Ok I think my starter is close to dieing. How much will one cost and how difficult is it to install? Also how can I prevent heatsoak? The starter is kind of weak but ok when its cold but if I've been driving around awhile its really bad, like its struggling to turn the motor. Thanks guys.

 

You gotta drop you y-pipe to get your starter out. a rebuilt starter with a lifetime warranty will run you anywhere from 120-200 dollars. if you have somebody do it for you, you're looking at a 400 dollar job.

 

i fixed my starter when i got my car because it was jammed up and missing a tooth. You don't have to pull the y-pipe, btw. I was going to do that and ended up breaking a stud off before i realized there is a cover on the bottom front of the tranny you can pull off. It's only 4 bolts, then unbolt the starter and it will slide out there. It wasn't bad at all to take out and put it. And to have it fixed by a starter shop they charged me something like 60 or 70.

 

I've got an M6 too, and I took the starter off to make some more room when I was doing the plugs. Took about 5 minutes. No need to drop the Y-pipe. There are 2 electrical connections and 2 bolts and the thing comes out. Very easy! Put you car on ramps and do it yourself in 15 minutes!

HTH

Sam

 

LT1/LT4 Vette starter was $159 or so, no core charge, a little bit shorter than stock - works great, very easy to change. 2 bolts and 2 wires I believe, just unplug the battery so you dont lose a finger.

 

It's very easy to do yourself...don't pay someone to do it. Things to remember:

1. There are only two bolts holding it in, not three. For some reason I thought there were three and my face was under the starter when I undid the second bolt. Ouch!

2. Triple check the wires going to the starter before you reconnect the battery cable. I had the small purple wire's connector turned funny and it was shorting out when I tried to reconnect the battery cable, causing the car to turn over. Make sure that everything is tightened properly and in the right place before reconnecting the cable.

 

I just replaced my starter this weekend with the LT4 starter. Very easy job, The hard part was while I was under there I decided I had enough of the oil leak, figured out it was the oil pan gasket and did that too..

One word of caution wit the lt4 starter. My Mac shorties interfere with the corner of the starter motor, I took a dremel to the corner of the starter (one of the bosses for the long #10 bolts) to give it some clearance. Not sure if anyone else had this problem but I figured I'd throw it out there.

BTW the lt4 starter sounds and works great!!! It really made a difference!

 

forgot to mention, the lt4 starter is supposed to be less prone to heat stroke, but to what extent, I don't know.

I have pics of the lt4 starter compared to the original lt1 starter. If your interested I can email them to you...