HOW-TO: Replace your Starter - these steps are for a 2000 740iL

Replacing your starter is a somewhat easy task. Most people have said that they have never needed to replace a starter, but from what you will see in my pictures, I think there was some type of arcing that caused my starter to cause me issues.

Here is the .pdf for replacing the starter incase the pictures are no longer shown in years to come as well as you can download it for your own personal archive if you want.

The steps are very simple.. the torx socket is not typically in one’s arsenal (yet) and the real major pain was getting 1 of 2 Torx bolts out. Other than that, a little sweat and a couple of deleted expletives later (which is a requirement as a DIY mechanic) and you have a replaced starter.

Tools/Parts:
A new or used starter (available many places)
Torque wrench
3 short socket extensions
1 long socket extension
1 universal joint
1 E12 Torx socket (E=external I think) – I bought a small set that had E sockets ranging from E5-E20 from a seller on Amazon for ~$30 shipped. The name of the set was a ‘Lisle 26280 Master Torx Socket Set’.
3/8 Socket Wrench
1/4 Socket Wrench
10mm socket
13 mm socket (I think) – sorry, I forgot exactly which

Steps:
First step as in most DIY work, remove the negative cable from the battery.

Lift the car in any way you like… obviously the more room you have, the more comfortable you will be. Since the starter is on the bottom of the engine, you will be working with your arms in the air for the entire duration. They will get tired.

Next, locate the starter. Under the passenger side of the engine bay, attached to the front part of the transmission housing, you will see the starter/solenoid set as you see in the picture below. In the top of the picture you see the oil pan and in the bottom is the transmission housing. Up between the suspension components is the starter tucked away nicely.

Once you have located it, remove the main bolt on the front of the starter and move the cable off and out of your way.

Then unplug the starter connector and remove the connector from the metal mount it sits in. It twists 90º and then just slides out.

Then you need to remove the 2 External Torx bolts. The bottom bolt is the easier of the 2. This takes an E12 socket. Before I bought the socket set, I tried both US and Metric regular sockets to no avail. Although the socket fit is semi-tight, it takes a good deal of force to crack these suckers loose. The right socket will keep you from rounding off your bolts and getting REALLY mad. I know a friend’s boyfriend’s mother’s ex-father-in-law that almost happened to. ;-)
Here is the pic of the first bolt you need to remove.

The other bolt is up higher, out of the way, and a PITA to get to. Here are the pics of where it sits and the arrow points where the camera can’t get to, to show the bolt. The first pic is so you can get your bearings of which way I am panning.

Here is the configuration of my tools to get to the bolt. I tried multiple combos of short and long extensions and this one allowed me to not only get to the bolt, but to turn the extensions without hitting other things and thus allow me to turn the wrench and free the bolt.

My socket wrench was basically lying horizontal with the longer extension facing straight up for most of the rotations. I then had to extend it vertical while the universal joint finished its rotation. Hope that makes sense. But you will figure it out once you start turning your wrench. Take your time. This will not be a fast process. The quicker you try to go, the more likely you are to have the socket fall off the bolt and at least for me, it took some time each time (yes, I tried to do it quickly several times) to get the socket back on the bolt. Hold the short extensions with your right hand (or whichever free hand you have) to keep the socket on the bolt as best you can. 465,000 turns later and you have your second free bolt!! :-)

Now as you get closer to finishing that second bolt, remember that these bolts hold up the starter. You should begin to support the starter as you get to the end. Yeah, right, with that other arm you don’t have. But you’ll figure it out.

Once it is free, you can set it down on the other components below it for the time being.

Before you attempt to weave the starter out, you need to remove a heat shield. There are (4) 10mm screws that hold it on and I was not able to remove the starter with it in place. So although it may not be necessary, it should make your life much easier. If you are reading this before you start replacing the starter, then you may opt to move this heat shield prior to taking off the starter. Up to you. This is just how I went about it since the steps in the service manual were quite vague.

The first pic shows you which shield I am referring to (and one of the screws.)

In the next 2 pics, although I had started to take out the screws already, the areas in red are where the screws should be.  After you remove them, just wiggle the shield loose and you will push it up and out of the way. I didn’t need to take it off and out of the car completely.. just lift it up as high as you can for now. You will wrestle with it a bit more to get the starter out, but it won’t be too bad.

Once you have the shield out of the way, slide the starter forwards as far as you can. The next 2 pics show you the path I took to get it out of the suspension spaghetti. Notice where the front and back of the starter are as I took it all the way forward then backed out the starter through the suspension components, teeth first.

Once you get to the point of the picture above, rotate the end down to the ground and maneuver it out. My right front passenger tire/wheel is facing directly forward.. just an FYI.

Here are some shots of the opening and the teeth that the starter connects to.

Here are some pics of the old starter out on the floor and then the new used starter. As you can see from the closeup shots, I had some sort of arcing and I think that contributed to the issues I was having. Issues: slow starting when turning over the car. There a piece of white rubber around most of the thick wire coming off the starter which is what was on my starter before I started to remove it (check the first few pics), but was basically fried and crumbly and disintegrated as I remove the starter. The pics below show the wire completely bare.

Here is the new starter.

Remember to take the heat shield off the old starter and transfer it to the new starter. Just remove one bolt and slide it off.

Last but not least, the install. Weave the starter in the same way you got it out. Remember to lift up on the heat shield you took 4 bolts out of. Make sure the starter is sitting flush with the transmission housing and that you aren’t forcing the 2 sets of teeth against each other. Mine fit perfectly the first time so if it doesn’t, maybe you can rotate the teeth on the starter a couple of millimeters to get them to match up.

After that I held the starter on and put in the bottom of the 2 Torx bolts. While holding it in place I tightened the bolt up until it was decently tight using the socket wrench. I still wanted to be able to move it just slightly so that the top bolt would be able to meet the thread on the starter, so I didn’t tighten it all the way. Once again, the top bolt is a PITA to get on. Just take it slow and let your arms down from time to time to give them a break. Just make sure not to drop the socket wrench and extensions on your head. 

Then put on the cable that connects to the front with a bolt and put the 4 screws back on with the heat shielding. Connect the black plugs together and make sure to secure the plug in to the metal frame the same as it was when you removed it. Should just slip in and then rotate 90º.

Reconnect your battery and cross your fingers!! Hope I didn’t miss any steps and I hope this at least helps you strategize how you will do it if you ever need to.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: Never listen to anything I say! I don’t know how to work on cars, nor do I do this for a living. This set of steps is for informational purposes only and if you decide to follow them, you do so at your own risk.  If you break anything, I will only be able to respond and say, ‘I told you NEVER to listen to me!’

2000 740iL (9/99 Prod) - Raleigh, NC
Jet Black/Black, Michelin Pilot A/S on //MPars, Crystal Corners, Crystal Taillights, Mirror Indicators, Angel Eyes, 16:9 Widescreen, MKIII, Front/Rear Heated Seats,
Xenons, TV with In-Motion, Lyra RCA to play movies and MP3s concealed in the ashtray, Alpine headrest monitors, AVIR-4 A/V Controller with IR Remote,
ValentineOne, StealthOne, Escort ZR3 Laser Shifter, RevHigh CAI, Wolf Whistle Siren, Aluminum ///M pedals, Quad Brake Lights, 20% tint, Bluetooth!!

My other rides are a '71 Ford F-100 Custom, a '67 Austin Mini (848cc) and an '05 Odyssey Touring for the Mrs (though she prefers to ride in style in the 7).

Previous vehicles owned (none wrecked): '74 VW Bug, '72 VW Bug, VW CamperVan, VW Karmann Ghia, '85 Toyota Truck, '86 Toyota 4Runner, '88 Toyota 4Runner, '86.5 Toyota Supra, '95 Acura Integra, '96 Acura TL 3.2, '01 Lexus IS300, '02 BMW 330Ci, '03 Toyota Tundra, '96 Honda Magna (750cc), '05 Suzuki Katana (750cc), and a '70 VW Bug.

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