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DIY: Starter Replacement...Finally!!!

274K views 265 replies 123 participants last post by  fjkayaker 
#1 ·
So ever since I have been having issues starting my car on the first try I have been in search of a DIY to replace the Starter in my 04 330CI. After only finding threads talking about dropping the Transmission or removing the Intake Manifold I was almost ready to take it into the shop. I finally came across some very vague instruction on the process to get to the Starter, I decided to tackle this one. Knowing how helpless I felt without a good DIY I decided to make one for us. Now keep in mind I'm not a Mechanic or E46 expert, but I do love working on my car. If your car has a Manual Transmission or is an XI things might look a little different under the car. This is how I changed my Starter on my 330CI with an Automatic Transmission so use this as a guide but not repair manual.

I just want to take a second to give a shout out to you guys on E46Fanatics and Bimmerfest that got my pointing in the right direction. I hope Paraklas doesn't mind I stole a couple of his pictures as I forgot to take them. Thanks they helped a ton too.

Now lets get started:

Step 1:
Park the car on solid level ground with the E brake full applied. Having some blocks of wood behind the rear wheels to stop the car from rolling when you jack it up. Go ahead and disconnect the battery, don't worry E46 radio do not need any code to reactivate them. I disconnected the negative cable and just tucked it under the carpet.

Step 2:
Remove the Cabin Air Filter Cover buy turning the three plastic clips 90o CCW. They just pop out with a spring, don't worry they wont fall off the cover. Its a good idea to lay things out as you pull them off so you can keep track of what you took off.



Step 3:
Pull out the Cabin Air Filter, it just sits inside there so pull it forward and up.



Step 4:
Remove the Cabin Air Filter Housing. Using a T30 Torx bit remove the 4 gold screws. These screws will stay in the holes so only undo them enough for the Housing to pull out.



Step 5:
Pull the weather stripping from the drivers side corner of the engine bay. This goes around the Brake Reservoir. You can also slide off the two hoses that pass through with the rubber grommets. Just watch the little plastic tabs between here that hold the weather stripping as the break off easy.



Step 6:
Turn this plastic clip 90o CCW, this will free the plastic guard that goes around the Brake Reservoir. The guard has three tabs on the bottom that hold it in places so just pull up. you have to fight with it to get it right out, but it will come. I flexed the bigger hose a lot to get this out to the point where it leaked out air. So don't worry if you hear air, just don't break the hose.



Step 7:
Remove the cover to the Blower Motor (the one that blows AC and heat into the car) This will give you more room to work behind the engine. Two T30 Torx screws.



Step 8:
Standing on the driver side of the car and looking down in the area where you just removed all these parts you will see the Four Heater Core Hoses. I took a long tywrap and tied them out of the way. This should give you enough room to see the two mounting bolts for the starter. You wont be able to see the starter very well from here. The yellow line shows where the Return Fuel line was tywraped to the black holder. This holder is mounted using one of the E12 Torx bolts for the Starter. The green lines show the two E12 Torx bolts for the Starter. The blue line points to the front of the car.

 
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#119 ·
I ended up taking the complete intake manifold off to get to the starter on my 2000 (standard) 323i. It was much easier, but I did run into one issue. On my car the starter bolt that was closest to drivers side was actually a E14 and not E12 like the other starter bolt. Once I figured out that it was a different bolt it was fairly easy to get out with the proper tools.

I got a Craftsman 3/8 in. Drive Full Polish Offset Flex Head Quick Release Teardrop Ratchet with a E14 socket. Overall the job was not nearly as hard as I first though. Just go one step at a time take pictures and label the wires as you go so it can all go back the same way.
 
#120 ·
You've really bitten off much more than most others advise. The manifold removal is supposed to be extremely nasty. Do you confirm that?

And If I were going to do the manifold, I think I'd not want to face that again. I'd throw in new knock sensors and new plastic coolant lines that sit under the manifold. And unless you'd recently done the full CVV replacement, I'd think about that. I guess you could really go crazy replacing stuff there just to be sure!
 
#123 · (Edited)
I replaced my car starter last weekend on a 2004 330xi automatic transmission all from above without removing intake manifold, total work of 7 hours. It's a very difficult job but it's doable and require a lot of patient.
I will post some pictures soon. Followed this DIY and other Forums. Thanks to all who provided feedback and hints.

:) thanks
 
#124 ·
I did this DIY starter motor on my 2003 320ci manual tranny last month and everything went smooth and well. Took me about 8 hrs to complete the job but can be much longer if I didnt read this DIY beforehand. So thanks to whoever have done this comprehensive picture and step-by-step pics.
Be patient and have the correct tools you'll get the job done with no dramas.
 
#126 ·
Nevermind, got it 2 minutes after posting that... haha. For others reading this in the future:

-Don't even bother trying this unless you get a flex head ratchetting wrench. It's worth whatever you have to pay. I can't believe some of you did it without. You're machines.
-On the XI no way the starter comes out the bottom. I still opened the bottom as you need to free that Vac canister and also for wiring/maneuvering the starter. I pulled the top of the air box and upper intake boot/MAF/Vac lines (broke the F connector of course). You have to jimmy it around the brake reservoir area down below, past all the heating hoses, then you can get it up.

What a PITA. Worst thing I've ever done in my life. My hands hurt soooooo bad. I have giant hands, and am a mechanical n00b though and could still do it, so anyone can... says the guy who still has to hook up the power wires and test it... haha.

I also love how most replacements are quite a bit longer... you know, since there is so much room to work with to start off.
 
#128 ·
Just did this today on my wife's 330cic. It went EXACTLY as newtuner wrote.
:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

From a teacher's point of view, you nailed it!!! You should get a job writing textbooks. BTW, if anyone reading this tries to do this, make sure you have plenty of Advil, or beer around... your hands are gonna hurt like hell.
 
#129 ·
your hands are gonna hurt like hell.
They have been THROBBING all night! I wish I had the time to finish up the job today before the pain set in :rofl:

Can anyone confirm the wiring? I read a post that seemed exactly opposite of what I thought. Yellow striped wire sits just counter clockwise of the big positive terminal (I think up when the starter is installed) and the plain black wire is just clockwise of the positive terminal (down when the starter is installed).
 
#131 ·
Thanks! Had hit right. Phew. The problem was the + post on the new starter wasn't high enough and the large + connection was touching where the yellow wire goes, firing the starter as soon as the battery was hooked up. Put a nut on to space things up, and now it works, but about 1 in ever 4 starts I get a bit of a whirring/clicking, almost as if the starter isn't fully disengaged? Any tips? The thought of pulling it again makes me want to cry. Can I just leave it? It doesn't sound overly violent and usually only lasts a couple minutes. Unless there is something else I could have screwed up, but mechanically this repair is straightforward, its just a b*tch.
 
#132 ·
One last question for you guys (thanks again for all the help!). I realized I forgot to clip the fuel return line or whatever that is back onto the bracket on the starter bolt. Is this a big deal? Should I be getting back in there to clip it back on, or will it be ok?

As for my other issue, the last 3 starts have been totally fine. Weird. Fingers crossed, but would still appreciate input on that one as I'm sure I'll hear it again.
 
#133 ·
Unfortunately I'd want to see that line clipped in properly.
Unintended consequences of an unrestrained line can be the abrading of the line over time to the point of failure. Peace of mind dictates that it be fastened correctly.
How difficult would it be to tighten it in?
 
#144 ·
Well,,, it actually wasn't that bad. It's a horror only in the sense that I had to remove the intake just to swap the starter, where on every other car I have worked on, the starter is a straight shot. But honestly its not too bad. There is one bolt on the bottom of the intake that has to be removed blind and it took a good solid hour just to locate it, but other than that pretty straight forward. Once its all out it looks overwhelming with all of the vacuum hoses and electrical connectors but putting it back together isn't difficult because they all have a pretty logical and obvious place to connect, and I am no expert.

I definitely do not regret it. I have a deeper appreciation for my car, for the reason being that I know it better. It may sound funny but with a BMW I think it is a bonding experience. I also gained more mechanical confidence, and in fact I would do it that way again if I had the time. It gave me an opportunity to have a better understanding of how it is built and how it functions. I didn't really replace anything proactively, basically because I needed to get it done ASAP, and I am not knowledgeable enough to know what to replace without researching. I replaced a couple of vacuum hoses that were pretty deteriorated but thats it.
The mileage was around 70,000 at the time.
 
#145 ·
How did you guys get off the 8mm bolt on the starter solenoid? I do not want to remove my intake manifold, but the 8mm bolt is located on the passenger side of the solenoid and I'm having a hard time reaching it with a box wrench
 
#147 ·
Really helpful thread! Thanks much to all who contributed. I just finished mine. I have an 04 ZHP coupe with 6mt and after getting my courage up reading thru this, pulled the airbox, cabin filter assy, and water hoses to find a clear look at both starter bolts. Still a tough reach but with a 3/8" swivel head ratchet for the starter bolts and a few others for the electrical connections, it was loose. I snaked it out under the intake, past the throttle body and over the alternator. Never went under the car. Took a few (5!) hours but the new one is in and the car is back in service :) Could probably do this in two hours if i had to now. Thanks again averybody!
 
#149 ·
Good! One last comment was that since I has pulled the heater hoses, I had to bleed the cooling system. But... the heater hoses are connected high on the firewall, likely they nor the heater core lost much because when I removed the bleed screw, i heard some minor gurgling but found the coolant level to be just fine. I did go ahead and fill until the bleed screw hole ran without bubbles but that only took about a half-pint of distilled water. I let it idle for 20 or so minutes... no temp issue. Then I drove a good 30 minutes or so (showing off my new starter :))... no issue. My only message here is that it caused no heartache to pull those hoses and it really clarified the view. Man I am glad to have my car back!
 
#150 ·
First of i wanted to say thanks to everyone that has contributed to this DIY. Recently my car has been giving me problems and wont start. Turned key and nothing, no click but have all the power and good battery. Hooked up Pheake tool and got 27A4 code. Its calling out the DME interface so before i send the car to the stealership i am going to change the starter out first. Car is s 6 speed and when i went to go push start it nothing? But then ill let the car sit for an hour and starts right up? At this point im really confused so if anyone can help i appreciate it.
 
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