Starter Installation

How easy it is to install a starter on a Honda 2-door 1500 hatchback? Is it
buried under 8,000 tons of wire & stuff, or is it pretty easily accessible?

Any diagrams on any websites to show?

LRH

 

Have you opened the hood and looked?

 

it is buried under stuff, and the bottom bolt is a real PITA to get
on/off. i tend to take the air hose from the filter to the injector
off (i've had to fit a new starter 3 times since may, one for a busted
winding, and twice for busted mounts

 

No, it's a car for sale I saw in the neighborhood. They only want $250
for it, but if the starter is a huge pain in the rear to install that
may kill it for me.

You'd think there would be some diagrams on the Web very easily found.
Do Haynes & Chilton have such a grip on everything it's illegal to
publish these anywhere else or something?

LRH

 

Well, it's private copyrighted material, so...yeah.

What year is it?
Factory manuals available online if 95 on or 84-87.

http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/workshopmanuals2.html
Should give you an idea, anyways.

 

But if I photographed a car myself and published screenshots of a Honda's
engine and describe what was what, it would be illegal? That's silly.

 

Right -- the botton bolt is a real character builder. Getting the
starter out and back in can be like one of those nail/horse shoe
puzzles. You can pull it out from the top, pulley first, right by the
intake manifold.

You'll have very little room to turn a wrench because of what is near
the bottom bolt.
It can be probably be done with a regular 16 point wrench, but I found
it easiest to use one of those rachet wrenches with a small turn angle.
(sears sells a set that is actually non sears brand). I couldn't get to
mine with a socket set.




..

 

Did I say pulley first?? I meant 'gear first'. I remember that this
was the best way for the starter I replaced. I had to pull the skinnier
end up first and turn it (like I said: it is like a horseshoe puzzle)

It isn't impossible, though -- if all that's wrong with the car is the
starter, you're stealing it at $250 + dump starter + a little of your
time.

Let us know how you make out.
Remco

 

Yes, that would be silly. Anybody who wants to generate their own material
may do so. Generating things like wiring diagrams from scratch is laborious
enough that there aren't many takers.

There are other sources besides Chilton's and Haynes. The best (and most
expensive) are almost always the factory manuals, but if your local library
has Mitchell manuals in the reference section you have another great source
available. Essentially, it's a question of who is willing to do the work to
produce a manual on a particular model car.

Mike

 

Well that isn't QUITE all that's wrong with it. The carberautor (sp?)
needs adjusting because it can stall at stop lights. They assured me
the carb. doesn't need to be REPLACED (they are expensive), just
adjusted. Also, the heater/A-C don't work and I THINK the windshield
wiper motor burned out. The former I wouldn't expect given its age, the
latter not THAT big of an issue in Tucson, AZ, with 12 inches of rain a
year (but it would be hot as hades in the summer of course).

But for basic transportation going around town and not far out, I'd be
content with it.

LRH

 

Highlight Remco's "if" though - "if all that's wrong with the car is the
starter". If you can't run the engine there could be any number of hidden
problems in there - even crashed valves from a failed timing belt. A seized
engine resembles a bad starter... click, click, click. Maybe it's a manual
tranny and you can try it after a push start. Then it would be a very good
buy indeed.

Mike

 

It IS a manual transmission car, and I know of push-starting, but I
thought that only covered for having a bad battery. I have never heard
of that covering for a bad STARTER.

LRH

 

Thanks for the information. I'm not against getting a Haynes or Chilton
manual per se. I just figured there'd be a ton of such stuff on the Internet
easily obtained.

LRH

 

Well, a WEAK battery means you can't turn the starter. either way, by
push-starting, you're turning over the engine by the wheels, through
the gearbox, as opposed to by the starter through the flywheel.

 

My friend, who himself owns a 1984 Honda Civic wagon, agreed & verified
it with another friend of his--a 5-speed car can be push-started even
if its starter is toast. Not that I intend to push-start the car
indefinitely if I get it, but it does help in the MEANTIME and in
particular for troubleshooting--making sure that the car is start-able
and drivable once a starter is installed.

Actually, he said installing the starter on those cars isn't that hard,
and I saw its location myself and it wasn't as bad as I thought it
would be. Pretty bad, but not as bad as I had thought--and my friend is
willing to help me install one when I buy a replacement.
I'll let you guys know how the car turns out.

LRH

 

I called the person last night and told them that a friend of mine mentioned
a way we could check to make sure it was just the starter, a way that was
quick & easy. I didn't tell them it involved push-starting, but at any rate
they didn't sound like they had a problem with that.

They mentioned we could meet sometime this morning (the next day, today) to
do this, they would call. They didn't. I called about 2 p.m., didn't get
them, left a message. They haven't called back. Prior to this, they had been
calling back very quickly whenever we'd call & leave a message.

Sounds like they didn't want us to check their car out more, so we're not
going to do it.

Besides, someone was selling a 1992 Ford Tempo which worked just fine right
now, for only $600--and it was in good shape, that's about 1/2 what Kelley
Blue Book said it was worth. It has a 3-speed auto, and frankly, with my
wife struggling to work a 5-speed, it's better for us anyway.

I love Hondas, and that Civic could've possibly been a good deal, but their
not calling back makes me feel queasy about it. Oh well.

LRH

 

less that an hour, and a piece of cake.

Dan