Morris Minor Owners Club

My starter motor is broken, and I want to remove it to replace/repair. I have read the other posts that say to just undo the two bolts and power cable and it should just slide out.

I have done this, but it does not just slide out! Do you have to remove the distributor or something as well?

nothing else should be needed, just the bolt holding it to the housing and the wire and that's it.

assume you given it a good tap?

and if its failed is it still engaged on the ring? perhaps nudge the engine a little to help free it?

Its not stuck, I can move it an inch or so out, but not all the way because there are other things blocking it. I've been going crazy trying to wiggle it out, but I can't figure out how to do it!
I don't know much about them, how do I check to see if its still engaged on the ring?

It will come out - keep wiggling! In fact it should slide out easily - but it's just possible your dizzy is sitting incorrectly and blocking the starter - even so I would still have thought it could slide forwards and down. If it moves - it's not stuck on the flywheel.

I have read the other posts that say to just undo the two bolts and power cable and it should just slide out.

some wiggling is involved, but not as much as you've described. Have you completely removed the bolts? also it's worth to remove the cable from the starter rather than from the solenoid as that can get in the way (or remove it both ends). Be careful when removing the cable from the starter to ensure that the mounting stub doesn't rotate - this can damage the starter.
Unfortunately anything esle is hard to guess without looking at it. If you can move it an inch then it is normally ready to fall off, except that you need to guide the pinion bits away from the teeth on the flywheel.

I have completely removed the bolts, and the cable. I can move it out enough so I can see the bendix inside, but the pinion thingy is too long and is impossible to take out completely before the motor gets stuck. Do you move the starter up/down/left when you remove it?

On further examination, there is a big black cylinder thing (I think it must be a servo assist, but am not certain) that is probably causing the problem. Any idea how I could move this? I could post some pics if that would help!

Just had a thought. Is there some way you can remove the whole bendix attachment thingy easily? If that was removed, the starter would easily be able to come out.

If the 'big black thing' has brake pipes going to it and a rubber pipe which goes to the inlet manifold then yes, it is a servo. If it has not been
mounted as close to the offside as possible then it probably is blocking the removal of the starter. It has rigid brake pipes on it so it will not be simple to move it. Sounds like bad forward planning i'm afraid.

If you need to move it - just gently bend the steel pipes on the servo without kinking them ! No - it's not possible to remove the bendix in situ. Are you SURE the starter is broken and it's not bad connections/poor earths ?

I'll have a go at moving the servo tomorrow.

The starter makes a click, but does not turn. The first time this happened, I fixed it by turning the bolt on the end of the starter a bit. After that, it started fine a couple of times. It is just clicking again now, but turning the bolt no longer works. I think the connections are fine, however the washer from the bottom bolt seemed to be missing, which made the starter slightly loose. Could this have affected the earthing?

If your car is a later type with key switch solenoid I would also check that. I assumed a year or two back that the starter in mine had a problem because it would just click the solenoid most of the time when turning the key. After changing the motor it still did the same!

After replacing the solenoid it was cured. I assumed that because it was clicking it was working properly...

Thanks for that info. Any idea how I can test the solenoid? Will I have to bolt in the starter again?

to test bolt it back in put the lead back on and run a jump lead from the battery to the connection on the starter,positive terminal if you have negative earth,vise versa if positive earth.This isolates the solenoid,if the started spins the engine then is a solenoid or connection problem.Another way would be to short across the solenoid terminals with a large screw driver again this isolates the solanoid,but watch out for the sparkes. Use this method if you are unsure about positive or negative earth on the car.It does sound as if the servo is preventing the motor from comming out,they usually fall out once everything if free .good luck

I just tried shorting the solenoid, and nothing happened. There were not even any sparks. I also connected a jump lead from the battery to the starter, and nothing happened. How is the motor earthed. Could this be a problem?

I listened again to what is happening. There is a click when you turn the key, and another click when you release it. These seem to be coming from the solenoid, but it is hard to tell.

The starter's earthed by the two bolts that hold it to the engine back-plate. The engine is earthed to the body by an earth strap on the back of the gearbox.

You could try connecting a test lamp (spare sidelight/headlight bulb etc.) from the output connection of the solenoid to earth. If it lights up and the starter does nothing you know it's not the solenoid at fault. But you've already tried a jump lead straight onto the starter so it's not the solenoid.

Hooray! finally managed to remove the starter, after much swearing, hammering, moving the coil, and the servo (which was stuck in with about 11 rusty bolts). Not looking forward to putting it back in Thanks for ur help everyone!
Now I just need to fix it....