Starter removal

[kautyy]

Hi all,

I have an Alfa Romeo spider 1983 veloce w/ 75k miles on it and has a manual transmission. My questions is in regards of how to remove the starter, i have hard time trying to get it to crank because of dirty/worn contacts on the starter. I know where it is and i tried a few times to remove it, but it was really difficult and seems like there is no room down there to do anything. Is/are there any tips or tricks to removing it? It is tucked it pretty good like it was never meant to be replaced or rebuilt.
Any help will be great appreciated. Sorry if this was discussed before, i searched for a similar post and couldn't find any.

Thanks

[gdimassa]

Hi
I have removed it few days ago, I have done few photos, I will attach them in short time.
It isnt difficult to remove the starter, but you should first remove the carburetors. After that you have to remove three bolts. And the starter come out.
Two bolts could be removed from the bottom of the car, the other one can be removed from the up.
Good work...

[kautyy]

I would love to see the photos. I sounds like you removed the bolts and pulled it out from the hood.

I do not have a carburetor though! Mine is 2.0L injection fuel.
I can be the first to be doing this, i am sure someone else has been through this.

regards

[Garry-Graig]

The starter motor is easy to remove on the carb. models not too sure about the injection type.Make sure you disconnect the battery first before starting.
Best of luck
Regards

[andytitterton]

It is possible to remove the starter without removing the injection components, but it is a pig of a job, and probably worthwhile spending a little extra time on removing it. That said, it's easier to remove the injection components after you have removed the radiator because it gives plenty of room to get a long socket extension in. (This is, of course, after you have removed the bonnet and also let the air out of the spare tyre.....!)

Seriously though, you may find it easier with the radiator out of the way because you can reach underneath the inlet manifold towards the starter. The added problem is that you still have to get to at least one nut and bolt, which is particularly awkward.

[Roadtrip]

Be sure to note the position of the bolts. There is a special shoulder bolt in the middle position that correctly aligns the starter to the ring gear.

[dwc]

I can pull the starter on an later S3/S4 in maybe 15 minutes. Get some long extensions for your sockets, a u-joint, and approach it from the area forward of the distributor. I don't recall if I just pulled the cap off, or the whole distributor, but beyond that it's very simple. Of course, I'm speaking about the small reduction-gear starter, and your '83 may have that larger 1.1hp starter, so YMMV. Sorry if that's the case.

[ghnl]

Also, lift the windscreen washer reservoir out (it just lifts out from a 'dovetail' bracket) and also move the coolant reservoir and you'll have a lot more room for your hands to reach in and undo the starter. Note, I said 'more room', not 'a lot of room'...

[SpiderWebb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kautyy Hi all, I have an Alfa Romeo spider 1983 veloce w/ 75k miles on it and has a manual transmission. My questions is in regards of how to remove the starter, i have hard time trying to get it to crank because of dirty/worn contacts on the starter. I know where it is and i tried a few times to remove it, but it was really difficult and seems like there is no room down there to do anything. Is/are there any tips or tricks to removing it? It is tucked it pretty good like it was never meant to be replaced or rebuilt. Any help will be great appreciated. Sorry if this was discussed before, i searched for a similar post and couldn't find any. Thanks

[he3r0]

its not hard at all to remove a starter without removing intake plenum, only problem is to unscrew the bolts, I removed and installed my starter (before my alfa died) you have to wiggle it a bit, and pull it towards the front of the car, than raise it over intake plenum support rod, and voila you have it out of the car. in my car there was thin metal spacer between bellhousing and starter, so do not loose it. installation is in reverse, biggest PITA was to put the bolts, but putting starter in position is a piece of cake. Have fun and be patience, this is one ot these jobs that either you can see or either you can touch.

[kautyy]

Thanks guys for all your notes and responses i needed all of them. It is pretty interesting how the task execution vary depending on the responder. I hope this is a good sign that each one had a way of tackling this, as long as all roads lead me to Rome.

[he3r0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kautyy Thanks guys for all your notes and responses i needed all of them. It is pretty interesting how the task execution vary depending on the responder. I hope this is a good sign that each one had a way of tackling this, as long as all roads lead me to Rome.

[Oski_Bear]

The first time i removed the starter from my tranny it took 3 hours. The second time I did it it took 5 minutes, no joke. I never pulled the starter out of the engine bay, and I imagine this is a major PITA since there's almost no clearance.

I accessed the bottom bolt from under the car, and the top two by removing the windshield wiper fluid reservoir.

If your transmission mount is old and sagging, it may help to tilt the tilt the transmission and engine forward. This will increase the amount of space to access the two bolts on the top of the starter. Tilt them forward by jacking under the transmission mount.