Hello,

I'll precede this with a note that I'm frustrated today. I'm sure that what hair that hasn't turned loose today - has turned gray. How hard can it really be to remove my starter motor?

I've had a problem with getting my '95 (4.3 V6 4 Door 2WD) S-10 Blazer to start for the last 3-4 months - so it's literally sat since last November.

The last time I tried starting it - I had a fully charged battery, and nothing but half of a "Rrrr" - yet no start. So - I put jumper cables on the Dodge Ram, connect to the Blazer, and let it sit for about 15 minutes to charge... Try to start the Blazer - and again - no start. But I think there's a HUGE current draw because the cables gave a bit of smoke when I turned the key on the Blazer. (Yes - the cable were hooked up to the correct terminals)

Last week, I pulled, and had Auto Zone test the Battery and Alternator - and both come back as "ok"... so I figure then next thing to pull would be starter motor.

I've just learned that either (a) Chevy designers should be tortured.. or (b) my Hanes manual is about worthless...

It mentions removing brake brackets holding brake-pipes to the cross-member... Well, nothing is bolted to the cross-member (If I am looking at the right part under the Blazer) except for the rear end of the transmission...

Then removing the crossmember bolts. Really? Dropping the rear of the tranny? To remove the starter motor? Surely I'm missing something mystifyingly simple here.

It also talks about removing a transmission cooler lines bracket attached to the flywheel housing... Again - no bracket there... But - yes the cooler lines are in the way. Do I need to just pull the lines completely from the tranny and the cooler?

Then it mentions removing the solenoid wire & battery cable from underneath the Blazer... No access.

Remove starter bolts - well - this was the ONLY thing I was able to accomplish - and without any of the above prior directions.. but of course the starter motor.... won't drop... not enough room for it to swing down.

Folks... What Am I missing here? I'm sure it's simpler than I'm making it - but I just don't see how. Please... help....

Rex S.

 

My '95 factory service manual does state that the crossmember needs to be removed, a total of 6 bolts according to it. Not to be a dink, but are your cables all tight and corrosion free?

 

Thanks Chuck - no offense taken at all.

As far as I can tell - they are corrosion-free and tight.. at least on the battery end of things. I can't reach the top of the starter from underneath the Blazer or from the topside (hood) to check the starter end of the connections, though.

The battery connections had a pretty good layer of Vaseline on them from the last time I charged the battery - so that *may* have been where my "smoke" came from when I attempted to start with the jumper cables... I'll try wiping excess Vaseline off and re-connecting the battery tomorrow or Monday when I have light to work with.

Any idea as to what happens when I unbolt the crossmember? Does the tranny/engine pivot or shift down? Do I need to have a jack under it for support? I'm just really at a loss as to why the crossmember needs to be unbolted - since it's way at the tail-end of the transmission.

That brings into question - the tranny oil cooler lines... Hanes manual says to unbolt their retaining bracket from the flywheel housing. There is no such bracket on mine... So do I need to simply remove the tranny cooler lines altogether during this process? (and how much mess am I going to need to prepare for ? Does the tranny cooler hold volume when not running - or does it all go to the pan when not running?)

Thanks,
Rex S.

 

I've never actually had to remove my starter, just thought a factory manual is always better to go on. I crawled underneath mine and I can see what you're dealing with. Doesn't look fun. The only way I can see removing the solenoid wiring before the starter comes out is to maneuver a socket and extension onto the nut and slip a ratchet on in front of the starter and behind the engine mount. In the 4wd pickup section of my manual, it does say to remove the starter bolts first, then rotate to get at the solenoid wiring. It also states that you need to disconnect the engine and trans mounts and support the assembly. There is no mention of this in the Utility section though.
The manual states to remove the trans oil cooler line bracket, the brace rod to the flywheel housing and/or the lower flywheel housing "if necessary". I interpret this as saying not all vehicles will need all of this done, hence no bracket. I don't have one on mine either.
Not sure on the crossmember thing, this whole process seems like a bunch of bs. Someone here has to have swapped one of these out at some point in time.

 

Not sure if it is the same, but on my '95 4.3 4X4 Blazer the PO couldn't remove the starter, he tried on several occasions. When I went to pick it up he offered to help, two hours later we were all done.

We jacked up the right front corner and removed the tire - this was to get access to the wires at the back of the solenoid. Then we removed the starter mounting bolts and ran into the same problem you are having - no matter which way you maneuver the starter it will not come out.

Upon further inspection, we found that the lower part of the bell housing is removable, a PITA because of the two mounting brackets that attach to the engine block. I do not recall how many bolts there are that hold the bottom housing in place.

Once we had the lower bell housing section out of the way the rest of the job was easy.

 

Thanks 4pt9fiero,

That definitely gives me something to work with. I'll work on it Monday and see what I can do with it - as there is a mount bracket (really a bar) on either side of the transmission that goes up to the engine block.

Thanks,
Rex S.