Removing starter motor on lowered bays

[philstar]

It is not possible for me to remove the top starter motor bolt (the long one that double as the engine bolt) without levering the gearbox down to provide enough clearance for the bolt head, can anyone explain why this is?

Is this crossmember above the gearbox original?

Looking directly through the bolt hole you can see where the angle of the crossmember fouls the entrance

 

[Happystamps]

Are you using a Hexagon-head bolt or a D-bolt? They swapped over to a D-shaped fella that might be easier to get in.

 

[philstar]

Yeah it's the correct D-bolt that I'm using. Is the gearbox mounted too high?

 

[Clem]

Unless youve have an engine/gearbox raise then lowering shouldnt affect the starter bolt.

 

[DubBGood2Me]

Early Bays don't have a crossmember that supports the gearbox do they?

 

[Guest]

looks like they lowered it and fitted a late box bolting it to an added cross member?. Earlybay gear boxes don't have a top mount, can you give us a bit more info on the gearbox? the code etc? its possibly a 6 rib 2L box.

earlybay...

latebay box in an earlybay... you dont need the top mounts

someone else with a latebay box

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=39720

i think your going to have to unbolt it at the top to let it drop to get at it. should be easy enough.

 

[philstar]

So 6 years on and I'm having the same trouble again, can't get the starter motor out. Googled it, and my own post comes up!

Only thing is, now my engine is in as well as my gearbox, so I can lower the gearbox separately.

The gearbox code is missing so I'm not sure of its origin, all I can see is the part number. Some photos:

So am I right in thinking I can undo the gearbox top mounts and not put them back in? Is the moustache bar all that is needed for an early bay?

What is the easiest way of lowering the engine and box together—can I simply undo the moustache bar to give me the 10mm of play I need to get the d-bolt out?

 

[ozziedog]

It’s an 002 gearbox which insinuates that it’s from a1600 type 1 bay window motor but the ears were standard on these boxes after 75 I think so I’m guessing it’s a late bay1600 box and you shouldn’t need the ears unless anything else has been changed. They ran this set up virtually right through the whole bay window range but most liked the 1700 and 2000 motors when they came out. If it was me, I’d pop a jack under the box and another under the motor and pop them earhole bolts out then gradually lower the jacks. I’m willing to bet it don’t drop more than twenty mill, then have a good look at every little thing like your shaft angles etc. Then get the jacks out completely while you’re stood out from under and give the van a good rock from side to side, then get the jacks under again but not more than almost touching but make sure it is safe then wiggle it again. Do what you need to do with your starter then either run it like the rest of us or nail back up by the ears.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,nice colours tooooo.

 

[philstar]

Brill thanks for the swift advice @ozziedog !

 

[philstar]

So it turns out I cant remove the bolts holding the top of the gearbox—I can get the nuts off, but the bolts appear to be in some kind of box section. I'm not sure this is standard so I've taken some photos:

Above the gearbox facing the rear of the vehicle, nearside. Here you can see the starter motor, and the d-bolt over on the far side, but it cannot come out because it hits the lower left corner of the box section in this photo. Is this a custom brace?

Above the gearbox facing the rear of the vehicle, offside. Here you can see the d-bolt and where it clips the box section. The d-bolt doesn't seem to be rotated correctly, I'm not sure even doing this would give enough clearance. I can't grip it to rotate it anyhow.

Behind the offside rear wheel, looking in past the heat exchanger at the starter motor and gearbox mounting.

I have a sinking feeling that I'm going to have to pull the engine, then drop the 'box, then amend this box section so the d-bolt clears it. Unless someone has a better idea...

 

[philstar]

The brace unbolts! I have managed to undo all but one of the bolts to get it out of the way enough to remove the starter motor I now need to remove the final gearbox top nut so I can withdraw the brace completely and either scrap it or modify it so it clears the starter.

 

[philstar]

Not a bad bit of work, it just needs some fine-tuning. Came out with a little persuasion from the angle grinder but managed to keep it in one piece so I can repair it if I ever want to put it back in. I've got a feeling the accelerator hole was slightly out of alignment too, so removing this should smooth the cable action as well:

Great news, the starter motor is a Bosch item so I'll take it to be rebuilt tomorrow!

 

[ozziedog]

Blimey, this has turned into a bit of a saga . But it’s out, I’m gonna go and have a pint and drink to that tonight.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,I’ll have a pint anyway

 

[naskeet]

That's one of the advantages of having an engine starting handle on a 1968~79 VW Type 2!

 

[philstar]

What a fantastic idea!

Bosch starter motor was rebuilt today, ready to go back on tomorrow lunchtime—£60+VAT for those wondering.

 

[Donegal72]

Where'd you get the starter motor rebuilt?

 

[philstar]

Auto-electrics in Redditch (website link) I've been going to them for about 20 years with all my alternators and starter motors. Really good service from Steve their expert in that area.