Starter Motor - What are the options and what sort of a job
Discussion
OK - After living in the garage over the winter months - and being started every couple of weeks, now that the sun is starting to shine, I decided it was time to hand over some hard cash for the legalised highway robbery,
that passes for car tax these days ... and what do you know, the old girl decides to kick the season off with a dodgy starter motor 
So - taking a pretty educated guess, it is the soloniod (is that how you spell it ?) sticking.. Sometimes it is fine, other times takes a few attempts of it spinning before it finally shoots out to engage and she starts..
This is going to be my first major engine related work - and first thoughts are it looks a bit of a pig to get at and take out..
So advice required please ...
A) What sort of job is this once I get stuck in ?
B) What might catch me out that won't seem obvious to begin with ?
C) Assuming I get it out - what options are there to fix the problem ?
I understand that replacement starter motors are rare and expensive, and that an overhaul of the current item might be the better option ...
Thanks for your time people ...
that passes for car tax these days ... and what do you know, the old girl decides to kick the season off with a dodgy starter motor So - taking a pretty educated guess, it is the soloniod (is that how you spell it ?) sticking.. Sometimes it is fine, other times takes a few attempts of it spinning before it finally shoots out to engage and she starts..
This is going to be my first major engine related work - and first thoughts are it looks a bit of a pig to get at and take out..
So advice required please ...
A) What sort of job is this once I get stuck in ?
B) What might catch me out that won't seem obvious to begin with ?
C) Assuming I get it out - what options are there to fix the problem ?
I understand that replacement starter motors are rare and expensive, and that an overhaul of the current item might be the better option ...
Thanks for your time people ...
Hi NeilH
Mines a 4.2
A) depends on how good you are with spanners and hands in tight places! But it was the first job I did on mine and I found it relatively simple. Get a good set of hex tools of various lengths with all the extensions ratchets etc. Get some patience, take your time and enjoy it.
B) Remove the top panel, disconnect your battery, you will then find various suggested methods to remove the beast, but I removed the passenger side airbox and then carefully removed the bolts holding the fuel rail, positioning it as far forward to enable access to the starter electrical connections and mount bolts. With the fuel rail shifted forward the starter should feed out through a pretty small gap. Fitting new one quite simple once you have the skill in removal! Be careful not to get any dirt etc into the injector holes, plug em is best. If you've got big short arms it could be difficult to manipulate the lump through the gap, TVRs have been assembled by children I am sure.
C) I simply exchanged mine at racing green for about £290 coz I didnt want to wait. Been fitted for 3 years now, no problems so far.
There are various guides on here if you do a search so read plenty.
Good luck
Mines a 4.2
A) depends on how good you are with spanners and hands in tight places! But it was the first job I did on mine and I found it relatively simple. Get a good set of hex tools of various lengths with all the extensions ratchets etc. Get some patience, take your time and enjoy it.
B) Remove the top panel, disconnect your battery, you will then find various suggested methods to remove the beast, but I removed the passenger side airbox and then carefully removed the bolts holding the fuel rail, positioning it as far forward to enable access to the starter electrical connections and mount bolts. With the fuel rail shifted forward the starter should feed out through a pretty small gap. Fitting new one quite simple once you have the skill in removal! Be careful not to get any dirt etc into the injector holes, plug em is best. If you've got big short arms it could be difficult to manipulate the lump through the gap, TVRs have been assembled by children I am sure.
C) I simply exchanged mine at racing green for about £290 coz I didnt want to wait. Been fitted for 3 years now, no problems so far.
There are various guides on here if you do a search so read plenty.
Good luck
I've just had to have mine repaired. I've an early 4.2 and new starter motors are no longer available new but there are reconditioned ones available for around £200 provided you can supply a working motor in return. If not there is apparantely a surcharge of around £150. If it's just the solenoid then I believe that these can be replaced.
Later motors are I believe available but are not as powerful as the earlier versions and I understand that some people have had problems with these.
Later motors are I believe available but are not as powerful as the earlier versions and I understand that some people have had problems with these.
Just had a similar problem on mine (4.5).
When you press the starter, can you hear the motor spinning but it doesn't turn the engine over?
If that's the scenario, it's probably the clutch/gearbox in the starter itself that's knackered. Once you have the starter motor out, it's a relatively simple and inexpensive fix; around £45.00 for the gearbox from CCW in Lincoln.
Thanks to Ridds for putting me onto CCW. They also do a full refurbishment service, providing that the armature isn't knackered.
Getting the starter motor out and back in is where the real fun is! Be prepared for lots of swearing and, in my case, blood from cutting the back of my hands/knucles on the plastic cable ties that hide all over the engine bay.
If you want a giggle, read my earlier thread about my starter motor problems. It's fixed now but I made at least three other jobs from doing it...muppet me!
When you press the starter, can you hear the motor spinning but it doesn't turn the engine over?
If that's the scenario, it's probably the clutch/gearbox in the starter itself that's knackered. Once you have the starter motor out, it's a relatively simple and inexpensive fix; around £45.00 for the gearbox from CCW in Lincoln.
Thanks to Ridds for putting me onto CCW. They also do a full refurbishment service, providing that the armature isn't knackered.
Getting the starter motor out and back in is where the real fun is! Be prepared for lots of swearing and, in my case, blood from cutting the back of my hands/knucles on the plastic cable ties that hide all over the engine bay.
If you want a giggle, read my earlier thread about my starter motor problems. It's fixed now but I made at least three other jobs from doing it...muppet me!
If it is your solinoid, then you can get a replacement one. I have a source for them if you are interested. About a year ago or so i put a post up offering replacements for i think about £40. mail order if you prefer.
Found it:Hi every one, thought you may be interested in a source for the Starter motor solinoids. Through a local company (to me that is) Hunters Auto Electrics, they can supply the solinoid as a seperate item for about £33 plus postage (say £5) and complete new (exchange) starters for about £130 plus postage. If we did a group buy they recon we could have 10% discount on 10 units or more. This company have done mine already 2 years ago and it has been fine.
The lad in charge John Hunter is a personal friend of mine and has been very helpful doing me a favour sourcing these.
A fellow PH supplied pics of his old unit as a ref for us.
Please let me know if any one is interested. Delivery is a couple of days or so.
Found it:Hi every one, thought you may be interested in a source for the Starter motor solinoids. Through a local company (to me that is) Hunters Auto Electrics, they can supply the solinoid as a seperate item for about £33 plus postage (say £5) and complete new (exchange) starters for about £130 plus postage. If we did a group buy they recon we could have 10% discount on 10 units or more. This company have done mine already 2 years ago and it has been fine.
The lad in charge John Hunter is a personal friend of mine and has been very helpful doing me a favour sourcing these.
A fellow PH supplied pics of his old unit as a ref for us.
Please let me know if any one is interested. Delivery is a couple of days or so.
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