[V8] Starter Removal

[Ron Wainwright]

--- On Sun, 1/10/10, toml99 at todomundo.com <toml99 at todomundo.com> wrote:

> From: toml99 at todomundo.com <toml99 at todomundo.com>
> Subject: [V8]  Starter Removal
> To: "v8audi" <v8 at audifans.com>
> Date: Sunday, January 10, 2010, 4:14 AM
> Hey Bob, well after beating myself to
> death trying to get the starter  
> out of the now gone Pearl......and removing the starter
> 3  
> times....I've got a system. Passenger distributor comes
> out(only goes  
> on one way by the way).   I took a 10mm
> allen($1.50) and cut a piece  
> that is about 1.5" long.  Once you know where it needs
> to go(should  
> have taken pics).....you need to clean out the allen(I used
> a finish  
> nail and some spray while kneeling on the top of the
> motor)......Then  
> with my bent nose/needle nose vise grips, got the allen on
> the bolt.   
> Once on, a 10mm ratchetting box end with a piece of pipe
> broke it  
> loose, then just the ratchetting box end......putting it
> back in....  
> had to tighten the bottom nut kinda tight, then try the
> upper/move  
> the starter a tiny bit/try the upper....till you got
> it....For  
> reference, you can't see the upper bolt(it's not the tranny
> bolt  
> that's right there, but reach forward and slightly above
> from that  
> bolt, and you'll feel it(if you have small
> hands).......first time  
> took a whole day....second time less...last time probably
> less than  
> "book"....The ratchetting box end and small stub of allen
> worked  
> great.  I even thought about JB welding the allen into
> the box end  
> and making an VAG Starter Removal tool...but it was handy
> to hand fit  
> the allen.....I just checked, and the stub is exactly 1.5",
> and as I  
> recall could have been 1/4" longer to be perfect. 
> When the upper  
> bolt is free, slide it backwards (using your bent needle
> nose vise  
> grips) till it's free and you can pull it out and
> soak/clean it so  
> it's much nicer to put in/take out later....As long as the
> allen is  
> still solid in there, you could just slide it back 1/4",and
> leave it  
> so it's easier to get the starter back in.......Just
> don't  pry the  
> bolt out with a screwdriver like I did the first time, and
> it got  
> stuck on top of the tranny and took forever to find it(even
> though  
> it's about 8" long, and am guessing it's a spendy bolt. I
> had no  
> interest in putting any Locktite on this problem bolt, but
> did use  
> the blue on the lower nut.  I feel bad as I had every
> intention of  
> writing this up as a knowledgebase thing, but in the heat
> of the  
> moment, just wanted to get that &%$#@ bolt back
> in.  That first time  
> was about as bad a mechanic event could be!  I could
> have replaced a  
> motor in my old honda/toyota truck in the time/swear words
> that it  
> took to get that upper bolt out.  I even rented a
> "snake" type video  
> thing($10/day) to actually see the bolt, as I knew if I
> stripped it,  
> it was motor removal time, and that was not happening.
> Ron(chime in  
> any time) get's credit for the shortened allen trick. 
> While in  
> there, check how "cooked" the switch wire is, as I ended up
> having to  
> replace the whole wire from the key to the starter on the
> Pearl car  
> as it was toast somewhere.....and they put that spade in a
> spot  
> that's easier to do with the starter "loose".........Good
> luck

 Very nice explanation. 

Ron
91 4.2 5sp aka Black Betty