Starter Motor location on E86 3.0

[Zedebee]

I can’t see you being able to do it from underneath. I have a little mirror on an extendable pole (like a selfie stick) which with a hand torch is great for a recce before you go in blind.

[AveZ4coop]

I did mine in December.
I removed the air intake and intake manifold to access the starter (after trying the 'don't need to remove major components' methods without success for several hours), because it was impossible for me to remove the motor from underneath the manifold (Even using the methods described). As long as you are gentle with the manifold it is no major task, took just over an hour and is relatively simple to do. I stuck all the bolts I had to remove into a piece of card with a basic drawing of where they came from on it, so I didn't muddle up where they went back. Take a photo of the inlet valve orientation as well as this is not always clear on rebuild. Also you will need a pair of replacement starter motor bolts as they are single use. There is no access from below as the block and bell housing are directly underneath the starter.
I hope this helps

[pvr]

Thanks for that, saves me trying to see and waste my time

[chanlon1]

Thanks for the advice AveZ4Coop.
I guess the next question….easy to remove the manifold?

[AveZ4coop]

It is quite easy. Plenty of guides on here for removing the manifold (Basic rundown below). Just be gentle with the plastic components.

Take off the air filter box and inlet pipework. Remove plastic top cover from engine and unplug cabling in way of manifold bolts (Photograph beforehand if unsure of where it goes). Undo the (approx. 10) bolts retaining the manifold to the head (but don't try to remove yet). Undo and remove the 4 bolts on the inlet valve below the manifold. Gently prise of the inlet valve and retain the gaskets. GENTLY prise off the manifold from the head, it will still be retained by some wiring and pipework but will move enough to give you enough room to remove the starter motor.

Refitting is the same in reverse.

[Zedebee]

To be fair, the NewTIS instructions for N52 does say remove the intake plenum first, whereas for the M54 it doesn’t. Hope this helps (instructions and view of starter motor with plenum removed). Oh, and you need torx spanners for the aluminium bolts.

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[thecremeegg]

I did mine the other day, not hard only a bit fiddly if you have big hands

[enuff_zed]

I did PVR's last Friday. Not having done one before I was expecting a struggle.
I ended up removing the air filter box complete back to the front of the sound generator, unplugged a sensor near the front top of the manifold, undid the screw securing the fuel pipe to the rear of the manifold (purely to give another inch of movement), then removed the half dozen bolts and screws securing the manifold. Nothing else needed. This gave me enough room to lift the manifold and reach in from the front to access the electrical connectors and the short mounting bolt. The long bolt was easily rreached from the rear.
Whole job took around 45 minutes which was a pleasant surprise.

Test start and it was completely dead!!

Reconnected the battery and it worked.

[chanlon1]

Reconnected the battery and it worked.

Must remember that last step……

[thecremeegg]

I did PVR's last Friday. Not having done one before I was expecting a struggle.
I ended up removing the air filter box complete back to the front of the sound generator, unplugged a sensor near the front top of the manifold, undid the screw securing the fuel pipe to the rear of the manifold (purely to give another inch of movement), then removed the half dozen bolts and screws securing the manifold. Nothing else needed. This gave me enough room to lift the manifold and reach in from the front to access the electrical connectors and the short mounting bolt. The long bolt was easily rreached from the rear.
Whole job took around 45 minutes which was a pleasant surprise.

Test start and it was completely dead!!

Reconnected the battery and it worked.

I've done two and you only need to remove the airbox really, but like with any job on these cars, the more you remove the easier it gets hah

[enuff_zed]

I did PVR's last Friday. Not having done one before I was expecting a struggle.
I ended up removing the air filter box complete back to the front of the sound generator, unplugged a sensor near the front top of the manifold, undid the screw securing the fuel pipe to the rear of the manifold (purely to give another inch of movement), then removed the half dozen bolts and screws securing the manifold. Nothing else needed. This gave me enough room to lift the manifold and reach in from the front to access the electrical connectors and the short mounting bolt. The long bolt was easily rreached from the rear.
Whole job took around 45 minutes which was a pleasant surprise.

Test start and it was completely dead!!

Reconnected the battery and it worked.

I've done two and you only need to remove the airbox really, but like with any job on these cars, the more you remove the easier it gets hah

If you only remove the air box how do you reach the starter connections and which way do you remove it? I can do an M54 with just the sound generator off but couldn’t see enough gap on the N52.

[chanlon1]

My new starter motor from Autodoc arrived today. Just need to add this to my ever growing list of things to do over winter on it.......

[pvr]

And it is almost spring

[thecremeegg]

I did PVR's last Friday. Not having done one before I was expecting a struggle.
I ended up removing the air filter box complete back to the front of the sound generator, unplugged a sensor near the front top of the manifold, undid the screw securing the fuel pipe to the rear of the manifold (purely to give another inch of movement), then removed the half dozen bolts and screws securing the manifold. Nothing else needed. This gave me enough room to lift the manifold and reach in from the front to access the electrical connectors and the short mounting bolt. The long bolt was easily rreached from the rear.
Whole job took around 45 minutes which was a pleasant surprise.

Test start and it was completely dead!!

Reconnected the battery and it worked.

I've done two and you only need to remove the airbox really, but like with any job on these cars, the more you remove the easier it gets hah

If you only remove the air box how do you reach the starter connections and which way do you remove it? I can do an M54 with just the sound generator off but couldn’t see enough gap on the N52.

Ah the N52 might be slightly different, I've only done it on the M54, apologies!