968turboS

Looks like a lot of recent posts have been around our cars not starting. Sometimes, it's the battery but it seems like our Denso starters are crappy in general. My wife's 06 530i, just went through this. I jumped the car initially and thought it was the battery. Went ahead and purchased a brand new battery, only to find the same problem the next morning.
I was able to confirm it's nto the starter by tapping lightly on the starter, which made the starter turn again. All in all, a starter problem that shouldn't be happening on these expensive cars.
I decided to tackle the task myself, thinking, how hard could it be to remove an intake manifold to get to this starter? Boy, was I wrong. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the hardest, I would rate this to be a solid 7-8. I was able to finally get the intake manifold up, not completely off, and then was able to get to the starter. This thing is puny! I mean, we have this massive 850CCA battery and a puny starter, I don't get it. I decided to go with a Bosch starter.
I will post further as I progress. I am current waiting on some PVC hose that broke while trying to get the manifold off, argh!!!
This multiple stage intake manifold has to be the biggest PITA to get out. Shop hrs are at 5 hrs. I am already 4 hrs into it, let's see how well I do.
Regards.
Raj

Transporter

The best of luck with that! Please keep us posted on your results. Personally I would like to know if you were able nail the problem yourself.

968turboS

I was successfully able to do the starter swap. This is on a N52 based 530i. It took approx 5.5 hrs because I had to replace a couple of PCV hoses. All in all, not a job for the faint of heart. You do have to pull the intake manifold off the studs and make room so that you can get your hands in there to get the old starter off.
Make sure you disconnect the rear PVC hose in the back of the intake and also the one that connects to the oil pan on the side. If you try to do this without disconnecting them, you have the potential of breaking them. They are made of brittle plastic that has been through a lot of heat cycles.
Other things that need to be removed:
Airbox
Cabin filters
Rear covers where cabin filters are seated
Engine cover
Throttle body J boot
You do NOT need to remove the injector rail.
E12 socket and boxed end wrench (for the rear mounted bolt)

Regards.
Raj

porsche911targa

Why would it be so shocking that a starter fail? Starters fail in all brands....

968turboS

Because the car is barely 4 yrs old and has only 80k on it. It's mostly highway driven, so it's not like it goes through a lot of starts. Very disappointed wiht the lack of quality .
Raj

porsche911targa

I don't know Raj, 80K miles is 80K miles. Metals gets stressed with temperature extremes, vibration, etc. I could see if it were 8K miles, but 80K seems a stretch. Obviously some starters will last longer, but I don't think the E60s are know for problematic starters.

968turboS

Not to turn this into an arguement, but it seems like a few others have had this issue at right about 80k. I would expect a luxury brand's starter to last a bit longer than this. I own other german marques and their starters seemed to have faired much better.
Regards.
Raj

ARH_0700XX

Just wondering, do some cars have Denso starters and others Bosch?

968turboS

Not sure, the one that came out was a Denso and I put in a Bosch.
Raj