Thanks to bfmdal!! I am literally using this as a guide right now.
I plucked and pasted the link rightcheah..
http://www.piloteers.org/forums/92102-bfmdal.html
For anyone with a Pilot, I just replaced the starter (and solenoid) on my 2004 Honda Pilot, it has 103,455 miles. Here's how it went down, and how to replace it on your own (and I'll use socket size for the bolts so you know what to grab):
My son went to start the car, no joy: no sounds except for one faint single click as you turned the key to crank it/start position. I noticed the battery was somewhat low (only 3 yrs old) so I recharged it, hoping the cold temperatures may have drained it--it was 28 degrees F outside. It charged fully in 5 minutes...hmphh; not the battery, so I tried starting it again. No joy/same deal with no crank, no clicks like you'd hear from a weak battery; but I did notice the battery drained more than expected on the attempted start--leading me to believe the relay was fine, must be short in the starter motor. A quick voltage check on the starter motor confirmed this: have someone try starting the engine while you get a reading off the control wire into the starter--the smaller black wire on the starter that can be pulled off/spade connection. The starter motor is right below the positive side of the battery on the transmission block, you can get to it from above or from below, or a combination. It is tight in there, you'll need to wrestle between the hoses going to the radiator, and the air intake/filter plastic duct (I highly recommend removing them, we didn't and it was annoying/knuckle scraping).
Once you know you're getting an electrical signal to the starter, you know it's gotta be pulled and replaced--or repaired, but I didn't have time for rebuilding the starter. So, to pull the starter:
First, remove the 2 plastic covers over the engine/oil filler (four 10mm bolts, and two 90 degrees turns of a regular screw driver).
Second, remove the starter control wire--it's the smallest wire attached to it, the black one--it just pulls off/spade fitting with a rubber cover. Once that's out of the way, get a 12mm 1/4" socket with 1/4" drive, and undo the bigger wire that connects the starter to the positive battery post; it has a rubber cover over it. Undo that nut, and pull off the wire loop fitting. Note: you want to remove the rubber covered 12mm nut (the one that isn't covered you can leave attached/comes off with the starter assembly intact).
Next, get underneath the car, and undo the skinny long 8mm bolt that connects the starter motor cylinder to the starter bracket--pull it out, freeing the metal wiring bracket, then replace/screw back in that same bolt (you just want the bracket freed, so the starter can be pulled out). Now for the two 17mm bolts that hold the starter to the engine/tranny block: Get a 17mm 3.8" or 1/2" socket with about a 4 inch extension, and use your longest 3/8" or 1/2" drive for leverage--in fact, I used a pipe for extension. "Break the seal" (sort of speak), by loosening the two 17mm bolts about 1/8 of a turn, then you can use your hands to get them off the rest of the way. Note--the long bolt is on the bottom. Only those two 17mm socket bolts hold the entire starter assembly, so if it's stuck still tap/knock it a couple of times with a maller or hammer/wood block to free it, then the whole thing pops out, and you can pull it up and out. Congrats, halfway done. Now shop for one...
We took it to the local Autozone parts store, where they had a replacement in stock with a lifetime warranty, $119.95 with trading your old starter assembly in (they call it "the Core", and give you $42 credit by trading it in). You can check online to see if they have it in stock at your store/very easy. They tested it on their bench in the back for us at our request, the starter failed each of the tests and didn't even crank, so I believe the coils fused/overheated finally--but that's just a guess (in fact, I wonder if any part ever "passes"--they'd never sell anything...but I believe the starter truly was toast--heard a charge being applied to the motor and it didn't move). I may have paid a little more than necessary: I did find some nice Bosch refurbished ones online for less, $113 delivered; also, there were some junkyards with some for about $45, but I wanted this to be the last time I replaced this thing, and dropped a little more money. Your call, I needed my car up and running that day.
Assembly was everything in reverse--the two 17mm bolts (remember, bottom one is the long one), then remount the bracket onto the 8mm bolt on the underside (ours came with another bracket, we kept the old one and remounted it), then attach the thick wire with the 12mm nut (be patient, not much room for fingers here to get the nut on, and the rubber cover is always in the way--always in the way; perhaps take some duct tape and tape it out of the way temporarily), Finally, press the spade control wire on firmly and cover it with its rubber cover. Replace the 2 plastic covers over the engine/oil filler (two 90 degrees turns of a regular screw driver, and four 10mm bolts).
Done. Total time, with one helper, first time ever to do it--2.5 hours to remove, 1 hour to replace. Good for another 100k miles.
I plucked and pasted the link rightcheah..
http://www.piloteers.org/forums/92102-bfmdal.html
For anyone with a Pilot, I just replaced the starter (and solenoid) on my 2004 Honda Pilot, it has 103,455 miles. Here's how it went down, and how to replace it on your own (and I'll use socket size for the bolts so you know what to grab):
My son went to start the car, no joy: no sounds except for one faint single click as you turned the key to crank it/start position. I noticed the battery was somewhat low (only 3 yrs old) so I recharged it, hoping the cold temperatures may have drained it--it was 28 degrees F outside. It charged fully in 5 minutes...hmphh; not the battery, so I tried starting it again. No joy/same deal with no crank, no clicks like you'd hear from a weak battery; but I did notice the battery drained more than expected on the attempted start--leading me to believe the relay was fine, must be short in the starter motor. A quick voltage check on the starter motor confirmed this: have someone try starting the engine while you get a reading off the control wire into the starter--the smaller black wire on the starter that can be pulled off/spade connection. The starter motor is right below the positive side of the battery on the transmission block, you can get to it from above or from below, or a combination. It is tight in there, you'll need to wrestle between the hoses going to the radiator, and the air intake/filter plastic duct (I highly recommend removing them, we didn't and it was annoying/knuckle scraping).
Once you know you're getting an electrical signal to the starter, you know it's gotta be pulled and replaced--or repaired, but I didn't have time for rebuilding the starter. So, to pull the starter:
First, remove the 2 plastic covers over the engine/oil filler (four 10mm bolts, and two 90 degrees turns of a regular screw driver).
Second, remove the starter control wire--it's the smallest wire attached to it, the black one--it just pulls off/spade fitting with a rubber cover. Once that's out of the way, get a 12mm 1/4" socket with 1/4" drive, and undo the bigger wire that connects the starter to the positive battery post; it has a rubber cover over it. Undo that nut, and pull off the wire loop fitting. Note: you want to remove the rubber covered 12mm nut (the one that isn't covered you can leave attached/comes off with the starter assembly intact).
Next, get underneath the car, and undo the skinny long 8mm bolt that connects the starter motor cylinder to the starter bracket--pull it out, freeing the metal wiring bracket, then replace/screw back in that same bolt (you just want the bracket freed, so the starter can be pulled out). Now for the two 17mm bolts that hold the starter to the engine/tranny block: Get a 17mm 3.8" or 1/2" socket with about a 4 inch extension, and use your longest 3/8" or 1/2" drive for leverage--in fact, I used a pipe for extension. "Break the seal" (sort of speak), by loosening the two 17mm bolts about 1/8 of a turn, then you can use your hands to get them off the rest of the way. Note--the long bolt is on the bottom. Only those two 17mm socket bolts hold the entire starter assembly, so if it's stuck still tap/knock it a couple of times with a maller or hammer/wood block to free it, then the whole thing pops out, and you can pull it up and out. Congrats, halfway done. Now shop for one...
We took it to the local Autozone parts store, where they had a replacement in stock with a lifetime warranty, $119.95 with trading your old starter assembly in (they call it "the Core", and give you $42 credit by trading it in). You can check online to see if they have it in stock at your store/very easy. They tested it on their bench in the back for us at our request, the starter failed each of the tests and didn't even crank, so I believe the coils fused/overheated finally--but that's just a guess (in fact, I wonder if any part ever "passes"--they'd never sell anything...but I believe the starter truly was toast--heard a charge being applied to the motor and it didn't move). I may have paid a little more than necessary: I did find some nice Bosch refurbished ones online for less, $113 delivered; also, there were some junkyards with some for about $45, but I wanted this to be the last time I replaced this thing, and dropped a little more money. Your call, I needed my car up and running that day.
Assembly was everything in reverse--the two 17mm bolts (remember, bottom one is the long one), then remount the bracket onto the 8mm bolt on the underside (ours came with another bracket, we kept the old one and remounted it), then attach the thick wire with the 12mm nut (be patient, not much room for fingers here to get the nut on, and the rubber cover is always in the way--always in the way; perhaps take some duct tape and tape it out of the way temporarily), Finally, press the spade control wire on firmly and cover it with its rubber cover. Replace the 2 plastic covers over the engine/oil filler (two 90 degrees turns of a regular screw driver, and four 10mm bolts).
Done. Total time, with one helper, first time ever to do it--2.5 hours to remove, 1 hour to replace. Good for another 100k miles.
No comments:
Post a Comment