Very Frustrated
OK, bear with me on a long post. Packed and ready to head south with unit loaded and ready for family. Had been on auxiliary power this past week and all appliances/accessories were functional. Wen...
Forum Discussion
djsamuel wrote:
Sounds like a bad starter solenoid.
While I would tend to agree with this diagnosis, the reality is the solenoid IS "integrated" into the starter and is not easily replaced.
One would HAVE to remove the starter in order to have a snowballs chance of getting to the two screws holding the solenoid on to the starter. Takes a Phillips bit and the screw heads are on the engine block side so you can't see them, can't get a screw driver into them and I highly doubt that you will get even a 1/4'" ratchet with Phillps bit in there either..
Solenoid replacement on this starter is best done on the work bench.
While it might be possible to bypass and Frankenstein that solenoid with a different solenoid, one must understand the gravity of the situation is there is absolutely no space/place to put another one near it so you would have to "MacGiver" the whole thing with extensions to all the wiring.
Not to mention, by the looks of it, the solenoid may also have a linkage to push the drive gear in and out.. That may make your attempt pretty futile even if you could get to the screws and or try a different Solenoid in an alternate location..
This repair is best by simply replacing the entire starter.. This whole assy is in a hostile location, gets drenched in rain, gets salt spray in winter, gets extreme heat since the exhaust pipe from manifold is only inches from the starter and if you are extremely unlucky, one of the Cat converters will be extremely close.. And if that isn't enough, you WILL be doing this whole thing on your back, looking up at it and having every speck of loose dirt you have drove through and years of rust falling right into your eyes..
If the solenoid has gone bad, the STARTER is not far from letting you down and may as well "start over" with a NEW/REBUILT starter/solenoid unit..
After dealing with round off one of three bolt heads for the starter on my first attempt, I have differed this to "pros" to handle dealing with this starter.. Those steel bolts really don't play well with the aluminum engine block and they really get stuck..
