I need to replace my starter, and I'd like to do it myself, so I'm wondering how big a PITA it's going to be to get the exhaust manifold off and back on while working in my garage with the car on jack stands.

Has anyone else done this themselves? What's your opinion?

2009 V8 Vantage 6mt

 

I don’t have first hand knowledge but this might be helpful

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w-PWI1vP2J8

 

I have not replaced the starter yet but I have upgraded the entire exhaust system on my car in my garage.

I have a 4.7L and the headers were kinda a PITA. You either need a variation of tools to reach the 8 nuts on the manifold in extremely tight spaces or you drop the subframe.

I tried first through the wheel liner access and then dropped the subframe. The starter is on your right (passenger US) side. Start is easy to remove and replace, its just the manifolds.

I have a video of the exhaust removal step by step that will help get access to the starter.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the responses, guys. I decided to do it, take my time, start taking everything apart and inspect the car as I go. The first thing I took off was the inner fender liner, and I immediately found this just aft of the right front wheel:

No nut. Meaning both cables weren't making good contact with each other. This may be the cause of the entire problem or it may just be a smaller issue that definitely needs to be addressed anyway.

Side note: shout out to HSM Precision for the jack bar system; it works great.

 

That would matter! I recommend a locking nut and slobering dielectric grease all over it to keep it from oxidizing.

 

Update: today, before beginning the onerous task of removing the exhaust manifold, I wanted to see if the issue I found was the main culprit. So, after ensuring the nice, new, zinc-plated, high-temp flange nut (size M8-1.25) is nice and tight on those main power terminals, I inspected every exposed wire I could find, removed and tested every relay in the under hood and rear hatch fuse boxes, and checked every blade fuse in the car with the intention of replacing absolutely anything that seemed suspect. All the fuses and relays were good. I found a couple random wires that had cracks in their insulation so I wrapped some electrical tape on them, even though it didn't look like they were grounding out or shorting to any other wires. I also found the rubber boot was pulled away from the nut on the starter's casing ground terminal, so I put it back on where it belongs.

I put the fender liner and undertray back on, took the tender off, hooked the battery back up, reset the windows, and hit the engine start. It fired right up, no hesitation at all. I tested the battery with the car running and got 13.9V, so the alternator is working (I'd prefer to see 14-14.5V, but it might just be my cheapo multimeter not reading correctly). Took the car for a 30-minute drive with five or six stops where I shut it off, and it started up perfectly each time. Also, a couple other electrical gremlins appear to be gone (like the Reverse gear indication coming on with a ding at random times while driving).

I'm reserving my judgement to say whether it's actually fixed until it proves itself to remain that way over the next week or so, but I'm optimistic. I'm going to let it sit overnight without the tender and see how it behaves in the morning. Fingers crossed.

If it stays fixed, I guess I'll just hold on to the new starter and alternator until I see problems arise with them in the future.

 

Glad it was a simple fix and good on you to do the work yourself! Keep us posted!

Edwin

 

i would be very, very suprised if the loose wire was not the root cause of all your electrical problems.

 

Welp, after a couple days of perfect starts and no electrical issues at all, I'm pretty confident in saying that missing nut was causing all of those problems.

I'll check it again in a few months just to make sure it hasn't backed off at all.

 

This is a very happy ending. Surprising how many times things seem gloomy only to find simple resolutions. Congrats! Great post

 

Thanks, I'm also thrilled with the outcome, because it means hours of maintenance I don't have to do now. And I have new, perfectly good parts I can store for a rainy day in case they fail for real.

 

Along the lines of faulty wiring causing issues... On my 06 DB9, I had a fuel rail sensor fail which I dutifully replaced. And then a pre-cat 02 sensor on the same bank, followed by both the replacement fuel rail sensor and both pre-cat 02 sensors...

So I pulled the LHS front wheel liner and took a look at the loom as it enters the ECU. The supports for the harness weren't doing the job and the harness was pulling down in the connectors. I redid the zip ties and provided supplemental support. The codes haven't come back (yet) so I'm going to declare this was the problem, but of course, I may need to go redo the harness connectors...

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I got distracted by finding (what I hope) is the problem!

 

Congrats…always nice to find an easy solution..guess I’ll be checking all the grounds I can find…just in case..lol

 

Little issues like that plague all hand-built cars. When I took my inner fender liner out I discovered that the side vents, which are functionally open to the elements, are about two inches from a control module (the BCM, I think) which does not have potted connectors on the bottom, meaning water can get in from the underside and potentially cause shorts between pins. If I had engineered this car I might have done that differently.

 

Regarding your battery voltage, I believe the alternator doesn't produce 14+V at idle. I messed around with slowing down my idle to reduce fuel consumption and IIRC at 750rpm it won't go past 13.9V. I'm only at 13.6V but I have a lithium titanate battery that charges way faster and more efficiently than lead acid.

Very happy to hear your fix to the starter worked though. With Tavarish's video, I think starter replacement is something everyone here is worried about haha.