referencing. Im trying to remove the starter out of my 02 Ranger 4.0 4WD and i know the trucks are pretty much the same and there is alot more traffic on the explorer pages.

For the life of me I cant figure out a way to get the starter's top mounting bolt out! Ive tried countless combinations of swivels and extenstions but cant manage to get it where i have any room to move the ratchet.

any ideas guys?

I've never tried to remove mine and don't have access to it at the moment so the following is only a random guess made in ignorance:

Can you get better access through the wheel well?

going through the wheel well might work. Ford's stupid 3 bolt starter mounts are always a PITA. in order to get the starter out of my '61 390 i have to use about 36" of extensions, a u-joint and snake it through the motor mount.

There is only two bolts, one at 6oclock and the top bolt which is like 1oclock. Its so frustrating from underneath there looks like there is plenty of room but everything from the steering shaft, exhaust, and differential get in the way

Might be an excuse to go tool shopping... Worst comes to worst, can you get an angle grinder in there and chop it off leaving just the bolt and portion of the starter bracket it goes through? Granted, that would probably invalidate any core charge refund.

Use a long extension, put ratchet wrench up in front of the motor mount, if need be, use a universal joint adapter on the end of the extension. This worked on 5.0L Mustang installations, may not fit in on yours. WTH. worth a try! imp

13mm bolt

On my 2000 SOHC V6 both bolts are 13mm hex. As I remember, I couldn't see the upper bolt but I could feel it when reaching up from under the vehicle. I think I used a 3/8" drive, 13 mm shallow socket with a 3" extension. I had trouble with the starter wiring harness and starter because of the harness supports. My harness was too stiff to bend out of the way with the supports attached.

Update-

Was able to get it off with a stubby ratchet and a 13mm swivel socket that I picked up. Several curses and bloody knuckles later tho lol

Thanks guys