S14 Starter Trouble

[EatSleepDriftS13]

So I'm currently helping a friend remove his starter on his S14. I thought this would be super easy and quick since I have done this before on my S13 with ease. When removing the starter on an S13 with a manual trans the 2 starter bolts are fairly easy to remove and it takes no more than a few minutes. On my friends S14 with an automatic trans the top bolt is higher up and has all this crap in the way making removing the top bolt near impossible to remove! So I look in the FSM and it says to remove the the trans bracket, lower the trans, pull out the ATF level gauge pipe, remove the connector bracket from the front mount bracket and remove the harness connector all to reach that damn bolt to remove the starter. Has anyone removed the starter from an S14 with an automatic trans another way? or is there no other alternative to this? I would really appreciate the help.

[EatSleepDriftS13]

Anyone?..........

[idlafie]

You can come in from underneath using a bunch of extension bars hooked together to unbolt the top starter bolt. You might have to use an air gun to break the top bolt loose though. That's how I was able to get my starter off to replace several coolant lines above the starter & below the intake manifold.

If you can squeeze your hand between the firewall & engine block around the area of the fuel pressure regulator, you might be able to use a long handled rachet to unbolt the top starter bolt. I didn't have much luck since I didn't have the right tool. You might want to try Harbor Freight for the rachet or the extension bars.

Good luck!!!

ID