Re: Mercruiser 170 starter removal HELP PLEASE
...I didn't try to squeeze it out of there yet because I can't get one of the wires off the solenoid. Then it got dark so I've quit for the day. I'll try to get it out of there tomorrow....
Terry -
I just got my starter offically off and OUT. I managed to get that troublesome 5/16" nut off the yellow-wire terminal on the solenoid and then I was ready to try to slide the starter out of there between the heat exchanger and the hoses.
It went pretty easily enough. Ya have to twist it a bit at times and move the hoses over it as it comes out, but it does fit thru there okay.
I do have a question for you. You seem knowledgable regarding the wiring. I have one white wire with a green stripe that has a terminal end on it and is just hanging down loose. It comes out of the same harness that feeds the water cooled voltage regulator and also the slave solenoid. Any idea what that's for?
I also note the black wire -- which I believe goes to that switch that comes into play when you're shifting from forward to reverse (I forget what it's called but it seems that it cuts the engine off momentarily?) -- has been cut and the end taped over. The black wire on that switch is also cut and taped, so I guess somebody thought that switch wasn't important or just chose to bypass it for some reason.
BTW, the reasons I wanted to take the starter out are twofold: 1) To make sure there was nothing going on there that would account for my "stuck" engine, and 2) To see if I could maybe get a pry bar into there and perhaps gently pry on a flywheel tooth to try to break the engine free.
Without breaking a flywheel tooth, that is.
I did get a pretty good purchase on that aspect of the matter. I "schooshed" the bar pretty firmly (but gently) a few times to see if the engine would break loose, but no good. I've determined that pistons 4 & 1 are not yet quite at TDC, so I tried my schoosing in a clockwise direction such that the stuck piston (#4) would go down and into a (hopefully) non-corroded area of the cylinder wall. But to no avail.
So my next step is to remove the harmonic balancer, just to make sure there's nothing stuck there. Then I'll also likely drain the engine oil (I think that's okay but why not do it anyway) just to make sure something's not stuck down below, then I'll make some sort of plywood-insert-protection for the top of piston #4 and have my helper tap on that as I schoosh some more in the proper direction with the pry bar and see if we can't budge this puppy into some movement.
Any info you might have on that white/green-striped wire greatly appreciated.
getting the starter out of there between the hoses and exchanger, had to remove the bracket to get it out, once I got it loose. That is why I went with the smaller starter, no bracket and 10 min. to install.
