Black Posted August 6, 2019 Report Share Posted August 6, 2019 (edited) Just another short post in case it helps someone plan ahead. I picked up a starter for my '04 780 and using one of the occasional "save $30 for purchases before the end of the day" coupons from Ebay, I only paid $150 for a starter with a 2 year warranty from seller UQquality. Lo and behold, my OEM starter went out a few months later and the advance purchase saved me nearly $400 by buying the Ebay version instead of the dealer version that only came with a 1 year warranty. The removal itself wasn't too bad, it's 3 bolts; 2 of which are best accessed from under the truck with a ratcheting wrench (I believe 18mm) and the third which comes from using an extension from the top side since it's on the 'back side' of the starter which you can't get to from the bottom. Helpful hint; Remove the electrical wires before you remove the 3 mounting bolts, including the little teeny tiny wire (5/16 bolt) running to the solenoid. After removing all the bolts, I pulled the starter from the top of the engine and put it back in the same way. Beware, that sucker is a tad heavy but not unbearably so. I ended up buying 2 replacement bolts from Lowes because one of the factory ones had buggered up threads and whoever the previous mechanic was just left the third one out (the one on the backside). I'll have to find the package but they were Grade 8 and relatively cheap at $1.40 each. All in all, it took me about 90 minutes but I could do the next one (which'll be hopefully never) in less than an hour. This is also a good time to check your battery cables for corrosion, I found a couple that were suspect that I plan on replacing on soon. For making your own cables, a hydraulic crimper works wonders but I've been using a $17 hammer crimper for awhile without many issues. That said, I saw a $25 squeeze type crimper on Amazon the other day and I just might have to give it a go. Next purchase is to keep my eyes open for an online sale on a box of relays since when you buy online, you can usually get something like 4 for the price of 1 from a physical store. Edited August 6, 2019 by Black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Posted August 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2019 (edited) And....I would share photos of the job but having image hosting difficulties... And....a little bit of searching for photo how-to's went a long way.. \ Edited August 6, 2019 by Black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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