How difficult is it to drop the starter on the stock 401? Does the exhaust get in the way? Trying to answer a question on another Buick board. Guy says he can't get to the solenoid terminals, that I believe, can you easily drop the starter, or is the exhaust manifold in the way?
Larry, You need to jack up the engine. Remove P/S pump & put to one side, if equipped. Remove ALL the exhaust manifold bolts. Dis-connect the exhaust pipe. Now he will have minimum access, but it will come out. That's one of the reasons I designed my "Mini's".
That's unbelievable. The guy has a won't crank problem, so I told him to start at the purple solenoid wire at the starter, and see if he was getting 12 volts with key to crank, but he can't even get to the solenoid.
It's kinda difficult but can be done with a test light. Also at the horn relay/junction box on the left fenderwell there will be a two wire connector with the purple wire & a yellow wire.
If it's still original, those 2 wires and the battery cable to the starter are encased in a fabric loom. The purple wire comes from the neutral safety switch and before that, the ignition switch. Yellow wire goes to the ignition coil. To remove starter, might have to remove bolt from engine mount and jack engine up for even more clearance. As Tom said, loosen exhaust manifold. I never messed with the PS pump when accessing starter tho.
just did it yesterday on my gs skylark, no head or exhaust manifold were on, still had to jack the engine up to clear the front frame. the starter is very heavy when laying on the ground. if the starter was not just rebuilt i would have got Tom's mini starter for sure.
Here is the thread I was trying to answer. http://buickforums.com/forums/threads/46185-New-member-needs-help-66-skylark-gs
I agree with this. The mini starter is lighter, cranks just as well, and takes up a lot less space. I put one in my Buchev pickup, and I have plenty of access to the starter. I have pointed out many times before that I hate excess weight, and I'd get rid of that big, clunky starter for that reason alone.
Luckily with the headers on my Riv I can get the starter in and out. If I couldn't I'd have one of Tom's starters on there for sure. That has got to be the heaviest starter I've ever pulled (and dropped the first time) out of a car.
