Yesterday, I finally purchased a new starter (first mistake). I then went out to pull out the old starter. After removing the metal plate that protects the front differential, I could see the starter bolts. It looked a little tight.
After taking off the front differntial drive shaft, I attempted to remove the 3 bolts that hold the starter on. After some strenuous efort I got the lower bolt off.
However, the scond bolt proved to be so stubborn I decided to take another approach. There is a large cable assembly the runs right in front of the second bolt and so I used a angle bracket on my wratchet to get at it better (second mistake). Well, I did not have enough pressure on the wrench and so I stripped the bolt (slightly).
After fretting a bit and looking at it for a while, I realized that even if I got the bolts off, there was no way I could pull out the starter. There are two obstacles, the front differential and the engine heat shield that covers the starter. I have no way of removing the front differential (3 strikes and I'm out). So, I'll be taking it to a pro. This is the first time I've been beaten. Yes I'm very depressed. I wish I had a car lift... I could do it all then.
Lessons learned:
1) Buy a manual first. You'll learn what the real dissassembly instructions are and there by know what you'll get into before you actually get into it.
2) Don't buy the new starter, until you get the old one out. Now I have to take the new starter to the mechanic and then get the core from them to get my core rebate... more work.
