Re: Wanted: Starter and advise (archive)

Dion, I had the same symptoms on mine. You don't need to replace the whole starter. The likely culprit is the starter gear. There is a built in clutch on the gear the starts to slip over time. This caused the starter to spin and not engage the flywheel. I went through about 4 removals of the starter, plus a different used starter before I figured it out. I can now pull the starter from my car in about 15 minutes :)
The wrench that you need to use to remove the 2 bolts for the starter is in your toolkit. It's a 17mm I believe. If it's not in there go to Sears or wherever and get a combination wrench and cut it short. It needs to fit on the bolt and still clear the aluminum intake horn on #6 cylinder.
e-mail me privately if you have any more ?'s.
Sheldon

My starter is showing symptoms of falure (sometimes it engages when I turn the key, sometimes I just hear it spin freely). Anyone got one for sale? Also, if you have replaced one before, any tips or gotchas you could share?

Thanks for any help.

Dion
88 Black on Black M5

Follow Ups:

[ Follow Ups ] [ M5 (E28) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.