How do you change the starter in a 1997 Nissan Sentra?

Starter pain in the but* to change at bottom, proabably has to jack the car up, then go from underside...

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Shoud be pretty easy, provided you can get to the bolts. Here a web page that shows how to remove the starter on a 1996 model.

autozone.com

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The first step is to remove the negative battery cable from the battery, so that you don't short anything out.

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Look here for a general guide: http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/04/d1/44/0900823d8004d144.jsp

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I changed the starter in my 1996 Nissan Sentra, and I assume the 1997 Sentra is very similar to mine. It's a VERY nasty job. Basic steps are: 1) put car on lift or on ramps (so you can get underneath) 2) remove cable connections to battery 3) remove oil filter (yes, that's right. The filter needs to be removed to provide proper clearance for your hands, tools, and starter itself. Yuck!) 4) remove the bolt on the lower portion of the support strut for the intact manifold, so the support strut can be gently moved slightly to the side to provide clearance 5) remove the electrical connections to the starter 6) remove the 2 bolts holding the starter to the engine. One is accessible from below, and the other one (believe it or not) is accessible from the top.

Installation of course is the reverse of the above. It's a genuine pain to change the starter. But, on the positive side, it beats having to pay the dealer or a mechanic.

Good luck!


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There are a few tips/under line a few points, after just having done it. You need a long group of extensions. Just undo both battery cables to minimize risk. Undo where the negative battery cable attaches to the engine. There is a bolt next to this that you can undo too. Either this bolt or the battery cable bolt holds the starter. (you'll see on the starter housing one bolt hole is trhough, one is threaded.)
Remove the oil filter. Remove the plastic shroud near the right tire. Remove the strut (or at least the lowest bolt so you can turn it) that will make it impossible to get a socket or remove the starter itself. Unscrew the bolt for the power cable to the starter assembly before removing the starter. Now use your long, long extension to hold the ratcher near the right wheel and tunnel through that mess to get the underneath 14mm bolt. Wiggling out the starter assembly is like getting the oil filter out, a bit crowded. I did this on a 97 automatic Nissan sentra 1.6. I could remove it again in 30 minutes now. Ramps give sufficient clearance.

First answer by ID0000000000. Last edit by Jasong76. Contributor trust: 3 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 73 [recommend question]