Starter motor change
 

I thought I would write about my new experience of changing the starter motor on my E60 525i.

The car had been going great when suddenly I went to go to the shop and the starter sounded grindy when it started.
I went to go home and nothing.
I stuck a long screw driver down through the inlet manifold and hit the starter a few times and managed to get the car started again but I knew straight away I needed to replace it.

I checked the internet and there wasn’t a lot on the removal but it seemed there are two ways
(1) Struggle removing the starter without removing the inlet manifold
(2) Struggle removing the starter with removing the inlet manifold.

At first I tried to get my big gorilla hand onto the starter without removing the manifold.
I was able to remove the two starter motor bolts farly easy from under the car, but it was impossible for me to get my hand around to undo the power lead attached to the starter.

At first I removed the alternator and tried to get a long extension onto the positive cable nut but there are two oil breather pipes under there which do not bend so it was impossible to get a socket onto the nut..
So, I undid the inlet manifold and simply pulled it away from the head which gave me enough room to change the starter. It was easy and I should have just done it this way from the start
I replaced the starter and put the manifold back on in about 1 1/2 hours
It was by far the easiest way

The only negative side is that my oil breather pipe from the rocket cover to the canister, which runs at the back of the engine, was so brittle it crumbled in my hand when I touched it and I had to replace it.
Also I replaced the inlet manifold gaskets to make sure it wouldnt leak when i put it back togeather.
Other than that it was an easy process so don’t be daunted

If you need to change your starter I would recommend releasing the inlet manifold and just pulling it out the ways as I did
You don’t need to remove it from the car.

If you need any advice about it just send me a message and I will be glad to help the best I can

Excellent!

That was fast!
I replaced the same thing in my 08,528i last month and I spend at least 4 to 5 hrs

Dear car manufacturers,

Please begin mounting your starter motors to the outside of the transmission casing so they are easier to access when they fail. Except for you Tesla, keep doing what you're doing.

Sincerely,

Kyle

Just be thankful you don't drive a Renault 16TS.

Starter motor fail = engine out.

It was quick and easy
I was worried about doing it after reading some sites but it was so simple and really nothing to dissconnect from the inlet manifold

The only thing I didnt prepare for was the broken oil return pipe and new inlet manifold gaskets so i had to wait the next day to get them.

4 to 5 hours is still quick!

I like those Renaults though!

But I think BMW's on the whole are not bad to work on Kyle. When I was an apprentice I had to do a rebuild on a Benz and remove the dash.

It was all air vancum operated. Even though the tubes were all color coded it was a nightmare.

We could write a nice list of things for BMW to change on the cars but even if they dont I still love them!

My car won't start and I have replaced the battery and starter on it. When i push start, I just hear a click from the starter then nothing but internal car sounds. Is it possible to install the starter incorrectly? Like does it need to be aligned a certain way?

I still havent seent any possibly reason as to why my car wont start.


Thanks. Oh yeah, nice post!

Sorry to hear that you are still having trouble
I dont think it is possible to align incorrectly but the only problem that could arrise is if it is the wrong starter

The gears have to align with the flywheel gears and if they dont you will have big troubles

I would be first checking all your connections on your battery cables
if that fails then sadly you may have to pull the starter back out and do some more checking

keep us up to date with how you go