This post shows pictures of the removal of the old starter, and the installation of the new gear reduction starter.
In short - if you have your head off, changing the starter is straight forward and about an 1 - 1.5 hour job for a first timer.
I started with what people say is the hardest bolt - it was not bad from this angle, I could get a wrench on it...
Not much room to turn, so a lot of very small movement, reposition the wrench, and repeat.
Then I went on to the bolt on the bottom. This was actually the hardest for me. I didn't jack up the car, I just turned the steering wheel, slid under, and used the following extension/u-joint setup to reach and undo the bottom bolt.
For the last and easiest bolt, I was able to get a small ratchet on and the bolt came off pretty easily.
I disconnected the wiring, and it was time to pull the beast out. I thought it would be a straight lift, but to my surprise, I really had to work it and turn it and angle it in order to get it out - even with the head off!! For a moment I thought I was going to have to remove the fuel pump, but I just kept trying different angles and finally it came out.
Here is the starter so you can see where the three bolts are.
All told, it took about 40 mins to get out - not bad for my first try. I reckon few people have done it this quickly on their first try from what I have read. The time was largely do to the the slow process of turning the bolts and rigging up my extension u-joint more than anything else.
I can't believe how big and heavy this thing is. I bet there are Mac trucks with smaller starters! The starter on my Honda, including the selinoid is only about the size of the selinoid on this thing. Shesh.
In sum, if you have your head off, taking the starter out is pretty straight forward. I even did it without jacking up the car- certainly nothing like all the horror stories posted under other methods. Due to the tight space in getting it out even with the head off, frankly (even though I know people do it) I can't see how people are able to do this without taking at least the intake off.
Next - putting the new gear reduction starter in. First here is a pic comparing the old and the new:
My unit fit perfectly and weighed about half as much as the original. Only one modification was needed - the selinoid lead on the new starter would not accept the original wiring. I cut the original and replaced it with the included new connector. Here is a picture of the cut original:
The install was straight forward. I used the three bolts from the original starter, and they fit perfectly. Wiring from the battery and such fit just fine on the single bolt stud. Here it is installed. You can see how much smaller it is than the original. Plenty of room, it dropped in with a lot of space left over.
Compare this to the original (not much room!)
So, if you have your head off (or intake is likely almost as good), it is a great time to replace your starter. It took me about 40 mins to get the original removed, and about 40 mins to install the new unit - and it was not very hard (for a change). The gear reduction unit seems like a great way to upgrade, save weight and hope it will last for many, many years without any attention.
Enjoy.
