LS2 Tamora starter removal & refit.
Discussion
Jesus. What a ball-ache. Well, I've done it (finally), so massive thanks to Andy at APM for giving me the information needed. This is what happened...
So the starter motor is jammed up against the firewall. There is no airflow around it, so it gets very, very hot. So hot it will conk out. Joy.
Pic of the dead starter motor in place.
Removal of it was a bundle of laughs as you can imagine, but after a lot of WD-40, swearing, a few skinned knuckles and the like, we are to the point of the locating bolts being removed and bringing it up the small space, with all the wires still attached.
Had to make sure the pic was taken so I knew how it came out.
Removal of the wires. Now I am a technical numpty, and had to make sure I could remember which wires went in which series, in case it was important.
In the photos you'll see that the oil filler cap is back on - you have to take it off to get the motor out....
So the dead motor went off to competition supplies (http://www.competitionsupplies.com/), and I started looking around for something that will stop this happening again. I found on American sites this = ThermoTec blankets for LS starter motors. http://www.thermotec.com/products/14510-starter-he...
Now, it's a very reasonable $30 or so, but throw in $50 shipping.... it doesn't look so good! Step forward Andy Robinson Racecars http://www.robinson-race-cars.co.uk/ who were able to source it in the UK for not a large amount more than the $30 it costs. Very nice, very good (and some amazing work done - have a look through their galleries).
After a long time the starter came back, and I went to fit it.... dear Lord, what a palaver! Eventually I found it was best to get the motor down onto the transmission case, fit the wires, then try to wrangle the locating bolts back into place. Now, a top tip here, if the bolts don't tighten any more, it doesn't mean that the starter is properly in position. It could mean that the starter is a few mm above it's desired position, therefore the starter won't engage the flywheel.
So, finally tightened, checked and the car runs! Finally....
No pics yet of the thermal blanket being in place, I think I'll save that for another day...
I hope this helps someone with theirs, or makes someone else realise that they aren't the biggest numpty in the world... there's worse out there!
So the starter motor is jammed up against the firewall. There is no airflow around it, so it gets very, very hot. So hot it will conk out. Joy.
Pic of the dead starter motor in place.
Removal of it was a bundle of laughs as you can imagine, but after a lot of WD-40, swearing, a few skinned knuckles and the like, we are to the point of the locating bolts being removed and bringing it up the small space, with all the wires still attached.
Had to make sure the pic was taken so I knew how it came out.
Removal of the wires. Now I am a technical numpty, and had to make sure I could remember which wires went in which series, in case it was important.
In the photos you'll see that the oil filler cap is back on - you have to take it off to get the motor out....
So the dead motor went off to competition supplies (http://www.competitionsupplies.com/), and I started looking around for something that will stop this happening again. I found on American sites this = ThermoTec blankets for LS starter motors. http://www.thermotec.com/products/14510-starter-he...
Now, it's a very reasonable $30 or so, but throw in $50 shipping.... it doesn't look so good! Step forward Andy Robinson Racecars http://www.robinson-race-cars.co.uk/ who were able to source it in the UK for not a large amount more than the $30 it costs. Very nice, very good (and some amazing work done - have a look through their galleries).
After a long time the starter came back, and I went to fit it.... dear Lord, what a palaver! Eventually I found it was best to get the motor down onto the transmission case, fit the wires, then try to wrangle the locating bolts back into place. Now, a top tip here, if the bolts don't tighten any more, it doesn't mean that the starter is properly in position. It could mean that the starter is a few mm above it's desired position, therefore the starter won't engage the flywheel.
So, finally tightened, checked and the car runs! Finally....
No pics yet of the thermal blanket being in place, I think I'll save that for another day...
I hope this helps someone with theirs, or makes someone else realise that they aren't the biggest numpty in the world... there's worse out there!
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