Hi my old starter motor has failed ,i have just recieved my new hi thorque replacement .Any tips please on removing the hard to get at second bolt holding on the starter motor .I was hopeing not to have to take off the bonnet and carbs to get at it .Thanks again Peter in Ireland

 

You can either spend hours turning a 1/2 inch stubby spanner a 1/8 turn at a time on the nut or you can string together several socket extension bars with a 1/2 socket on the end. The extensions then need to be fed in from over the top of the distributor and under the carbs until the socket engages on the nut. The ratchet can then be freely turned in the gap between the distributor and the radiator. Don't ask how many extensions I used but there were several. Even easier if you have one of these puppies.


Once the starter is free it comes out the bottom through a small gap between the chassis rail and sump. It is extremely heavy especially as most of the time you can only get control of it with one hand. Some have removed it by feeding it under the carbs and over the distributor but I found the distributor would have to be removed along with the radiator hose. Not sure this would work though on the 2.4 engine as the block is shorter and therefore there is less room under the carbs as they are lower.
Removing the bonnet is always a good idea when working at the rear of the engine bay so you are not lying over the wing trying to see down the back of the carbs. Another tip would be to remove the oil pressure sender from the top of the oil filter housing as this gets in the way. The new High Torque starter is so much lighter and therefore easier to manoeuvre when fitting.

 

I wish I could take credit for this ingenuity, first developed in the 50s . . . and apparently long since forgotten, despite being widespread on many Mk1 and Mk2 cars of the era . . . and, in particular, every Jaguar Appendix J racer of the day!

Here's how . . .

1. Stay away from upper engine bay . . . starter comes out from below;
2. Remove carpets from over bell housing;
3. Drill a pilot hole down through raised floor over bell housing;
4. Confirm orientation of hole from below;
5. Now, from above, use nibbler to cut a 3" hole from floor to align with starter nut. I used to have a floor template, but long gone;
6. For road cars, fashion an oversize metal cover plate to be retained with 3 pk screws . . . ignore for track cars;
7. Once re-installing, reverse the banana shaped captive twin bolt into bell housing so nuts are at rear;
8. I recall banana shaped linked bolts had to be modified in some way, but too long ago to recall how;
9. Simple task now to remove plate, use socket on bar and ratchet . . . nut off in 10 seconds flat!

Many a road car maybe so fitted, but who would know under the carpets.
Giveaway is orientation of N&B on starter.
On a cold road car, this mod gives a 15 minute starter R&R with barely dirty fingers and no loss of skin.
On a track car with super hot exhausts and sump, the pit crew could generally halve that time!

Hope this helps.
Cheers,

 

Problem with your hole in the floor is that it would take longer with more hassle to cut the hole and set this up than it would to remove the original nut. Different if the task you are cutting the hole for is one you need to do every week but once the high torque starter is fitted it should like mine sit there and work for years.
There was a similar Mod that XJ6 owners or at least their garages did to the boot floor to gain access to the rear inboard handbrake pads and to assist in bleeding the rear brakes. A hole was cut in the boot floor over the top of the rear diff then covered with a plate. Unseen under the carpet but gave access to a problem area.

 

there are many things much, much more difficult and frustrating to do than spending time turning a nut 1/8 of a turn with an open-end wrench for twnety minutes. at least you'll know that progress is being made and an end in sight. .

 

To each their own, and you are right about the time it takes to do the mod but, just as in the example you give of the XJ6 mod for brake pads, no starter will last forever and these mods (especially with the card template which I no longer have) were designed for return journeys that make the task a doddle.

Further reason the floor/starter mod was used so often in the day, was hinted in my post . . . cars driven to the shop, often had exhausts and underbellies that were as hot as blazes. Anything that saved groping around there also made for a quick turnaround repair . . . happy shop staff and happy customer.

My advice should perhaps be reviewed . . . so, if your Mk1, Mk2, 240, 340, S Type etc is just a flipper, then battle away with all the painstaking spanner thing . . . but, if it's a long-term keeper (as many of these Jaguars deserve to be) then invest in its future by making subsequent tasks so much easier.

Cheers,

 

I just installed a Wasp brand high-torque starter in my 3.8. The starter came with mounting studs pressed into place and I found that I could not angle the starter into place. The starter hits the block and will not allow that final angle into place. I ended up punching them out and using a standard 5/16-24 ( think) nut and bolt . Even with the smaller starter there is a lot of fiddling to get it into place and its a little frustrating to find that you have to fish it back out again because the studs will not allow it to angle into place.

 

I'm just going to put this out here as I'm not sure what's going on.
Look at No.5 in the diagram, I mount that on the inside "side" of the bell housing so the nuts can be screwed on from the "block" side.
This enabled me to take a 9/16th socket to fit the nut closest to the block.
There was not much room, so I turned the socket down on the lathe, if you don't have a lathe, one can grind down, or any machine shop can do it for a small charge.
This also enabled me to use a very long extension to reach past the starter and access the nut from the front of the engine.
I think this was mentioned here already.
Not sure if all this will work with the high torque starter though>