MK 3 16v, did not start this morning, poss starter motor?

[blop]

Hi all,

tried to leave for work today and my car would not start,  ,  a mechanic that had done some work recently said the starter motor was on its way out but it was not worth changing until necessary. I think as it refused to start that its finally packed in....so my question is:

how can i make sure its is 100% the starter motor at fault?

i heard i can wack it with a hammer to get it to start? Will a block of wood do? IF so what does it look like and where can i find it?

Can it be replaced without jacking the car as i dont have any special car tools...

cheers all

[Dizzie]

does the car turn over at all, or try to turn over? are you 100% sure the battery has enough charge in it to start the car?

It's usually the solenoid that sticks on them. that's the smaller part on the top. hit that with a block of wood/hammer.

The starter motor looks like this

it'll be bolted to the gearbox with 2 17mm bolts which go through the 'box into the engine mount.

to change it you will need to support the engine with a jack. remove the battery positive, followed by the 13mm nut that holds the large cable off the battery to the starter motor. there is also a smaller cable (red/black) that is the cranking wire. remove this. it's usually clipped on. Then remove the 2 17mm long bolts. The starter motor should pull free now. The engine may drop slightly when you remove the 2 17mm bolts and may require raising and lowering to get the engine mount bracket to line up with the starter motor when refitting

it's an easy job. I did mine in 10 mins in the dark tonight 

[yabbie]

Turn it on get someone to push you while you are in first or reverse and just let the clutch up and it should start lol ps check your battery make sure its got the right charge

[tommk3cab]

try second!   first is too low a ratio