starter motor

[al 350i]

got to change the starter motor on a friends 53reg copper and i was just looking for any helpful hints or tips? not actually stuck my head under the bonnet yet so not even sure where its hidden (guessing its not going to be somewhere easy). lost many a knuckle working on tvr's, so used to removing the starter motor upside down, back to front and 3 miles away from where you started from!! but any do's and don'ts would be most appreciated.

[RKDE]

drop the exhaust, take the manifold out, take off the heat shield then you can get to the starter, take off the battery and remove.

[al 350i]

removed heatsheild today for a better look (can't believe you can't take it out!!), anyway got really lucky and noticed that the small black wire to the solenoid had come off! putting it back on still took some serious effort, all working again now although seems odd that it came off in the first place. many thanks for the advice anyway, i was thinking about dropping the driveshaft off and dropping it down that way but i reckon coming in from above would have been a better option.

[RKDE]

You can do it without taking out the drive shaft though the amount of minis I have pulled apart and put together you learn the best way