as opposed to cleaning and regreasing my starter, i decided to look around for a reman....mine has 100K and is in a 96...jobs like that i only like to do once in my life anyway...

my local dealer: $250
aaanissanparts.com: $180
napa: 290 + 75 core....no kidding..."but its a life time warranty"..HA
auto zone: 140 + 45
advance auto: 141 + 75

the last three were all "life time warranty"....we'll see.

I asked the guy behind the counter if there was a different part listed in his computer for the 97, he said no...the one i was getting was an 8 tooth, and he only had one in stock. when i took mine out of the box i noticed there was a page in there saying "there are two starters for your car, both are interchangable, and either one may be in this box".....so, from this "duralast" company, you are buying a mystery starter, just depends on what got turned in for core.

for the starter, fuel filter, throttle body cleaning and a test drive, 2 hours flat.....i cheated on the fuel filter though... i just cut the hoses and replaced them with new ones....i could see how fighting with it would take a long time.

 

Was the starter pretty easy to get to? I keep putting it off. It has been doing the whine/grind on start up for a few months now. Does not sound like it is getting any worse. I know you replaced yours altogether but what grease would go on it for a person like myself who does not prefer to spend the $140? Thanks

 

Once you take the stock air intake out of the way, getting to the starter is fairly easy. It's right underneath the intake. The only problem you may have is getting the large 17mm bolt off. It's on pretty tight and will require a breaker bar or a short pipe to fit over your rachet.

 

as usual the electrical connections were the biggest pain, in my opinion...i have never seen a car with so many brackets holding every last little wire/connector/hose in place. that big bolt was tight, and the ABS controller is kind of in the way to get a big ratchet on it...but do-able none-the-less. but no special tools either.... a few typical sockets, a couple various extensions, a pliers, screwdriver and a cheater bar for that big bolt.

in a regreasing job, i would probably use a moly or lithium grease, readily available and cheap....i would expect wheel bearing type grease is too thick. a synthetic might not harden over time as much, but i wouldn't be too concerned.