Starter removal 2001 Sport Trac 4x4

[KHE]

I attempted to remove the starter last weekend in order to have it rebuilt but ran out of time before the rebuilder closed on Saturday.

There is a vibration damper that is mounted to the frame that needs to come out in order to remove the starter. Two of the three bolts came out with great difficulty but the third one won't come out past the halfway point. I may have to heat it up with the cutting torch in order to break the galvanic corrosion if it won't come out this weekend.

It looks very tight in there and I may need to drop the front driveshaft in order to remove the starter from the truck.

I read where it is best to remove the top bolt on the starter first and it looks like I'm going to have to remove the starter from the engine before disconnecting the wiring.

Any other tips or recommendations? Thanks!

 

[ncranchero]

Ford manual doesn't say you have to remove the drive shaft, just the damper. But YMMV. I sent you the "official" instructions. Good luck.

 

[KHE]

Steve,

Thank you very much for the information. I have the printed version of the Ford Shop manual and it did not even mention removing the damper...

I won't have time until the end of the week to resume the work on this project but will post back results. Thanks!

 

[KHE]

I checked with my local dealer and they told me they lower the front differential in order to gain room to remove the starter!!! This sounds like it is quickly sprialing into a major job.

 

[tcrowe3]

I changed my starter without having to lower the front differential .

 

[KHE]

It's done. After removing the dampener, it still looked too tight to get the starter out without either removing the front driveshaft or lowering the differential.

I wound up lowering the front differential which wasn't as bad as it sounds - three bolts and it lowered enough in order to remove the starter.

 

[folster24]

How do you get the top bolt out?

 

[KHE]

It has been awhile but I seem to recall long extensions and a universal joint for the top starter bolt.