Replaced Envoy Denali 5.3L V8 Starter in an Hour

STSCowboy

Original poster
Member
Jan 6, 2020
9
So Cal
I’m going to explain what I did to get finished in less than an hour. It actually took me a little longer time wise but I had to crawl under the 2006 Denali about 10 times because I had to get things and tools to make the job easier.

8mm Socket (For Ignition Lead and Battery Terminal)

12mm or 1/2” Socket and Extensions (For Starter Bolts and Battery Lead on Starter)

15 mm Socket, Swivel and Extension (For Rear Steering Crossmember)

Ancra Soft Tie-Down

1) First remove the battery terminals

2) I removed the Crossmember 10 Bolts 5 each side. Wrangled it out. That wasn’t too bad.

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3) Removed Starter Bolts and pulled starter out of the bellhousing.

4) Removed the grey clips from wiring.

5) Removed Leads from the starter solenoid. I did this by orientating the snout of the starter up to make access easier.

6) I used the Ancra Tie-down hooked to the right front wheel and through the oval hole in the frame behind the wheel. I looped the Soft Hook around the Transmission cooler lines and pulled the tie down tight until I gained the amount of clearance I thought I would need. I had to pull a little tighter as I progressed.

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7) I had seen a few videos on trying to remove the starter and in every instance the person tried to remove the starter Snout first. I chose a different path and removed it Snout End Last. The reason I chose this way because it allowed me to have more ability to maneuver the stater in the tight spaces. I found orientating the Solenoid Forward gave me better maneuverability.

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8) I removed the Solenoid Heat Shield.

9) I then started to position the starter for extraction. It took a bit twisting and maneuvering and creating a larger gap by pulling the tie down tighter.

10) Pulled the starter clear and it popped out. That took all of 30 minutes to do. I didn’t loosen any engine mount bolts, didn’t lift the engine at all.

Replacing the Starter

Is the reverse of removal. The only thing I messed up during the installation was I didn’t put the heat shield on soon enough and had to reach through an opening and accidentally installed it backwards the first time.
 
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