Starter Motor -How to remove/replace

The starter motor has been sticking and has gotten noisy recently.

I decided to replace it.
Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before you begin.

Access the engine by removing the access panel. The starter motor is down here.


It was easy for me to remove the induction filter to get at the starter motor, by undoing this clip.


You can now see the starter motor.

Pull back the rubber boot from the main ((red) cable. Undo the nut holding the red and brown cables.

Remove the connector from the spade terminal.

The starter is attached by two M10 17mm head bolts through the bell housing into two 19mm nuts(NOT captive).


Pull out the starter. Here is the old and the new.

If you put the bolts through the new starter motor it makes it easier to fit it onto the bell housing.
Getting the nuts back onto the bolts is fun, and you need to get a spanner on to hold it while you tighten up and torque to 'kin tight.



Re-attach the red and brown wires onto the terminal bolt and tighten up the nut. Make sure the rubber boot is in place. Push the spade connector onto the spade terminal.

Reattach the induction filter.
Reattach the negative terminal of the battery.
Start car. :broon:

i found it a lot easier to use a long extension and socket through the passengers wheel side of the car

Are the starter motors inchangable? In otherwords, can the starter from a later model TF be used on a early MGF? The reason I ask is that the price of starter for the early Fs is a lot more than for the later one for a TF.

A good question. I'll try and find the answer...:shrug:

From research I can tell you that someone fitted a starter from a 96 car onto an 04TF with no problem.
There are two types that fit the 1.8mpi - A magnetti Marrelli and a Bosch. Both have ten teeth.
The 1.6 starter has 12 teeth
Someone else also fitted a Rover 400 starter onto a TF with no problem.
Make of that what you will.:shrug:

Thanks David, I believe that answers my question.

David, Perhaps I am being a little pedantic but the starter motor holding bolts have a 17mm hex head and are not 17mm size bolts but are 10mm. Maybe the size you quote is for the dummies who can only size a nut or bolt by the size of the spanner used )) If you ordered a 17mm stud or bolt or nut from a supplier it would most certainly be 17mm diameter thread. Cheers, John

To be absolutely precise they are M10 bolts, i.e. the shaft diameter is "metric 10 mm".

A 17 mm bolt would be 17mm long, a 10mm bolt would be 10mm long.

yep. my bad. M10 bolts with 17mm hex head.

I understood you, a 17mm socket for the head and a 19mm spanner for the nut, you didn't need to ay they were M10 bolts.

mowog73 wrote:

Are the starter motors inchangable? In otherwords, can the starter from a later model TF be used on a early MGF? The reason I ask is that the price of starter for the early Fs is a lot more than for the later one for a TF.

I have just taken a 10 tooth starter off my mk1 VVC and fitted a 12 teeth starter........car starter better than she has ever done.......so yes, starters are interchangeable.