1995 3000GT VR-4: Starter Replacement

• Why Do I Want To Do This?

  • If your car doesn't start reliably (or at all), then your starter could be the culprit. You probably want to check simpler, cheaper things first, like the battery, battery terminals, ignition switch, and clutch interlock switch. If you know all those things are ok, you may have a bad starter. If you have a bad starter, you can either rebuild/repair the one you have or buy a new one. I chose to buy a new one because I'd ruled out everything else as a cause of the problem and I wanted a guaranteed good part so I didn't have to mess with it anymore.




• How Often Should I Do This?

  • This is not "regular maintenance," so you only need to replace your starter if it goes bad. I replaced mine at 76,000 miles.




• How Long Will It Take Me To Do This?

  • If you don't have any problems with rusted bolts or other issues that complicate things, you should be able to pull this off in under an hour if you have the right tools.




• Anything I Should Do Prior To Attempting This Procedure?

  • Raise the front end of your car and safely support it. I used jack stands to support the car, but you could also use a lift or ramps. Whatever you do, BE SAFE! If the car falls off of its supports while you're under it, you probably won't live to tell the tale.




• What Mitsubishi Parts Will I Need?

  • (1) M309471D ($147.00 ea) Starter (Rebuilt)
  • (1) [optional] MB687002 ($5.50ea) Downpipe to Front Oxygen Sensor Housing Gasket
  • (1) [optional] MR323619 ($3.00ea) Downpipe to Rear Oxygen Sensor Housing Gasket
  • (1) [optional] MB687004 ($3.00ea) Downpipe to Catalytic Convertor Gasket




• What Other Parts Will I Need?

  • Anti-Sieze Compound




• Where Can I Get the Stuff To Do This?

  	Part	Company/Contact	Part Number
  	Downpipe to Front Oxygen Sensor Housing Gasket	Mike Deal at Rockville Mitsubishi	MB687002
  	Downpipe to Rear Oxygen Sensor Housing Gasket	Mike Deal at Rockville Mitsubishi	MR323619
  	Downpipe to Catalytic Convertor Gasket	Mike Deal at Rockville Mitsubishi	MB687004
  	Starter (Rebuilt)	Mike Deal at Rockville Mitsubishi	M309471D
  	Anti-Sieze Compound	Local Auto Parts Store	P/N





• What Tools May/Will I Need?

  • 10mm Wrench
  • 17mm Wrench
  • 12mm 3/8" Drive Socket
  • 12mm 3/8" Drive Deep Socket
  • 14mm 3/8" Drive Socket
  • 17mm 3/8" Drive Socket
  • 19mm 1/2" Drive Socket
  • 3" 3/8" Drive Extension
  • 9" 1/2" Drive Extension
  • 3/8" Drive Socket Wrench
  • 1/2" Drive Socket Wrench
  • 3/8" Drive Universal Joint

The Procedure

	Disconnect Negative Battery Terminal
	As with most service procedures involving your car's electrical system, you should disconnect the negative terminal of your battery for safety. However, unlike some other procedures, you really need to disconnect it for this procedure. You will be disconnecting a large (4ga) wire that is not fused and directly connected to your battery. With an unfused 4ga wire connected to your battery, you have enough amperage to meld/weld metal! Make sure you disconnect the negative terminal of your battery. The OEM terminals use 10mm nuts, and as you can see from the picture, I have wing-nut terminals for convenient disconnects.
	Remove Front Warm-up Catalytic Converter
	Depending on what downpipe setup you have on your car, you either need to remove the front warm-up catalytic converter or remove the whole downpipe. I had my ek2 Development warm-up cat replacement pipe installed, so I only removed that part. The gaskets listed above are the ones you'd need if you have all OEM parts on your car and need to remove the whole downpipe. Also, if your gaskets are in really good shape, you may not need to replace them.
	Remove Starter Heat Shield
	There are two 12mm bolts that fasten the heat shield for the starter. I got one of them with a 12mm deep socket and the other with a regular 12mm socket on a 3" extension bar.
	Disconnect Starter Solenoid Wire
	Disconnect the small black connector toward the front of the starter.
	Disconnect Main Starter Wire
	There's a 12mm nut that fastens the main starter power wire to the starter assembly. Again, just to be sure, check that the negative terminal of your battery is disconnected before you mess with this wire.
	Unbolt Starter
	There are two 14mm bolts that hold the starter to the engine. I found it much easier to use a universal joint to access these bolts, and I also used a cheater bar on my wrench to minimize the chance of bashing my knuckles when I first broke the bolts free. If you're having trouble locating these bolts, look at your replacement starter to see where the bolts attach to the starter.
	Compare Old And New Starters
	Compare the two starters to make sure they basically look the same and that the new one will bolt up to the car correctly. For the lower two rows, the old starter is on the right and the new one is on the left.
	Bolt Everything Back On
	There's nothing really special about bolting everything back on; it all goes back on just like it came off. The torque spec on the 14mm bolts for the starter is 65 ft*lbs. Also, you may want to put some anti-sieze compound on the studs for the downpipe before you put the nuts back on.
	Test New Starter
	Double-check everything to be sure that you haven't forgotten anything and that you don't have any leftover parts. Start the car and make sure everything works. I found that my rebuilt starter makes a bit more noise than my original OEM one, but it's been a couple of weeks and it seems to be working fine.