Hey everyone,

I’ve been searching all over the internet on forums and Youtube videos and can’t quite find the information I need. Hopefully someone here can help.

I have a 2000 Dodge Dakota Sport 5.9L V8 4wd. Recently when trying to start it with full battery voltage, and clean battery terminals there is only a click. After a series of tries to start and several clicks it will crank and start up fine. This leads me to believe that the starter solenoid might be going out (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Since the solenoid is on the starter I went out and got a starter and was going to put it on. This is where my problem starts.

I have the Haynes manual and it says to go under the truck to remove the starter. Several videos showed it can be done from the wheel well also. The thing is that all of these examples are all 2wd Dakotas. I seem to have no clearance to take off the top starter bolt because the front axle is in the way along with part of the differential. I’m hoping someone here has changed a starter on a Dakota like mine and can offer some guidance on how to do it. So far all I can think of is removing the whole front axle.

Any help with this would be very appreciated. Also sorry for the huge post wanted to be as detailed as possible.

Thank You in advance.

 

Starters can be fun, no doubt about that. I haven't worked on your particular truck but over the years I've replaced many starters with restricted access. I usually use a longer extension for the socket to get it out. Sometimes I've had to combine several extensions of various lengths to get it out. Get the truck as high as possible on jack stands and remove the wheel to give yourself plenty of room. Study up on some foreign languages so you can cuss in new and inventive ways. Vehicles are designed to be quick to assemble and field service is an afterthought. Be sure to disconnect the negative battery cable before you mess with the wires and bench test your old unit when you pull it off to make sure it's actually the starter and not something else.

 

I tried the extension route for about 6 hours with no luck. Some extensions were too thick others to long or to short. I even tried to use swivel sockets. When I was able to get a good angle I didn’t have enough torque for the bolt it felt like the extensions were going to twist and break.

I would really appreciate if you had a guide on bench testing a starter. I didn’t know that was possible aside from taking it to an auto parts store.

I appreciate the help.

 

One of the bolts is actually a stud from the factory. I forget if it is top or bottom. There's also a bushing/spacer in there. IIRC it's 5/16 or 3/8 stud, but the starter hole is almost 3/4" and the bushing takes up the difference. Once you knock it loose, the stud should come out of the bellhousing with the nut. Then the starter will pretty much drop straight down, rotating for the snout to clear.

You might need to hit it with some liquid wrench or PB blaster to get the stud loose from the bellhousing. If it's seized enough, the stud will stay and the nut will come off. I don't want to be you if that happens.

You might try going at the top bolt from on top, sliding in between the motor mount and exhaust downpipe.

 

I've never been a fan of swivel adapters. I've got some and sometimes that's the only way to get a bolt, but they often get in a bind. Extensions are fairly cheap. I have a mix of various lengths. I've twisted a few through the years, I just replace them. Something that you might try is a wobble adapter.



Look at the end of the center one. Notice the taper? Snap the socket on all the way and it's just like a regular extension. Move it out a notch and you can get an angle. This is sometimes just enough to get a good purchase. Yes, it's weaker, but it still might be what you need. I'm not afraid to use a cheater pipe on my ratchets. I have one for my weight equalizing hitch and it fits just fine. That extra leverage may make a difference. Now, you might see if you can get a box end wrench on from the side. Either straight or drop end. I've done that and hammered it on the end to break bolts loose. A small part of a turn is all you need to get the bolt going. There's a lot of different ways to go for it and I'm not looking at the starter so I'm just throwing out ideas here.

Bench testing a starter can be intimidating, but is easy. All you really need is a good battery and a pair of jumper cables. If you can strap the starter down, all the better. Hook your cables to the battery. Now hook the positive to the main nut on the solenoid. There may be two terminals, a small one for the relay and a large one for the battery current. Touch the negative cable to the body of the starter, usually around the lobes where it bolts to the transmission and engine assemblies. If you just get a click, it's bad. Check your connections and retry. If it still doesn't work,, it's probably bad. Have the store check it when you go for a new one. It may start spinning when you hook the cables to it. It WILL jump. Keep your fingers away from the gears as those will take your fingers off.

 

Hey guys thanks for your help I still haven’t been able to take it off. Im going to try From the top hopefully its better that way. Also I appreciate the walkthrough for testing the starter thank you.

 

I don't remember that starter being all that bad.
should be the same as the one on my Durango
Try doing a starter on a 4.6 or 5.4 Ford and then tell me about inaccessible top bolts.

 

Or the old ZR1 Corvettes, with the 32 valve V-8's. The starter was under the intake manifold..... I'd like to shoot the engineer that thought THAT was a good idea......

 

Caddy Northstar is same way

 

A cheater pipe may make the difference. I'm pretty sure, once it breaks loose, it will zip right out. Be glad it's a Dodge and not a NorthStar like others have mentioned. I worked on an AMC Reliant (Renault and AMC venture) where I had to half dismantle the engine to fix a valve cover leaking. There's an old saying, "The French copy no one, no one copies the French);