Replacing starter on 85 MC SS

[Jeff L]

In the near future I am going to have to replace the starter. It is the original on a stock motor, drivetrain, exhaust.

I took a look under the car and it looks like the y pipe off the exhaust headers goes directly under the starter. On my car there does not seem to be enough space to remove the starter. Plus I noticed some kind of brace holding the back of it. Getting to all the bolts does not seem to be a problem.

I have done starters on Chevy V8’s with stock single exhaust systems and no issues.

So for future reference and to avoid a major undertaking, I have the following questions that will help me and maybe other forum members that might need to do the same to their car in the future:

Do you need to remove the y pipe that hooks to the catalytic converter?

Do you need to remove the brace at the back of the starter?

I have had bad experiences with old, original exhaust bolts. Soaking for weeks does not seem to ever help me! lol Plus I do not have the tools to handle those old bolts if they need to be taken off.

Thanks in advance for any info before I get into something “beyond my pay grade”. I have no issues taking it to a shop, especially if it involves more then just simply removing the two bolts and dropping the starter like the others I did in the past. Plus I am still dealing with my Dad passing away a few months ago and my mind is still not into the right mode for major car repairs. Again thanks for any tips and knowledge.

Jeff

 

[LukeZ]

I replaced my starter on Christmas, and I have the original manifolds and Y-pipe on my 86 305. The exhasut gets in the way but itll come out from the bottom. Its also sort of nice that the pipe is there because the starter can rest on it while you remove bolts and wires from the top side. And yes, the little brace needs to come off too

 

[Jeff L]

I replaced my starter on Christmas, and I have the original manifolds and Y-pipe on my 86 305. The exhasut gets in the way but itll come out from the bottom. Its also sort of nice that the pipe is there because the starter can rest on it while you remove bolts and wires from the top side. And yes, the little brace needs to come off too

Thank you for the info. I wanted to make sure before I got into it. Looks like I have my project set for next week! At least I do not have to deal with the exhaust! Thank goodness!

 

[ed1948]

It will come out once you get the angles figured out.

 

[oxide80]

Only starter I had that didnt fit by the Y pipe was a heavy duty marine grade. Standard slipped right by.

 

[pontiacgp]

Sorry to hear about your dad and I can understand it's hard to get motivated but the starter will be easier than you think. Just make sure you remove the battery cable before you start. Also the bracket at the back of the starter is missing in just about every car I have seen so if you want to skip putting that back on I wouldn't worry about that causing any problems. If you want to upgrade to smaller high torque starter the autozone part number 9990S which is the starter listed for a 2000 GM truck but will fit a SBC with a 168 flexplate. If you are wondering if you have a 168 or 153 the 168 have staggered bolt pattern, the 153 is straight. The bolts for the starter are at the dealer part number 12338064. If you do have the straight pattern bolts there is no GM mini for that application but you can find a powerhouse brand of a mini start at pep boys part number 9100 and that starter also uses the bolts I listed.

 

[Jeff L]

Sorry to hear about your dad and I can understand it's hard to get motivated but the starter will be easier than you think. Just make sure you remove the battery cable before you start. Also the bracket at the back of the starter is missing in just about every car I have seen so if you want to skip putting that back on I wouldn't worry about that causing any problems. If you want to upgrade to smaller high torque starter the autozone part number 9990S which is the starter listed for a 2000 GM truck but will fit a SBC with a 168 flexplate. If you are wonder if you have a 168 or 153 the 168 have staggered bolt pattern, the 153 is straight. The bolts for the starter are at the dealer part number 12338064. If you do have the straight pattern bolts there is no GM mini for that application but you can find a powerhouse brand of a mini start at pep boys part number 9100 and that starter also uses the bolts I listed.

Thank you so much. I bought a direct replacement starter a year ago when I bought a bunch of parts for future repairs. I was surprised to see that small back brace. First time I saw that. When I opened the new starter box I saw the stud and bolt at the end and thought “what the heck”? All the other car starters were two bolts and that was it. No braces, etc.

Thanks also for the parts info. I have seen videos of people putting in those small starters and never really knew what they were?

Take care and have a great day!

 

[ed1948]

Re: the starter brace. An ex GM mechanic of the G body era suggested that I install the bracket with the starter.

 

[Texas82GP]

If my car still had the starter brace I would make sure to put it back on.

 

[Jeff L]

Woke up at 5 am and put the new starter in. Took me awhile because I had to take breaks to give my back and neck a rest. Others were right about you had to turn it just right to drop it out. New one went in pretty easy once I hit that sweet spot and aligned the bolts. Hooking the wires and rear brace were no problem. Had to use some of my swivel socket attachments for some of the bolts. I was surprised being the original starter I did not have issues getting the 2 bolts loose.

New one in, sounds a lot more powerful(car starts right up, old one was taking a few seconds), and I never realized how bad the original was getting, just from the sound difference. The car was starting fine up to a month ago so I never thought the original was wearing out. Hell after 33 years of who knows how many starts it did its job.

Again thanks to all the help that made the job much easier. Appreciate it.

Time to go take some tylenol! Too early yet for a beer. Then again.......lol