How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
04-04-2010, 12:12 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 457
How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
Okay, I already posted for help on this as some of you know, but there's not a whole lot of information out there about removing the starter on a Z28 or the LT1 engines. After completing it, I think it would be valuable for me to go ahead and write a tutorial on how to do it so both Google searchers and the forum members can have that information. First off:
In order to complete this task you are going to need:
NOTE: The starter is on the passenger side of the transmission UNDER the car and above the y-pipe.
The starter is a 1.7 Kw starter and is standard mostly for the 1994-1996 LT1 engines. Both auto stores and online stores are easy to get this through.
Okay, let's get down to business:
1. Unhook your battery. It's always a good idea when you work on your car and anything electrical. Get in the habit of it.
2. The starter can be removed on the LT1 engine of my 1995 Camaro simply by unhooking the transmission cooling lines from the radiator and removing the bell housing. The lower line has to be unbolted and is fairly easy to get out. The line that goes to the top attaches to a flexible rubber hose and can be unclamped at about the same place the lower line is unbolted. It's fairly easy to spot and the vise grips come in handy with that clamp. Please not that there will not be fluid rushing out of the lines when you remove them, but some fluid will drip out. This is normal. I use small plug on the upper line's rubber hose to keep it from dripping on me, but ensure you have a bowl underneath when you do this. Also, I didn't know if you needed to bleed air from this system when you are done, etc. YOU DON'T. Simply hook it back on when you are done and check your tranny fluid level to make sure it's fine. That's it.
3. The transmission lines must be removed from their bracket on the side of the engine block. Just push up on them to get them off the bracket. At this time, it also helps to move any wiring that may be in your way. Carefully unhook any wiring from their brackets so you can move them and let the tranny lines move more.
4. Next, unbolt your bell housing/pan and gently remove it (yes, it takes a few tugs to get it off with the starter and tranny lines still in place.
5. Remove the starter and it's subsequent wiring.
6. Squeeze the starter out in between the bell housing and the tranny lines. Now that they are unbolted, they will move quite a bit and you can get the starter out now. Here's a picture that shows how the starter will come out once the tranny lines are removed from the radiator and the bell housing is out. http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...8starter-1.jpg
7. Squeeze in the new starter, hook up the wires, attach the tranny lines again, bracket everything back up and hook up your battery. Hooray, you're done! Congrats!
Hope this helps you guys and gets a lot of hits. I know I had a lot of questions, particularly about the transmission lines, but if you follow this exactly you'll be just fine. Comments, etc? Anything I missed? Let me know and I will edit. Thanks!
- Myth: The Y Pipe must be removed to get the starter out.
- Fact: It provides more room, but removing the Y pipe is a formidable task in itself and you can plan on breaking bolts, so let's go with something easier, shall we?
In order to complete this task you are going to need:
- crescent wrench (very large for the stubborn bolts)
- a comprehensive socket set (believe it or not, I found the bolts under the car to be both metric and standard, wth?)
- A large bowl or fluid-catching pan
- a new starter
- vise grips (optional)
NOTE: The starter is on the passenger side of the transmission UNDER the car and above the y-pipe.
The starter is a 1.7 Kw starter and is standard mostly for the 1994-1996 LT1 engines. Both auto stores and online stores are easy to get this through.
Okay, let's get down to business:
1. Unhook your battery. It's always a good idea when you work on your car and anything electrical. Get in the habit of it.
2. The starter can be removed on the LT1 engine of my 1995 Camaro simply by unhooking the transmission cooling lines from the radiator and removing the bell housing. The lower line has to be unbolted and is fairly easy to get out. The line that goes to the top attaches to a flexible rubber hose and can be unclamped at about the same place the lower line is unbolted. It's fairly easy to spot and the vise grips come in handy with that clamp. Please not that there will not be fluid rushing out of the lines when you remove them, but some fluid will drip out. This is normal. I use small plug on the upper line's rubber hose to keep it from dripping on me, but ensure you have a bowl underneath when you do this. Also, I didn't know if you needed to bleed air from this system when you are done, etc. YOU DON'T. Simply hook it back on when you are done and check your tranny fluid level to make sure it's fine. That's it.
3. The transmission lines must be removed from their bracket on the side of the engine block. Just push up on them to get them off the bracket. At this time, it also helps to move any wiring that may be in your way. Carefully unhook any wiring from their brackets so you can move them and let the tranny lines move more.
4. Next, unbolt your bell housing/pan and gently remove it (yes, it takes a few tugs to get it off with the starter and tranny lines still in place.
5. Remove the starter and it's subsequent wiring.
6. Squeeze the starter out in between the bell housing and the tranny lines. Now that they are unbolted, they will move quite a bit and you can get the starter out now. Here's a picture that shows how the starter will come out once the tranny lines are removed from the radiator and the bell housing is out. http://i337.photobucket.com/albums/n...8starter-1.jpg
7. Squeeze in the new starter, hook up the wires, attach the tranny lines again, bracket everything back up and hook up your battery. Hooray, you're done! Congrats!
- Total time: 2 hours and about 45 minutes. This was my first time, but if you know what you are doing I bet it could be done in an hour and a half.
- Total cost: $65 (free shipping) for a new starter.
- Total money saved: $180. The dealer said it would be about $240 to get it replaced.
Hope this helps you guys and gets a lot of hits. I know I had a lot of questions, particularly about the transmission lines, but if you follow this exactly you'll be just fine. Comments, etc? Anything I missed? Let me know and I will edit. Thanks!
Last edited by FastandBlue; 04-05-2010 at 09:18 AM. Reason: Adding a few important details.
04-04-2010, 08:05 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central Kentucky
Posts: 208
I never realized the starter was such a pain on an auto. Once I get the car jacked up I can have the starter out of my 6-speed in five minutes. Just disconnect a the solenoid wires and remove two bolts.
04-04-2010, 09:10 PM
#4
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Lenexa, KS
Posts: 2,598
From what I've read it has to be removed on SOME cars, not all cars. I've only removed the starter on a '97 Camaro M6 (though I've done it a couple times on my '97 Z28 M6 and my '97 SS M6) and I've never had to remove the stock y-pipe. Now I have long tube headers so it should be a breeze.
IIRC it has to be removed on auto cars. OP - is your car an auto? I'm wondering what the difference in hassle is between removing the y pipe and removing the transmission lines.
Like I said though, it was a piece of cake on my '97 M6 cars, I've removed/reinstalled the starter 3 times between two cars (twice to replace starter on same car, one for header swap to re-route some wiring)
IIRC it has to be removed on auto cars. OP - is your car an auto? I'm wondering what the difference in hassle is between removing the y pipe and removing the transmission lines.
Like I said though, it was a piece of cake on my '97 M6 cars, I've removed/reinstalled the starter 3 times between two cars (twice to replace starter on same car, one for header swap to re-route some wiring)
04-05-2010, 04:44 AM
#6
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 457
Ah.... You lucky dogs with your 6-speeds. I only wish!
6SpdLT1Z:
Yeah, I heard that as well, but in general, if you don't want to remove the y pipe, you can get it out between the bell housing and the tranny lines in pretty much any Z28 LT1. I spend about an hour and a half just trying to figure out where to get it out of, though. I'm so lucky I found the answer after an hour of searching online.
My car is an auto, so yeah. As far as the difference in hassle, the Tranny lines are MUCH easier. They take about 10 minutes to unhook and push aside. The y pipe is going to take a lot longer, especially if you break a bolt. :'(
6SpdLT1Z:
Yeah, I heard that as well, but in general, if you don't want to remove the y pipe, you can get it out between the bell housing and the tranny lines in pretty much any Z28 LT1. I spend about an hour and a half just trying to figure out where to get it out of, though. I'm so lucky I found the answer after an hour of searching online.
My car is an auto, so yeah. As far as the difference in hassle, the Tranny lines are MUCH easier. They take about 10 minutes to unhook and push aside. The y pipe is going to take a lot longer, especially if you break a bolt. :'(
08-29-2011, 02:07 PM
#9
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1
Re: How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I just want to say thanks to FastandBlue for this great guide. Starter removal is a huge pain on the A4 Z28s and this made it way easy.
I will have to make one addition the guide...all my bolts were metric (1994 Z28). I believe I used 8, 10, 11, 13, and 15 mm sockets and wrenches. The starter bolts are 15mm and the bellhousing cover bolts are 10mm.
The bolts on the starter to remove the wires are 13mm for the big nut and 8mm for the small one.
The bracket nut that holds the tranny lines to the oil pan is (oddly enough) 11mm and can be gotten to with a box wrench.
I had to use a crescent wrench and vise grips to remove one of my tranny lines from the radiator as it was quite rounded off from a former owner.
Additionally, make sure you have a lot of rags and wear clothes that you don't care about, because the underside of a 17 year old car can be really really greasy.
I will have to make one addition the guide...all my bolts were metric (1994 Z28). I believe I used 8, 10, 11, 13, and 15 mm sockets and wrenches. The starter bolts are 15mm and the bellhousing cover bolts are 10mm.
The bolts on the starter to remove the wires are 13mm for the big nut and 8mm for the small one.
The bracket nut that holds the tranny lines to the oil pan is (oddly enough) 11mm and can be gotten to with a box wrench.
I had to use a crescent wrench and vise grips to remove one of my tranny lines from the radiator as it was quite rounded off from a former owner.
Additionally, make sure you have a lot of rags and wear clothes that you don't care about, because the underside of a 17 year old car can be really really greasy.
09-05-2011, 01:40 PM
#10
Registered User
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Lima, OH
Posts: 104
Re: How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
A follow up on this with an auto tranny you do not have to remove the tranny lines the starter will actually wedge right out of there without any probs its hard to imaging it but the shape of it it will wedge right out without removing anything other than the starter first time i did this it took two hours now i have it down to ten minutes. I have done ten or so as i have previously mentioned in another post.
01-26-2014, 04:40 PM
#11
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 5
Re: How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
A follow up on this with an auto tranny you do not have to remove the tranny lines the starter will actually wedge right out of there without any probs its hard to imaging it but the shape of it it will wedge right out without removing anything other than the starter first time i did this it took two hours now i have it down to ten minutes. I have done ten or so as i have previously mentioned in another post.
02-19-2014, 02:29 PM
#12
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: South Florida
Posts: 1
Re: How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
I replaced my starter 1994 Z28 automatic without removing any transmission lines also. I looked like it wouldn't fit through the opening but I remember doing the same on a Ford with the exhast pipe in the way, same are this Camaro. It will fit through be persistant. Clayton A
02-20-2014, 10:42 PM
#13
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: South East
Posts: 74
Re: How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
just now seeing this, I've changed the starter twice and never even thought of doing it this way. Thank you.
The last time was in an Autozone parkinglot and took for ever as the cat has been replaced so the Y pipe is attached to the rest of the exhuast, broke an exhaust bolt that I still havent fixed.
The last time was in an Autozone parkinglot and took for ever as the cat has been replaced so the Y pipe is attached to the rest of the exhuast, broke an exhaust bolt that I still havent fixed.
03-08-2014, 10:06 AM
#14
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 2
Re: How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
i removed the starter from my stock 94 lt1 a4 yesterday in about 5 minutes. i drop the two bolts, angle it up to get the two wires. pull the dust cover off the converter and flip the starter backwards and it falls right out from where you access the two mounting bolts. you do have the push the tranny lines just a tad. its pretty easy once you figure it out.
03-10-2014, 08:11 PM
#15
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 457
Re: How To Remove Starter On F-Body LT1 (A4)
Glad to see this thread is still alive and kicking. It's been forever since I've been on here, and I miss my camaro SO much. 
I've moved on to a 260z project with an LS1 though, so bigger things are coming.
You guys make a good point about pulling the starter out without moving the lines. The reason I didn't is because the starter was so tight that even after about 30 minutes of wiggling it around, I knew the lines would have to flex a good 3 inches out of the way. I didn't want to crack a line fitting or cause a leak. Then again, that was the start of my mechanical experiences, so I might have been too timid. Either way, depending on the starter brand and style, you might just pop it right out. If I thought reasonably priced mini-style starters were worth their salt, I'd definitely go that route.
I've moved on to a 260z project with an LS1 though, so bigger things are coming.You guys make a good point about pulling the starter out without moving the lines. The reason I didn't is because the starter was so tight that even after about 30 minutes of wiggling it around, I knew the lines would have to flex a good 3 inches out of the way. I didn't want to crack a line fitting or cause a leak. Then again, that was the start of my mechanical experiences, so I might have been too timid. Either way, depending on the starter brand and style, you might just pop it right out. If I thought reasonably priced mini-style starters were worth their salt, I'd definitely go that route.