Originally Posted by TAnotTandA

My starter is going bad on my 1993 Firebird TA, and I believe the people who designed this car are sadistic bastards who delight in making repairs as difficult as humanly possible. I replaced the waterpump and optispark about 2 months ago. What a **** poor design that thing is. Anyway, I was just searching your site for how to's on starter replacement. All the official manuals require removal of the exhaust, but at least I know others have found a way to make it a whole lot less painful.

Originally Posted by RamAir95TA

Pretty sure this was my first post 10 years ago.

Originally Posted by SS RRR

Get longtube headers. Problem solved.

Originally Posted by SS RRR

That's what I would've posted to you 10 years ago. Aren't I helpful?

Originally Posted by Rob94hawk

Mines so nasty and caked with crud I dont even want to put it back on!

Too bad there's no starter delete mod.

Originally Posted by RamAir95TA

I SUPPOSE I SHOULD BUY HEADERS? WHATS BETTER SHORTIES OR LONG TOOBS?

Originally Posted by dhdenney

You could just pop the clutch if it was M6.

Originally Posted by JAKEJR

Everything I've read says Long Tubes allow more HP but usually require muffler shop to mate up the rest of the exhaust and, sometimes, after-market CATS. Long tubes cost more and whatever the muffler shop charges, etc., has to be added in.

Shorties usually bolt right on with minimal hassle but release about half the power that long tubes do.

Choose your poison.

Jake

Originally Posted by phrozen755

I dont know what classification this post would be, however this is lt1 related and after my brawl today I figured I'd post here and save people time, blood and a pack of cigs...

Anywho I called my local auto parts place and they told me it'd be $151 after taxes and the core. Which, I dont know is a good thing or bad, but it was a re manufactured starter, warranty blah blah blah and with my method I'll gladly bring it back if it craps out.

LS1tech mods, do what you please with this thread, move or delete it as you like.


Written by Brian Kinney Solely for LS1tech.com, it is restricted to use this in part or in whole anywhere else.

I'm not liable for any damages in any form including you yelling from under you car and your neighbors calling the cops to any automotive related problems. Its your ***, not mine.

Some people write tech articles and they say simply "remove starter", blant, point blank, this guide is on the new-user level. The steps are pretty easy, specific (which usual repair manuals sometimes NOT be) and hopefully will have you back to turning over your pride and joy in no time.

This is for the 1996 lt1s, I believe it's different from previous years, however you may want to take a look at this...

Step 1: Disregard the Chilton's manual for the removal on this. They advise dropping the catalytic converter and for the average joe such as myself even with my bird having 80k miles on it...you know those pipes are rusted to hell. After spending almost 7 hours drowning the bolts in a tsunami of PB blaster I woke up this morning and had the starter out in 10 minutes. Yes I said "what the F*!& chiltons!" however I laughed like a madman, I think the PB blaster went to my brain...

Step 2: Disconnect your negative battery cable (dhurr)

Step 3: Get out your sockets, If I recall the bolts are 15mms, I reached the left nut (the longest one) with only a small extension, and I just kept the extension on for the right one, which you'll see...you have plenty of space for. Its your option to remove the 2 electrical wires on the *** of the starter before you remove the bolts, however I just removed the 2 bolts and removed the electrical wire bolts when the starter came down and rested itself on the exhaust pipe. Clean off the area where the starter bolts up (you can do this later if you'd like) so that it's crystal clear and free of gunk and crap.

Step 4: You'll clearly see, try as you may...the starter will not fall beyond the pipe...yes, I know you can get about 40% of the starter popping out the bottom, do not let it taunt you, it's evil and it loves laughing at you. Chilton's advises that you remove the cat (or the pipe obviously the starter is hitting from the right manifold and the 2 bolts going to the y pipe). If your car has some mileage on it, and if your just an average person with basic hand tools and have never delt with satanic rust on exhaust pipes, you'll quickly say in your head "mother of CHRIST". You can do chilton's way by removing this pipe. Count your blessings if your bolts arn't rusted, or...start writing your will. Hours and a full can of PB blaster later I managed to only get one bolt off the pipe headed towards the Y connection, the other bolt was still "soaking" and if forced would have stripped it to crap.

Step 5: When you removed your starter you may have already noticed this...the space going up the engine towards the front of the car on the starter level-view, is almost like a tunnel. You know where this is going. Hot dog through a hallway baby. I swear to you, after coming home from my god for saken girlfriend's mother's birthday party at 10:30 and dealing with exhaust bolts and working till 3 in the morning, waking up at 6:30...I was so tired and a little psychotic...I laughed so hard I almost fainted in the 90 degree heat ( did this out on my road on the pavement). I stuck my head up and looked down this hot dog hallway and I saw the light! HARK! AN OPENING! With your bolts removed and electrical connections disconnected, move the starter OVER the front axle (which is the hallway). Reposition yourself more in the front of the vehicle so you can see the glorious *** of the starter, tilt the solenoid towards the front right tire (away from the engine) so in essence it's laying on it's side.

Step 6: You'll quickly notice the starter hits one of 3 things (we'll go down the line). First being a bolt with a negative grounded to the block. This negative wire is actually running on the same line that goes to the starter. Remove this. note: the way glorious GM did this is they have a bolt, the ground O wire connector on the thread, and a bolt on top of this to lock it in. if the top bolt comes loose and spins with the bolt closest to the block...get a wrench. Obviously hold the bolt in place and pull away from the way your turning (Lefty loosey!)

Step 7: once that has been disconnected, you can actually pull the entire wiring harness (the negative that was grounded to the block, out of the "hot dog hallway" to have less to deal with. It will still be connected as it continues backwards towards the engine area, however you can remove it from the "hallway of heaven". Next is an absolute PITA, however with my later discovery I, again, laughed like a madman enraged with insanity. (I have never dealt with a starter that was actually this ridiculous...common THE DAMN THING HAS 2 BOLTS!)

BIG PLUS HERE: WHITE LITHIUM GREASE.

You'll notice the starter will move further down the "hot dog hallway", the tunnel, however hits 2 lines. Both of which I'm guessing at what they do, rather than get in the way of removing this damn thing. I believe one (a rubber (1'' tube?) and an aluminum tube (might be AC related or hydrolic fluid) The aluminum pipe(thank god) doesn't get in the way that much, however GM put a "clip" that the tube rests in, which you can pop out to move it up. Big plus. The thing that had me swearing was this rubber tube, which carries lines to the steering column, I'm guessing power steering lines? Someone correct me.

Listen very closely.

When you move the lines up (the rubber one will move up quite a decent way) you'll notice that when you've rotated the starter on its side as I described above that the top "notch" (or the notch that has the hole for the LONG bolt for the starter) will HIT this tube. By god not the power of Thor nor hulk will be able to move this rubber tube up enough to clear this "notch". Now what had me laughing later was this:

Take the white lithum grease, put a light later of it on the rubber tube where the 'notch' hits it', and slide the starter out. It simply slides out, a little pushing up is needed. Yes folks, lube your tube. (lord)

Step 8: Dont do what I did. ( It dropped out, and I chucked it across my road, hey its a core and it's toast). I danced around it like big bear after killing a gigantic wild buffalo. Dancing is OK, chucking, probably not.

Step 9: if you dropped the negative wire cable running to the starter bolt up position with the bolt that goes to the block, put it back in now (dont re install it, just throw it down the "tunnel" above the front axle. Get your replacement into position, which will mirror the way the old one came out. with the rubber (power steering line) tube already lubed, slide the tube over the same notch of the starter (again, a LITTLE pushing up is needed) and the starter will rest happily on the top of the front axle.

Step 10: Reposition yourself back to where you removed your bolts, snake your hand up there and slide the starter back to where it bolts up, and you have the option of putting the electrical connections on the new starter now or until you bolt it up. I was so happy it was ready to bolt it up, I just bolted it up and did the electrical connections later, didnt mind it at all. Get the torque specs (I believe its 35FT lbs, someone correct me), and bolt that baby back up. This starter didnt have shims, so I plopped it back up there, and called it a day.

Step 11: Laugh satanically at your chilton's manual, refrain from yelling obscenities.

Step 12: Put everything back on, which at this point is just the negative connector that branches off the cable running to the starter. I didnt find the torque specs for this, so I did it pretty decently tight, not superman crazy, just enough to where I thought it was torqued when I took it off.

Step 13: As I dont know if it would have corroded the power steering tube, I wiped off the grease that I put on the line that I slid over the starter to remove it (who knows)

Step 14: Since I didnt have shims for my starter...I did NOT check the clearance from the starter teeth to the flywheel. (I believe this clearance is .5mm (or a .20 gauge wire).

Step 15: Double check.

Step 16: put on the negative battery cable

Step 17: Laugh that you didnt need to TOUCH the exhaust bolts.

Step 18: turn that bitch over!


If anyone has edits, please let me know I'll update this post.