Starter Replacement Write-up

[Lee in LA]

The starter on my 1988 535is bit the dust the other day. I replaced it this afternoon, and it wasn't nearly as tough of a job as I thought it would be based on what I had heard. The whole job took ~ 1.5 - 2 hours

I ordered an e34 (1989... ) 535i replacement. It's a direct bolt-up replacement part, and it's more powerful, which means it cranks over a little stronger. In addition, the e34 starter's housing is much smaller in diameter and doesn't interfere with access to the mounting bolts, making reassembly much easier.

Bentley states you need to remove the coolant reservoir, and hoses to the heater valve. I've also heard that it's necessary to remove the blower access panel along the top of the firewall to remove one of the bolts. None of this is necessary.

I was able to remove the bolts with the 17/19mm box end wrench from the trunk tool kit, a regular 17mm box/open end wrench with a slightly angled box end, a hammer, and a 20in section of 1 1/4 inch galvanized pipe. You have to use wrenches, because the casing of the starter does not allow you to get even a shallow socket on the bolt head.

Before you start, disconnect the ground on the battery. You don't want one of the hot wires to the starter (they're directly connected to the battery) to short out on the block or anything else.

Lower bolt:
We were able to break the lower bolt (below the solenoid) loose with the 17mm box/open end wrench. The slight angle of the box end helps minimize interference with other parts. I placed the wrench on the bolt, and had it pointed nearly horizontal and away from the engine. It helps to have an extra set of hands around through some of this. I couldn't get enough leverage from the driver's side of the engine bay so I had my dad hold the wrench in place while I went around to the passenger side of the engine bay. I reached over and once I got a hand on it, I was able to give it enough of a jerk to break it loose. Then I continued to loosen it until I could turn it by hand, and pull it out.

Upper (Hidden) Bolt:
The upper mounting bolt is difficult to reach. I first located it by reaching down and back from the opening in front of the coolant reservoir. I got my hand on the starter motor, and was able to locate the bolt by feel. You have to slide your left hand back between the starter and the coolant hose that runs on top of it and then feel around until you locate the bolt head. Once you locate it you can use the 17/19mm box end wrench from the trunk tool kit, and feed it down from directly above with your right hand. Here's where you need an extra set of hands again. I had my father reach over from the passenger side and put a little tension on the wrench. While he was holding it in place, I got our trusty cheater bar ( a 20 inch piece of 1 1/4 inch galvanized pipe) and a hammer. I placed the end of the cheater bar against the 19mm end of the wrench at a 90 degree angle (wrench is vertical and pipe is horizontal) so that I could get a good blow in the correct direction on the end of the pipe with the hammer. Once we broke the upper bolt loose it was just a matter of slowly backing the bolt out using the wrench. You can only turn it about 1/8th of a turn each time, until you can get it out by hand.

Once you get it out, double check that your battery is disconnected and then disconnect the wires from the starter, paying attention to which terminals they are attached.

Pull the old starter out and put the new one in.

Once you get the bolts started back in their holes, you can use a ratchet with an extension and a regular socket to snug them up. This is because the e34 535i starter's casing has a smaller diameter, allowing direct access to the mounting bolts from the front.

Reconnect the wires to the new starter, reconnect the battery, and crank 'er up.

[John in VA]

Nice details. I've never had to do this job, but will save the info. Maybe this can be moved to the Tech FAQ section.

[Kyle in NO]

Glad to see it went well!

[door2summer]

just wish someone had done this last year and saved me $$$

[twin55]

just wish someone had done this last year and saved me $$$

Search do help 99.99% of the time http://mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=27427

[ismellfish2]

Somebody get that guy a Klondike bar! You are a genius! I had to remove my starter to see why it wouldn't disengage. I ground down a socket as described in the FAQ and spent a while trying to get that top bolt off that way. No luck. Even with the socket ground down to a nub with the drive side tapered down, it still wouldn't seat on there well enough to hold enough torque to break it loose. The box end wrench from the toolkit is the perfect length and shape to get at that bolt, and I had no trouble once I searched this thread out and gave it a try. Here's a picture of what the OP is talking about.

Sorry the picture is huge- that auto resizer is the best thing since sliced white bread. You can see how the wrench fits sort of between the two coolant hoses there- it really just drops down in there and fits the bolt head, nothing to it once you figure it out. Thanks again for the useful tip!

[chilone]

Sorry to resurrect this, but I just did mine the same way and maybe it will help someone currently undertaking this PITA without them having to scour the internet like I did. The key was using a large pipe to bang in the top of the BMW wrench to break the top bolt free.