G'day all...

Well the week-end was punctuated with removing the starter from my EB XR8(auto) and trying to squeeze it out of the impossible hole in the underpan after replacing the battery and still getting the Click of Death!

Problem I have now is the starter will not come out as it is fouled by the bellhousing and the forward sway bar. No matter how much I turn and twist the bugger, it will not come out!! It is only missing by a bee's willy but it is fouling none the less.

Can I undo the swaybar bush adjacent to the starter motor area and lever it to get it out or is there something I am missing? I am sure the EB XR8 was built around the starter motor by midgets with small hands and magical power!

I am pretty sure the starter is the culprit as when I would the motor on by hand, I heard a metallic "click" as the pinion released from the flexplate. Judging by how much crud and carbon fell out of it when I tipped it on its end(and all over my forehead!!), I reckon I will give it a clean and bench test it before deciding what to do.

Any help would be appreciated. At this rate i will have the mini fixed before this EB...lol

They do come out without undoing anything else. The pinion end comes out first

Grrrr so it means a bit more swearing and cursing under the car. The manual says you undo all bolts, move the starter toward the front of the car then down. I can move it forward however the swaybar just wont let it budge.

Undo bolts. Move starter towards front of car. Angle pinion end down. Jiggle it around while pulling it out.

Well I finally got it out and it was a PITA!!! I would have had it out quicker if I removed the engine completely

Well I pulled it down last night and I think I found out the problem - I was removing the nut from the solenoid and noticed that both were very very loose and all of a sudden, one of the threaded posts just crumbled and disappeared into the solenoid itself. Is this a sign of a complete collapse of the solenoid? In any case I kept stripping the starter down and found out there was a huge amount of carbon build-up in the body and then the brush holder was cracked also. The brushes were very worn and one was nearly completely gone(the other three were a lot healthier) so I reckon this was a contributor to the demise of the motor whit the holder just floating around when the starter engaged, wearing out the bottom brush as it spun unevenly. I didnt bother checking the continuity of the windings as I didnt think it worth the while. I reckon I have found the culprit and now about to source a new starter.

Soooo, does anyone have any suggestions as to where I get another starter in the ACT for a EB XR8? I wont go to Ford as $1300 is not what I had in mind and Ford Spares has only high mileage ones(pointless as mine had 270K on it too)so looking at Fleabay (some good ones there for around $230 but the Chinese ones for $113 look very shiny and probably wont work for long) but if there are any suggestions I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for the support and the wiggling paid off - just thinking how I am going to get it back in now!!

Hooroo

ring the ford dealer, they sell for around $150-$170 brand new for bosch. saw them a month ago for $134
just use a 6 cyl one, all u have to do to make it fit is grind a little of the gear shroud back 5mm
otherwise ebay?

V8 starters aren't Bosch, they are Motorcraft. And V8 starters are the small diameter gear reduction type with 3 mounting bolts. Not at all like the earlier Clevo/Windsor 2 bolt starters.

ok i see the difference with the e series onwards, my mistake
the late windsor ones are on ebay from $142 upwards

Just get the original rebuilt at your local auto electrician. Looking at a couple of hundred bucks and then its new and has a warranty.