DIY Starter Service - Not a Dime Spent - Pics Included
 

Some of you may recall my "does my starter need replacement..." thread from a while back. turns out it was indeed bad to the point where the grind disappeared and the motor did not turn when pressing START. I figured it had to be replaced or rebuilt so I set out to pull my own starter with the help of the DIY's on this great forum. the aim was to save on labour and spend that money on either a replacement or rebuilding my original one. A fellow owner had a spare from his previous 100k mile car but he wanted more than $250 :scratch: While the starter was out I figured let me open it and see what's up. Pics below:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...3f88570715.jpg
2000 model, about 127000 miles on the clock, original Denso unit.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...61baac8c2c.jpg
After taking her apart. Note all the dried up grease and residue in the spider gear housing. Starter cable was in surprisingly good nick.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...1925ead9d8.jpg
Armature (left) solenoid (right)

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...a94ad9f7b5.jpg
Closer shot of the bendix drive housing and its gears. It might look like the teeth of the left one is damaged but it was just the angle and flash in the shot. Fortunately they're all A OK.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...98fcd0b048.jpg
The culprit! Look at all that carbon build up/pieces of the brushes themselves?? This may have shorted out the armature or just caused enough resistance to prevent it from turning over properly.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...c30da88d79.jpg
After I cleaned it with electrical contact cleaner and a bit of carb spray to get all that stuff out.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...604bbdbf34.jpg
the brushes are all in one piece and look fine albeit worn. Based on this I wanted to get them replaced but could not find the correct original Denso brush set anywhere locally. the other important thing is the condition of the brushes' wires and those are clearly intact/fine.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...91078ff714.jpg
After the clean up and reassembly.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...1b0c13c011.jpg
fortunately I did not have to remove my alternator which proved quite difficult as the bottom bracket was pretty damn tight. I had to buy this 500mm long extension though. Was a lifesaver and is a must for this job!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...deeea680b4.jpg
Believe it or not I actually managed to get my starter in to its place through all these hoses! this is an RHD model so I had to remove my battery to get more clearance. With a lot of finessing, a bit of despondency on my part and convincing I finally got her into place. the main thing in the way eventually was the fuel return line which I thought I would never get around. Fortunately I managed to squeeze the starter passed it by pulling on the line itself until it gave a mm of clearance. Magic! I was concerned about the hoses but fortunately they're all high quality and still so tough (and the starter doesn't have sharp edges fortunately)! Thank you Honda!

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...b6a8ddb5cd.jpg
this universal joint was the clincher in this job. Glad I got it. I was surprised and pleased to find my top bolt was not there so it surely made the job a lot easier. I torqued everything down to 44nm (alternator and starter bolts) and that was that.

Other points:
A helpful YouTube video by 4Diyers was my guide to the repair of the starter. It showed me how to test the solenoid and armature with a multimeter to ensure the circuits were working. The armature contacts (on the smaller end that connects to the brushes) had to be resurfaced using sand paper and cleaned with electrical contact cleaner. Finally once I was satisfied with the readings I got, I gave everything a final clean - carb cleaner and a bit of aerosol engine cleaner for the gears and inside of the housing then I lubed it up with some engine oil and CV grease (all I had). I did not over do the lube though - just a light application. I did an "on the floor test" using the car's battery and she fired straight up!! Man was I thrilled :D It runs really fast, probably 2000 rpm and the sound the solenoid makes as it actuates the bendix drive's fork (solenoid pulls in pushing the fork and its gear outwards to connect with the flywheel) is loud/cool when you see and hear it up close like that.

My car fired up in one shot after the reinstall just like new and it was a cold morning AND the car stood parked for more than a week :wine:
My sincere hope now is that the starter continues working indefinitely or at least for a really long time without finally needing a replacement. I am impressed by the quality of this 18 year old Denso unit! Pity it got to this point but hey, it's one of those things after years and years of service. Hope this helps anyone with starter issues looking to save some $.

Nice. Thanks for the write up.

Yeah great job :)
Are you running without the top starter bolt now as well?

My pleasure :)

Thanks :D
Yes I am. It must have been left out during the previous clutch job or one of the clutch jobs somewhere along the car's history before I took ownership. I thought about getting a replacement bolt for the top but the more I looked at the hard angle to get into I figured leave it out.

Excellent work! This will surely help many.

Thank you! I will be so happy if it does :)

I haven't had a top starter bolt for years, the only downside is that it's easier to take out the starter.

Excellent post.

I think every good automotive work area should have a doily on the bench :p

Excellent post! I note you did not replace the brushes as you weren't able to source locally. Are these easy enough to purchase (a part number?). Also if the brushes were on hand do you think they'd be difficult to access in the housing?