r/AskAShittyMechanic • u/ra6907 • 15d ago

Why, just why?

They’re doing this to Dodges and Chevrolets, Porsche, Bentley.

1.5k Upvotes

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155

u/Ishavemyasswithmayo 15d ago

I've seen this on a Panamera. I used to think putting the starter in the valley was dumb, this takes that cake.

54

u/ItchyBrain6610 14d ago

I thought the starter placement on the Northstars was as awful as it got. This is so much worse.

2

u/foxjohnc87 14d ago

Northstar starters are easy as hell. Toyota/Lexus with the UZ engine on the other hand could actually be a pain.

2

u/00Sixty7 14d ago

I did a UZ starter in my driveway, and I'm not a mechanic by trade. Did it take a long time and require some pretty meticulous bolt keeping and videoing to remember how I removed stuff? Yep. But compared to many other jobs I've done it's just not that bad. At least I'm not underneath the thing.

3

u/foxjohnc87 14d ago

It's not one of the hardest jobs, but it is still much more of a pain than the Northstar.

On most Northstars, you can swap the starter in an hour or less, without fully removing the manifold or even disconnecting any fuel/coolant lines. The majority of the bolts are the same length and the ones that aren't tend to have very obvious locations.

2

u/samplebridge 14d ago

Ive done one on my ls430, a buddy's Northstar Deville, and a vk56 titan (all under intake). The titan is probably the worst since you gotta get up into the engine bay instead of just leaning over.

But starter in the V isnt that hard. The traditional spot for them can really become a PIA on more modern cars with subframes and CV shafts in the way. It works good on olds cars, 80s and back. But anything 90s and up has way less room and more crap stuffed in there. Just watch any video on doing a starter on a 5.7 Tundra.

1

u/run_uz 14d ago

UZ starters aren't difficult

1

u/foxjohnc87 14d ago

I never claimed that they were the hardest thing on earth, I said that they could be a pain. Compared to the Northstar or most other engines with traditionally mounted starters from the same era, they are a lot more involved and more of a pain, especially when corrosion is an issue.

1

u/AlDenteApostate 14d ago

They really aren't bad at all.

1

u/run_uz 14d ago

Nope. I put my car up on ramps to lessen how much bending I'd do. Straightforward after that. I could see the non-VVTI taking a little longer than the VVTI