O.K., after 150k miles of sterling service, my 96 Trooper LS finally left me stranded in the desert. Bad starter I reckon. Turned the key and heard a "low electronic growl" then nothing but "click, click, click. . ." then no sound at all. I didnt pack any tools ( i usually do)
so I hitched a ride to town. Amazingly, the local Autozone has the starter in stock ($119+50 core)
I plan on bringing out a new starter and relay and changing it in the field. Do I need to check the starter switch first? is it the same as the ignition switch? Check the relay too? I cant find a description for the starter switch in the helms manual. I want to make sure when I go out there to fix it I have all the parts/tools for any level of starter repair.

//dx

Well if the Tropper is remotley close to the Rodeo, than you don't have a starter switch, it's integrated in the ignition key. The relay should be ok, just check to see if it works by shorting the 85 to 86 & listen to it click. If it dosn't than it's not working.
Check the fuse & just unbolt the old one & bolt in the new one.

Should take you no more than 1 hour to do it.

rubo

if your 96 is like the 93 you will have to take apart the small piece of exhaust pipe.Make sure you go to the dealer to get the gaskets(I didnt find them at the local parts store!!)Take a few ratchet extensions with you too!!

Mike, i may don't understand what you are trying to say, but what the hell exhaust got to do with a starter?

rubo

in my year troop there is a small elbow piece that you have to take out if you want to get the starter out.Believe me I tried for 2 hours to do the job without taking it out............not possible!

The Helms manual says you have to remove a piece of the front exhaust along with the cross member to get to the starter.
Thanks for reminding me about the gaskets.

I'll send up smoke signals if I run into a glitch.

//dx

NO CROSSMEMBER !!just the small elbow!!! I had to go to pep boys and get a gasket that was close then round out the holes!!

I changed the starter on my '96 Trooper LS (automatic trans) earlier this year. I was able to remove the starter without removing the downpipe.

Socket extensions will have to pass through and next to the crossmember to get at the starter bolts. You will need to use 3/8" extensions to pass through the crossmember.

I found a 1/2" "wobble" extension to be very handy when removing and installing the inboard bolt. A U-joint-type of extension may have worked, but clearances are tight up there (access to the bolt is slightly offset and you're navigating through an ~8" 'tunnel' just wide enough for the bolt and drive). FYI, I got my wobble extension at Autozone (Great Neck band) as part of a wobble-and-extension drive set.


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I would suggest jack stands for this. If not you'll be hard pressed for space.

BTW, I'm 5'11", wear large gloves and have relatively thin forearms - if you're bigger, be sure to take along someone who can get their hands up there.


After having removed the starter bolts, use both hands to rotate the starter so that the little motor that sticks off the side points up and towards the front of the car. You'll be able to slide it down along the exhaust downpipe. The tricky part is right around the oil pan and the receiver for the torsion bar. IIRC, the key was rotating the starter around a ~vertical axis while I simultaneously slid the starter around the rounded edge of the oil pan.

Hope this helps,

Ed

Well I was able to replace the starter and get the heck out of the sand!
I actually followed the manuals directions and removed the crossbar (big mistake) and most of the exhaust. The starter took abouit 10 min to swap out where as most time was spent putting the exhaust/crossmember back together. As I wrenched on the last bolt, I reckoned I could have done it without removing anything, although it was a bit easier.

Now, on to repacking the bearings and replacing the boots. . . .

//dx <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />