Starter motor replacement - Mini Cooper S

[HealeyPilot]

Hi,

I need to replace my starter (only seems to grab 1 in 4 tries).

My manual says "...remove cable and 3 retaining bolts and remove".

I think there are a few more steps involved. It looks like I need to remove the grill and fold down the oil cooler to get access. Is this right?

Any process help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

-Rob

 

[Kensai]

Not sure of the procedure for removing the starter on a Cooper S as my Elf seems to have a few less components in the way than your Mini.

I would suggest going through and lubing the shaft and the inside of the movable gear of the starter you have before replacing it. The starter on my Elf used to have the same problem, where the gear was not engaging the flywheel every time, and a quick lube of the movable starter components fixed it right up. Might be worth a try before handing over the money for a new starter. May be instructions in your manual but if not it's a pretty straightforward job if you're good with a wrench.

 

[HealeyPilot]

Thanks Kensei.

I'll give it a try.

-Rob

 

[dklawson]

As a point here, once you get it out, you can clean the commutator, blow out the dust, lube the bearings... but you are not supposed to lube a Bendix unit. The oil/grease applied tends to attract dirt that gums up the forward motion of the Bendix when you engage the starter. There are two camps on lubing a Bendix: 1) leave it dry, 2) apply powdered graphite or moly powder. I'm in camp #2.

Regarding the removal process, my -S is early and originally had the vertical oil cooler and now has none. The process will be much easier without the grill. However, I remember the starter having two bolts, not three.

Before pulling the starter, when you say it isn't working, what IS it doing? Do you hear the solenoid pull in? Is the starter motor spinning but not engaging the ring gear?