here'* the deal, right now as this very moment, i have the starter unhooked and have the bolts removed, now i need to find a way of taking it out...preferrably without removing the exhaust manifold...any suggestions? thanx

On our 90 it comes out the bottom by removing the plate over the a/c (on passenger side) and gently wiggling and rotating mine could move to the passenger side far enough for the snout to slip out of the bellhousing.

So slide to the left (passenger side) and ->up<- with the rear of the starter until the nose is free, then straight down with the starter. Have a block ready to set the starter on while disconnecting the wires from the solenoid - not a good to hang the starter by them.

thanks for the help, i ended up having to loosen the exhaust manifold b/c it couldn't just drop straight down, on mine there'* a sheet metal pan thing welded across the whole bottom. and now...my problem is that it doesn't start, i think it might be that it'* got half a tank of gas that'* at least 10 mos. old, and i'll fill it w/ new stuff tomorrow, but if that doesn't work then i'll check the plugs. when i squirt some ether into the intake it starts right up and runs fine. do u know of anything else that might cause it not to start up?

If you know it'* not starting because of lack of fuel, start by checking fuel pressure at the rail. Probably fuel filter, maybe pump. Pressure readings will tell us a lot more.

Have heard that some cars make it hard to drop the starter. On out 90 the starter is visible under the bumper and just drops right out, only "pan" is a short one below the a/c compressor that has three screws holding it in. Are others different ?

Mine is exactly the same. There is that plate just under the A/C compressor, which is not even close to the starter. If you go under the car, the starter is right there on the front of the engine, and right by the front fascia in the center. If you attack it from on top of the engine, you would probably have to remove the header.. worthless, because the starter is easily acessable from the bottom.


-justin

I changed teh starter on my '87 bonnie this summer. Yes it is impossible (as far as i can tell) to remove it without loosening the manifold and pulling it out at least a half inch or so (the more the better). Fortunately i made it work without any problems other than aggravation! Haha hope you fix er.
mike diaz