Pull the steering shaft!? I didn't even think of that when I was
installing my starter. And I even had it unbolted! Hmm maybe it would
have made that easier.. oh well. Actually you know what helped me - I
had those plastic fender gap guards out at the time (between the frame
and body) so I could stick my head (and hands) beneath the fender and
get at the starter from the side. Cut the current plastic retainers
off those guards and buy some new ones for $5 in the "Help!" racks at
Autozone. Takes 5 mins to snap them back on after you're done.
I installed/removed that stupid axle bracket 3 times before I realized
the mounting bracket on top of the differential is different between
the 94 and 89 models. Anyway, each time I removed that bracket, the
starter had to come out first. I did it with my eyes closed the last
time. Smashed a few fingers... but undercarriage dirt stings the eyes
:)
Don in CT
'89 Dakota Covnertible 318mag NV3500 4x4
'74 Dart Sport 340
www.pbase.com/radon220/mopars
On 8/22/06, Terrible Tom <SilverEightynine@aol.com> wrote:
>
> Hey David. You don't need to pull the steering shaft. But doing so
> *does* make it easier. I've been able to wrangle the starter out of
> Christine on many occasions and never had to pull the shaft. I have a 3
> inch body lift too, so the steering shaft is longer. (more space to work
> with) That might make a difference. I keep wanting to say you have to
> pull the drivers side engine/trans/axle bracket... but i think thats not
> right. I think its that you have to pull the starter before you can
> pull the bracket. yup - that sounds better... you would be able to get
> the starter out better if you pull the drivers side fender splash sheild
> (the rubber flap) and go through the wheel well. Seemed to make for
> better access than trying to go up from above and around the exhaust
> manifold.
>
> I'd take it to a parts store (NAPA, AZ, Advance, Checker) and have them
> bench test the starter. Best way to tell if you need to replace it, or
> start looking for a wire problem.
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Sep 01 2006 - 10:07:45 EDT