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Replacing Starter Motor on 4.3L 4x4

43K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  b4himdude 
#1 ·
I believe my starter is dead on my 2002 S10 4x4 Crew Cab 4.3L V6. It wouldn't turn over for me this morning, so after work I had a friend jump it and still nothing. Took the battery down to Advanced Auto and their test confirmed that it was fine. That lead me to believe it was the starter. I hear the solenoid clicking in and out, but its not turning. Tried banging on it with a wrench, still nothing.

My question is how feasible is the job for me to do myself? I am fairly mechanically inclined (I've done brakes, bearings, radiators, etc.), but I am currently out of state and don't have access to my normal tool set. I have a solid socket set and wrenches.

I've seen some people saying that the job requires jacking up the transmission and taking off motor mounts, in which case its not happening here. I just haven't been able to find a consistent reliable source.

Any advise would be great, and if I do attempt the job I will be sure to photo document it and post my results.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I got it out without touching any mounts but only because i used a u-joint, that'll be your best bet. The hard part will be wiggling it out of the area its stuck in, i used a floor jack under the engine and that gave it the little bit of clearance it needed to fall right out once i had it flipped over.
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
bg's,

Thanks for the links. Seems that it is doable and a jack under the oil pan might give me the clearance I need to take it out. I like the idea of using a smaller starter on the install, but am not experienced enough to know what parts fit other than the exact replacements, so I'm a bit hesitant there.
 
#7 ·
Wasn't difficult on mine either.
BTW, mid 90's-up models already have factory "mini"
starters on them. Somewhere around 03-04, the factory
started using a slightly smaller and lighter version
of the starter. It should directly interchange with the older
models.
 
#20 ·
Awesome to here all the good news. I'm going in now, with any luck it should be done before sundown.
Well it wasn't quite that easy. But she's up and running again. Turned out that the wire from the battery to the starter was also bad. I'll make a post for the install and testing later.

Thanks for everyone's help again. This forum is really a lifesaver at times.
 
#10 ·
OK. So I'm halfway there, I got the starter out and a mechanic friend offered to pick up a new one for me at his discounted rates, so I agreed. Here's the pictures for the first half.

Make sure you disconnect the battery before starting the job (other than testing the connection).

The first picture here shows the connections on the starter. The red arrow points to the live wire when the key is turned to start. The connection can be tested with a light bulb style tester. The live wire is connected with an 8mm nut, and the other two are held on with 13mm nuts. Only the two with arrows need to be removed. Probably easiest to go through the wheel well.

Fuel line Pipe Auto part Plumbing Metal


The starter is held in place by two 13mm bolts. Take them off to free the starter. PB Blaster is a great thing, just saying.

Auto part Automotive exterior Bumper


There is some kind of shield on the flywheel casing that can be removed by removing the two 10mm bolts shown. It will give another 1/4 inch or so which makes a difference in the tight space.

Auto part Metal


I eventually wiggled the starter around until it was upside down and backside (opposite the spline gear) up. I then jacked up the transmission just a few inches which freed up yet another 1/4 to 1/2 inch. From there the starter easily slides out. We'll see how easy it goes back in tomorrow.

Tire Automotive tire Auto part Wheel Vehicle


It really is just a lot of trial and error in getting it in the right position to come out. Just having done it I can't really say how it worked, it just does eventually.

Auto part Automotive exhaust Muffler
 
#11 ·
That's the slightly smaller, later model
factory "mini" starter. I guess they started
getting phased in during the 02 model year.
 
#12 ·
So I got it all together and nothing.

The connections are good. I have a light bulb circuit tester. Small pin lights when key is at start, large pin is constant light. Circuit is grounded through the starter casing to the engine block.

The solenoid is not clicking, but its brand new, is it worth hitting it a few times? Also, the solenoid has two small pins. It cam with a tag that read "use this pin if only one small wire required."

Thanks for all your help guys.
 
#13 ·
Run a fused wire from the solenoid terminal up to the battery and touch
it to the pos side to see if at least the starter will crank the engine. If you
have an older Snap On starter tool, that's even better. If it doesn't, swirch
the jumper wire to the other solenoid terminal and see if it will crank over.

This will at least help determine if the starter is good. Did the old starter have
any shims between it and where it mounts to the engine ?
 
#14 ·
A bad ignition switch can cause a non-start. You can do a search for symptoms to look for. When mine went out, my dash lights would flicker out while driving. Or a bad clutch safety switch if you have a manual. Not sure what you have. Or bad battery cables. Or a bad battery ground.
 
#15 ·
No, I didn't see any shims when I took it apart. I feel like its not a switch or connection issue considering I'm getting power in all the right places at the right times too.

There is a security light blinking on the dash board and a red light blinking near the radio controls. Could I have set something off with the battery being disconnected that could limit the current going to the starter? Like I said, when the key goes to start, there is at least voltage to the solenoid, but no action.
 
#17 ·
Figured out that the rebuild company had marked the wrong terminal for the small wire (the small wire should be on the small terminal marked "S", not the one marked "R").

Pulled the starter, tested it off a battery with some jumper cables, everything worked fine. Put it back in and hooked it up, the solenoid clicks, but the starter doesn't come on. Thought maybe it was my battery. Got that tested and found that it was dead as a door knob and bought a new one, still nothing (it was a 6 year battery going on 6 years so I'm not that disappointed).

Leads me to believe that the connection is good (solenoid clicks and light tester confirms that voltage is getting to the big wire connection), but the current needed just isn't getting there. The only thing I can think of is while I twisted and bend the cable to get it into position I pinched it somewhere or it was corroded and finally went.

I'm going to take my jumper cables and run one of them from the battery directly to the big terminal on the starter tomorrow (basically bi-passing the suspect cable) in order to test it. I figure if it goes then there's my problem. If not, back to square one.
 
#18 ·
For what it's worth, is the solenoid wire purple ? Back on the 1st Gens namely the
Sy's/Ty's this purple would roast due to the exhaust down pipe for the turbo. It
was a 12-16 gauge wire. The fix was to trace it up to the power booster brake
master cylinder, splice in a 10 gauge wire and tun it down to the starter replacing
the OEM wire. It would be taped up and isolated from the down pipe. You may
have a similar problem.

Jumping from the battery to the starter will at least eliminate if the starter is
any good or not. I take it the new starter is not a AC/Delco reman or a high
quality new one such as a Hitachi or Remy ?
 
#19 ·
bg's,

I don't know if its purple, its all wrapped up with tape and heat shield. I got the starter rebuilt at a place called Browning's in Virginia Beach. I've heard from a few different people that they do excellent work so I'm relatively confident that its a good starter.

I was able to run it in the driveway (the starter that is) off of another battery and jumper cables with no problem so that tells me that its good (unless it died in 2 hours). Right now I can't even short it out with a brand new battery so I would suspect that the current isn't there. I'll test today after work if we're not in a thunderstorm by then and post the results.

Again, thanks for everyone's help and advise in what's turning out to be a pretty good puzzle.
 
#21 ·
Installing the new starter is just the reverse of removing it as you could have guessed. Here's a few things that I learned in the process that might save somebody some time and a headache hopefully.

First, if you want to test the old starter (or the new one) while its out of the vehicle you can just hook it up to a good battery with jumper cables. The positive goes to the unused big pin, the negative goes anywhere on the starter housing. I also strapped mine down just in case it wanted to jump (its off in the picture for clarity).

Electrical wiring Wire Electrical supply Pipe


Then take an insulated screw driver and short out the positive pin (large pin) to the solenoid pin (small pin). The solenoid should engage and the motor will spin. If not, try shorting the two large pins (bypassing the solenoid) to test the solenoid.

Fishing rod Auto part


In the case that your new starter has two small pins and only used one small wire like mine make sure you use the pin marked "S". I'm not sure what the pin marked "R" is for, but it won't work. Mine came incorrectly marked and lead to a lot of frustration before I found out what the R and S meant.

Auto part Automotive lighting Engine Automotive engine part Wheel


The $3 circuit tester I bought was invaluable in this process, however, don't forget that voltage does not equal current. I was getting voltage to the starter, but it wasn't cranking. Turned out the wire from the battery to the starter was bad (I confirmed this by using a jumper cable between the two and the truck fired right up). I didn't feel like ripping the old cable apart to see where it failed, but I imagine it either had a pinch or it was corroded somewhere under the insulation.

Automotive exterior Bumper Grille Truck bed part Vehicle


If your cable is bad I would suggest just tracing the path with tape or something as its easy to forget just where it went when you go back to put a new one in.

Wire Auto part Engine Vehicle Electrical wiring


So yeah, it was sort of an ordeal. I hit the triple cherries on this one and ended up having a bad starter (confirmed by the rebuild place), a battery on the way out, and a faulty cable which made the diagnosis a little tricky. However the job is most certainly possible using a limited tool set and some basic knowledge of electric circuits. I hope that my experience helps someone in the future.

Again, thanks for everyone's patience and help.
 
#23 ·
Just to further add to the dogpile, the original mini starter on my 2003 262 (4.3L) 4X4 failed, and as indicated above, removing the M6 (10mm hex head) cap screws and small splash shield provided just enough space to orient the starter upside-down and slip it out nose first past the RH axle tube brace and oil pan/bellhousing. I did NOT need to raise the engine at all.

Additionally, access to the main battery cable and "S" terminal solenoid wires is fairly easy (relatively) through the RF wheel opening splash shield. There is not a lot of room, but it is sufficient to get to the nuts and remove them.

When I first looked at the install, I started remembering words I learned in my youth, such as "feather-mucker" and "cork-stickers" as in "What were these engineers thinking when the cork-stickers jammed that starter in there like that?" It's not quite as bad as that, but if the motor mounts are worn and clearances have changed, it might turn into a real "feather-mucker" to change the starter.
 
#24 ·
I believe my starter is dead on my 2002 S10 4x4 Crew Cab 4.3L V6. It wouldn't turn over for me this morning, so after work I had a friend jump it and still nothing. Took the battery down to Advanced Auto and their test confirmed that it was fine. That lead me to believe it was the starter. I hear the solenoid clicking in and out, but its not turning. Tried banging on it with a wrench, still nothing.

My question is how feasible is the job for me to do myself? I am fairly mechanically inclined (I've done brakes, bearings, radiators, etc.), but I am currently out of state and don't have access to my normal tool set. I have a solid socket set and wrenches.

I've seen some people saying that the job requires jacking up the transmission and taking off motor mounts, in which case its not happening here. I just haven't been able to find a consistent reliable source.

Any advise would be great, and if I do attempt the job I will be sure to photo document it and post my results.

Thanks
Jack the engine up some
 
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