Let Cass help you sort out the mounting. He has done it. Otherwise we have a saying in English "that too many cooks spoil the broth"

 

We are in the middle of a storm here in the south of England but when it abates I will get my car up on the ramp and try and take a photo of the starter motor in place from the bottom for you. Not the easiest thing to get a photo of when it is in the car even from the bottom as the steering box and subframe are in the way but I will try.

 

Thanks Cass, no hurries. Here is also a storm going on in The Netherlands.

It is indeed hard to get a clear view from underneath the car, let alone making a picture. I wasn't really seeing what I was doing apart from a starter that did seem to be blocked from multiple sides.

 

I know it is not ideal but when I fitted mine I too had problems getting it in the hole and straight enough to slide in. I found the oil filter housing was blocking the way. I remember removing the oil pressure sender to get the original starter out and I think I had to remove the oil filter housing to get the new one in. You are only going to do it the once so bite the bullet and move what needs to be moved to get it in.
I will get the pictures as soon as I can.

 

I took the oil filter off because else I couldn't remove the old starter.
The problem is not the oil filter because I can fit the new starter through the hole but then when I try to fit it inside the hole of the engine where the gear is I hit the block with the bottom of the new starter.
I am not entirely sure what the part of the block is called that it hits but I hope you get what I mean.
Next week I am trying to make some photo's but right now I am clothed too well to lay under the car

 

This is a photo of mine on the bench before the old starter was fitted. It gives you a good view of the area although mine is an Auto BW35 gear box the fittings are the same it is just the length of the throw on the starter that are different. The filter is removed but the housing on the side of the engine is bolted on with the pressure sender.



This one with the old starter motor still fitted

 

Rob - Forgive me if this is a silly question, but are you sure that you have been supplied with the correct starter motor? Yours looks different from the RAC302 indicated for the Mk2 family on the Green Spark website. It also looks different from the one on SNG's website.

Hope you and your car survived the storm.

 

Hi Peter, on the sticker it states RAC302 so I think its the right one. We survived the storm. Luckely it was okay from where I live in the soutern of the country.

Cass Thank you for the image. That looks exactly the same as my car but I have the feeling that the part sticking out of the starter hits the part of the motor circled in red.


I am putting on some old clothes now and try again (fingers crossed)

 

Here is what I mean


It needs to be straightend out but thats not possible because it is hitting the motor block already

 

I have a feeling in my bones that you have been supplied with the wrong starter motor. It's one of the reasons amongst others more obvious that I suggested counting the number of teeth on the pinion vs. the original.

 

Are you sure you have that the right way up. Try turning it 180 degrees because if you compare the photo of mine below with yours the starter motor does look lower in your photo than mine. It is hard to describe but the starter motor sits higher not lower on the car. The spindle and gear cog are set below the solenoid section and the cable from the battery is at the bottom of the starter motor as can be seen in my photo..

 

I have the same impression as Cass about the starter being 180 Deg out.

 

just a suggestion, but...a starter must fit the engine, not so much the model year of the car. and if the engine is not original to the car...well...

i say this because it can't be too difficult to determine if it fits the engine as there are only two ways it could conceivably fit.

 

Thanks Cass for the images. It looks exactly the same as my new starter.
I have tried to fit it like that the first time but then there was no room at the top because of some cables and metal pipes.
Here is a photo




I did check and count Glynn but everything about the starter looks to be right.

You should say that hueyhoolian but keep in mind that I am a complete amateur and without the help of the experts here on the forum I would have never gotten this far in the first place

 

Peter states ~ "are you sure that you have been supplied with the correct starter motor? Yours looks different from the RAC302 indicated for the Mk2 family on the Green Spark website. It also looks different from the one on SNG's website."

I would look into that. (sorry now I'm spoiling the broth)

 

That is the correct way to fit it and I can only suggest that a little bit of restoration has taken place and the cables and pipes have been re-laid but around the old starter not perhaps as they should be. The cables and pipes need to be moved. Not far I would imagine. The pipes are going to be fuel pipes but I would say they are the over flow pipes from the carbs and are easily bent. The fuel to the carbs comes in from the top and should not be down the side of the engine. Cables are cables and should be moved to the side but I can't think what cables there are lying down the side of the engine. All electrical cables should run along the inner wing. If you can identify the cables and pipes for us we can suggest where they are supposed to run.

 

it should be noted, that in a previous post or two, it was mentioned that the starter was hitting the block ("...because it is hitting the motor block already...", "...I hit the block with the bottom of the new starter...") not cables or other removable fittings. which in part led me to believe that it should be relatively simple to determine if the starter would fit. if that is not the case, and it's perfectly understandable how that could happen, then removing a few pieces here and there could well be the solution.

 

I have just had a feel around the bottom of my carbs and the surrounding area (as you do) because you can't see what is down there very well. All I can find that might impede the starter motor are the copper pipes that lead from the AED (Automatic Enrichment device) to the bottom of the inlet manifold as seen in this picture. There should not be anything else down there apart from the cable running from the starter solenoid on the dash to the starter motor. If your car was an auto (I think yours is a manual) you might also have the Kick down cable from the gear box to the rear carb and the tube for the gearbox dip stick as can be seen in the photo. None of these should get in the way of the starter being offered up the correct way. All the linkages for the carbs are well out of the way.

 

I assume that being a 2.4 you have the Solex carbs and therefore a different inlet manifold to the one pictured above?

The 2.4 engine block is a lot shorter than the 3.4/3.8 which won't help matters, the two pipes you can see are probably the brake servo vacuum hose and one of the coolant pipes to the heater, it would be possible to replace/reroute these to make more space if necessary. I would suggest taking the pipes out/disconnecting to move out of the way and then seeing if the starter fits. The image below shows how little room there is between the starter and the base of the head on the 2.4.

It may just be that the starter doesn't fit a 2.4 and no one has bothered to check on the basis that the original starter fitted all engines so they have assumed the replacement should as well.

 

Good point Homer I had not thought about the shorter block of the 2.4 which is possibly why Rob is having the problems of clearance at the top end. Mine is a 3.4s, has the SUs and the starter fits perfectly.
If this is the case then it might be a trip back to the suppliers for a refund and putting the old original starter back in.