MrDuncan

Holy cow! You were right - what a pain in the ass to get it off!

I FINALLY got round to swapping mine over yesterday... with the help of a mate with smaller, more flexible hands/wrists then mine!!!

thanks for the warning of the knock sensor by the way!

Jonesybubs

Fester, your like the Edd China of the S2K world :0)

unclefester

Just about 8 foot shorter! I'm no mechanic, lets get that clear! I like taking simple stuff to bits to see if it can be fixed instead of replaced Whatever I take to bits is usually of minimal value or a 'spare' so nothing to lose if it's not going to work again.

If it can be fixed and it's an easy job with pictures then the whole spirit of forums is to post it up in case its of use to someone else.

Very much like Lofty and his TCT threads.

unclefester

Another one ...

This one has done over 100k but you can see how little wear there is.





See the little hole to the bottom left of this picture, that's the grease point for the starter internals. The area you need to clean properly is the area the starter gear sits in - this is what gets crusted up with baked on clutch dust and the mechanism 'drags' on it. Once you've washed it out with WD40 and cleaned the crap off, you can regrease it with white chain lube or something similar by squirting it down the grease hole.



Now that grease cover you see on the top right? Handle that with care as it's RAZOR sharp.

This is it cleaned out.




Now the item on the right is the switch assembly that drives the spring that controls the arm which moves the starter mechanism in and out. It can be unbolted, the grease cap removed and the recess the arm sits in can be cleaned and regreased. You also need to test how strong the spring is in this part - a weak spring or a broken one will mean your starter mechanism doesn't retract quickly enough. Again, you can grease the part so it slides freely without resistance.




Now if you wanted to recondition your own starter and replace the only two things which can really wear, then you need to look here.

http://www.hondapartsnow.com/Page_Pr...otor%20(Denso)

Parts 4 and 14 are what you would need. Problem is that's over $200 in parts which is more than a 2nd hand starter. However if you wanted to KNOW that your starter was properly reconditioned, these are the parts you would need. Everything else can be cleaned, regreased and reused as it's mechanical, not electrical.

Given the wear that I've shown above, I think it would be reasonable to replace part 14 only and that's only $37 - much more reasonable. That part in the UK is £177. Bizarrely the brush plate holder ( part 14) is £49 here but is $187 in the USA.

So if you really wanted the best of both worlds, buy part 14 here and part 4 from the USA, a total of about £73.

Hope the extra info helps someone else out

veehexx

so which bit makes thescreeching noise? I cant see it being the solenoid, nore can I see it being the contacts. sounds more like a bearing noise to me....

also, that greasing hole you mention; it's about 6 oclock in picture 2, and about 2oclock in picture 3?

unclefester

Yes - the screeching is because the starter piniion doesn't retract quickly enough. Either from a weak solenoid / spring or from old grease in the starter housing or from built up crap in the hole that the starter pinion has to slide in and out of.

When you wash it out with WD40 / degreasant there is a LOT of dirt which can only be old clutch and flywheel material.

veehexx

another job for the list then - thanks for the writeup
edit: I've not had much involvement with starter motor repairs; I'm wondering if the local referb place might be able to sell one at alot cheaper than Honda can. I presume they don't got to HUK and spend close to £200 for each recon they may do..

lovegroova

I got one from Ebay for £90 or so.

unclefester

I think £90 sounds about right given that there's probably £50 worth of parts refitted and an hours labour plus some 'profit' chucked in. The single hardest part of the job will be getting it off the car without snapping off the fragile knock sensor.

That said, given the wear in Simons old one, the only part i'd replace as a part of the refurb would be the £20 solenoid unit - everything else was in perfect working order, just dirty.