DIY Starter Repair. How-to: Remove, Disassemble, Grease, Reinstall (w/pics)

[fishbone]

Not to mention good luck aiming that straw in there with the starter mounted on the car. I tried, and gave up after realizing it was damn impossible, so I just took the thing off.

[outahere]

I repaired my starter a few days ago, following the procedures in this thread and from the FSM.

I have done 4 starts since then at around 20*F, with no start up screeching or squealing. I am still amazed at how much the starter squeal sounded just like a belt squeal.

 

I left the intercooler in place, and did the removal process from under the car. You can't see the top bolt from that position, but it is very easy to find by feel.

 

After removing the starter from the car, I removed the solenoid from the starter. This allowed me to clean and lube the plunger and lever, and also gave me much better access to the starter shaft.

 

There is a warning in the FSM about not cleaning the overrun clutch with solvents or oil, so I just wiped it with a rag. There is no mention in the FSM about packing the front needle bearing with lube, so I left it as is.

 

I applied lube (Nye Rheolube 380) to the helical spline, the center of the shaft (where the clutch and gear slides), the nose of the shaft, and the washers that contact the solenoid lever. I used the same lube on the metal planetary gears after cleaning them. Interesting to see that the the ring gear is made of plastic.

 

Ater re-assembling the starter, and before putting it back on the car, I hooked it up to a 12V battery for a no-load test. The starter was surprisingly quiet.

 

The lube I used is a "lithium soap thickened synthetic hydrocarbon (PAO)/ester grease base that is fortified with various additives". It is a specialty lube, intended for starter motors and power tools. It was expensive ($35) and only time will tell if it was worth the extra expense. It looked to me like Denso used 2 different greases in the starter motor when they built it.

Edited November 16, 2014 by outahere

[SBT]

Where did you source the NR380? I have a couple that I'd like to do and some drills that need refurbing.

[BDLgt]

If this problem goes untouched (assuming this is the actual problem at hand), will this kill the starter? I think I have this and I live in a cold weather climate.

[outahere]

Where did you source the NR380? I have a couple that I'd like to do and some drills that need refurbing.

 

See post #22 in this thread

[SBT]

I attempted to find the 380 using that link when it was posted, but apparently, I'm missing a process step.

[outahere]

You need to do it the old fashioned way, by phone. Only a few items are available online.

 

 

Tom Madden

TAI Lubricants

PO Box 1579

Hockessin, DE 19707

USA

(302) 326-0200

(302) 326-0400 fax

 

A 100 gram tube was $34.95 when I ordered in September, plus UPS shipping. There is a 5-10 day lead time for him to get it from Nye.

[bucko3the7man]

I will be doing this soon. Don't have the issue when I use my block heater but otherwise on cold mornings I get the noise

[Hoojammyflip]

Great tutorial

Thanks

[ScottFW]

Subbed, need to do this. I cleaned & lubed just the front part when I had the starter out for my clutch replacement 2 years ago. It helped for a while, but I didn't disassemble and lube the rest of it, and it's squealing intermittently now.

[Dishwasher]

Thanks for the DIY, I just completed this on my '06 and startup is a lot better. I used brake grease and greased all the suggested areas. I also used Carb cleaner (it's what I had on hand) to clean the parts. There was almost no grease inside the starter when I took it apart, and whatever grease was left was dried up and not lubricating.

 

This forum amazes me every day with the things people know, I learn something new every time I'm on here.

[SBT]

Since the whole drivetrain is coming a part anyway, I decided that I'd R&R the stock starter. It's been working okay, except it really rasps when you let off the key during really cold starts. Dismantled it into about 5 parts as follows:

 

1. Motor and drive gear/shaft
   
2. Solenoid
   
3. Starter mount and flywheel gear cone
   
4. Gear case and three gears
   
5. Plunger and swing arm
   

I had a low-pressure solvent washer available, so once I had everything apart, I rinsed and scrubbed everything except the motor assembly and the solenoid itself (#1 and #2).

 

Everything else got a bath and old grease and caked clutch dust was brushed loose and rinsed away - came out looking spotless. Fortunately, none of the needle bearings came out of the cone

 

I ran out of daylight so I'll go back tomorrow and reassemble it with Sil-Glyde lubricant. I'll take pictures that show how to get the plunger assembly and the swing arm lined-up before you reattach the solenoid to the starter mount. I'll also update the PDF.

[SBT]

Okay - here are the pictures. They're sequenced 1-11. I used Sil-Glyde on the rotating parts, silicone spray on the plunger and tube and SuperLube on the Seal, and Actuator Lever.

 

Basically, just undo all the bolts and the lead to the solenoid, then pull the solenoid off the plunger, then lift up the plunger and allow the whole thing to come apart. Reassemble in reverse.

 

It is so quiet now.

[kaitanium]

I got a small tub of mobil 1 synth grease. You guys think it will be ok to use? Prefer not to buy more unneeded stuff if possible

[StkmltS]

I got a small tub of mobil 1 synth grease. You guys think it will be ok to use? Prefer not to buy more unneeded stuff if possible

You'll be fine with what you have.

There will always be something better that people on the internet tell you to use, but this is one of those fuzzy areas where preference and opinion often get confused for fact. How much money you have also seems to be a big factor on what the "best" options are

[compsurge]

It will work, but expect to get in there again to fix it with a thicker grease. /experience.

[SBT]

Make sure whatever you use doesn't wash out with water. That's the reason I used the Superlube sparingly and mostly on the seal and a small amount on the actuator lever. It doesn't hold up to water really well. Same reason I no longer use it on my end links and SB bushes.

[kaitanium]

Just did the "short version" of lubricating the starter the other night.

 

I used the brake caliper lube pictured above and got a cheapie syringe and squirted it through the hole. Our CVS pharmacy would give us syringes to measure out liquid medicine when our kids were babies if they ever needed a prescription for something. It worked great!

 

Not sure how well it worked since the starter sounds fine at the moment, but in a month or two when the mornings are cold, it will surely start to squeal...or not...hopefully!

 

 

What "hole" is this?

[kaitanium]

got under the car today and the starter seems totally accessible from under the car. Not as convenient as from the top. Has anyone tried to get it out from under the car? Mines an outback so im not if the raised suspension has anything to do with more clearance for the starter.

 

Tried to remove my intercooler to no avail, that right hose is attached so tight/grippy even after loosing the ring around it fully so im looking for other less evasive alternatives now.

[compsurge]

got under the car today and the starter seems totally accessible from under the car. Not as convenient as from the top. Has anyone tried to get it out from under the car? Mines an outback so im not if the raised suspension has anything to do with more clearance for the starter.

 

Tried to remove my intercooler to no avail, that right hose is attached so tight/grippy even after loosing the ring around it fully so im looking for other less evasive alternatives now.

 

I get it out from below.

[SBT]

From the bottom. Reach up, undo the starter-to-trans bolts, and undo the electrical connection and the ground. Pull back, out and down.

[kaitanium]

got mine out yesterday. Pretty easy. You guys sure regreasing the gears will help? My solenoid is the one that squeaks crazy loud when i press it down. Cant really grease or work grease into that solenoid since you cant open it which is lame. Can one get just a brand new solenoid?

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/kaitanium/IMG20150705161004.jpg

[SBT]

What is that "cup-looking" piece on the top?

[kaitanium]

i just flipped the rubber thing inside out to see more of the solenoid piece that goes in and out. Pressing that in and letting come out is pretty squeaky. I assume this is where the sticking problem is. Another shot with model #, can you find this part separately to buy?:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/kaitanium/IMG20150705161436.jpg

 

 

 

Also FYI, to grease the gears, dont do this syringe technique. It just all globs into one place and doesnt even touch the shalf. Not sure if this is what Shik did. But when I opened up the gears after doing this, it was not distributed at all. Take it apart to grease it (still not fully convined that greasing will help with the sticking). That hole is a screwdriver hole. Used a flat head to pry it open.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/kaitanium/IMG20150705155256.jpg

Edited July 6, 2015 by kaitanium

[apexi]

I've never removed/replaced a starter, and decided to give this a try last night. Overall it was pretty easy, I was able to do everything on my non-turbo legacy without going under the car. It sounds like 2008's should have the same starter as my 2009, and there is a slight change from this diy. The long two long rods that you remove to open up the starter now have torx t-25 heads, as shown in the pictures below.

 

Also, I was unable to pry/pull open the part that chato lubricated with a chopstick. I didn't want to break my starter, so I didn't try too hard to separate that part though. It sounds like maybe I could've used a little more muscle to pry it open, and nothing would have broken?

Edited August 6, 2015 by apexi