I ran into a strange issue while trying to replace the starter on my 1996 Sentra. I removed the 1 bolt that was easy to get at and after some hassle, finally got to where I could feel for the other one. There wasn't even one there. I could definitely feel the mounting hole, but nothing was in it. I tried to get the starter off, but it wouldn't budge. I tried prying on it, even tried a hammer, but it still didn't budge. I had the new one that looked identical and there were just the 2 holes for mounting there. Any ideas before I have to bite the bullet and take it to the garage and spend an extra hundred bucks?
1996 Sentra Starter Replacement
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Are you sure you found the right mounting hole ?wheels_99 said:
I suspect the bolt is still in there.The starter normally just falls down when the bolts are undone on the 2.0
Is this a 1.6 or 2.0 because they are different and it helps to know what you have. OPPS 96 Sentra should be 1.6 right.....
Good Luck....
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Should have one bolt on the side towards the front of the car(right against the motor) that comes out from the drivers side and the other one is the exact opposite. Make sure nothing is jammed up against it. I know when I did mine it was very difficult to manouver in there. If you get both bolts off it should only requiring and little shaking to break it loose. If you need anything more exact you can hit me up on AIM or send me a PM with some more exact info about it.wheels_99 said:
Mitch
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Unless he swapped it'd have to be a ga16de cuz they didn't make the SE-L's til 98 and he has a 96.IanH said:
sentra97gxe said:
Thanks Mitch! When you said the front bolt comes out the drivers side, it clicked right there. I've never heard of a starter having bolts on opposite sides before. I should have taken a closer look at the new starter and I could have realized by the threads on the one hole toward the front. Again, thanks for the help everyone - I'm now a happy dumbass :dumbass: who can avoid the garage!
-Brandon
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Hehe. I figured that was it which is why I made sure to explain it exactly. When I did my starter replacement it took me a bit to realize that. I was also very confused by it but that wasn't the first thing on my car to confuse me and wont be the last. Glad to have been able to help.wheels_99 said:
Mitch
Starter Replaced
Well, i changed the starter pretty easily and it works a ton better now. I had the old starter tested when i turned in the core and they thought it was a bearing gone in it. The thing now is that I am starting to hear what sounds like the beginnings of the same noises I was hearing before. It's pretty subtle, but sounds like a dull "slipping" or grinding (grinding sounds bad...this is very subtle right now). I'm wondering if something else "bigger" may be causing these issues... Any thoughts ?
Thanks...
Brandon
Well, i changed the starter pretty easily and it works a ton better now. I had the old starter tested when i turned in the core and they thought it was a bearing gone in it. The thing now is that I am starting to hear what sounds like the beginnings of the same noises I was hearing before. It's pretty subtle, but sounds like a dull "slipping" or grinding (grinding sounds bad...this is very subtle right now). I'm wondering if something else "bigger" may be causing these issues... Any thoughts ?
Thanks...
Brandon
Is this on a manual transmission? Is the clutch pushed in while this noise is happening? (not that my clutch interlock switch was tampered with). Before I did my clutch I would hear a similar noise on startup. I then found that it also did it with the engine running in neutral and pushing the clutch in. It was the throwout bearing in my case which I changed while doing the clutch. Obviously none of this to bearing stuff applies if you have an auto.
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Hmmm, well that could be many possibilities. Heres a few questions to help narrow it down. Is it only noticeable at idle or can you hear it all the time? Does it make the noise only while parked or while driving? Any idea where the noise is coming from? How long has this been going on? And how many miles does your car have? That should be enough for now. Answers those and if we can't help ya yet I'll throw in some more questions.wheels_99 said:
Mitch
The noise is only there when the engine is cranking over. It seems to be more noticeable at the beginning and end of when i let off the key. Once the car is running, it's fine - no noises at all. This noise had started a while back and I thought it was the starter then. It continued to get worse, then I had to eventually replace the starter and it sounded great after that. It wasn't long though (week maybe) and I started to hear this again. The car has ~107k miles on it.sentra97gxe said:
-Brandon
96 Sentra Starter Removal
Thanks Mitch! When you said the front bolt comes out the drivers side, it clicked right there. I've never heard of a starter having bolts on opposite sides before. I should have taken a closer look at the new starter and I could have realized by the threads on the one hole toward the front. Again, thanks for the help everyone - I'm now a happy dumbass :dumbass: who can avoid the garage!
-Brandon[/QUOTE
I was just about to do a starter replacement in my 96 Sentra when I came acoss this thread. Unfortunately, the upper bolt location didn't click with me because they are on "opposing" sides, not just opposite. But even with this correction, I still probably wouldn't have understood because you're right.... you don't usually come across this slightly odd mounting style.
So anyway, here's my attempt at clarification that may, or may not, help others who are about to undertake a starter replacement in a Fedral, 1996 Nissan Sentra GXE with auto transmission...
First, if you have a replacement starter in hand, you'll notice one of the two mounting holes is threaded and one is not. This is because the mounting bolt that's removed from UNDERNEATH the car simply slides through the starter and threads into the hole in the transmission bell housing (just like any starter would mount). The other mounting bolt, which gets removed from UNDER THE HOOD on the driver's side, works the opposite way. It slides through the bell housing and threads into the threaded hole in the starter. BTW... The battery's ground wire grounds to the bell housing with this same mounting bolt, so that's how you can find the upper starter bolt; just follow the ground wire.
REMOVAL...
1. From underneath the car, remove the oil filter (if you want to make starter removal easier). Also separate the starter's electrical plug, remove the battery's hot wire to the starter solinoid and loosen and remove the one starter mounting bolt you'll can see.
2. From UNDER THE HOOD on the driver's side, follow the battery ground to the bolt mounted on the bell housing (this is the other starter mounting bolt). Loosen and remove it. The starter should practically fall out of the bell housing once this bolt is removed.
3. From underneath the car, remove the old starter taking note of how you get it past all the BS.
4. Install new starter in the reverse order.
5. Tear up your Chilton's or Haynes manual because it is a total POS for not explaining this proceedure in depth.
I believe both mounting bolts were 14mm, and the solinoid nut was a 12mm, but I use Metrinch sockets and they overlap sizes, so your results may vary.
Let me know if this helps anyone! Dean:newbie:
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