Hi, can anyone confirm the right thing to do to get clearance to extract the starter motor once unbolted from the engine on a 2.6 four cylinder?

The starter will withdraw almost enough for the nosepiece to clear the bell-housing entry, but not quite. The solenoid jams solid between one of the intake manifold pipes and the bottom of the injector airbox support bracket. I don't know whether to try to release the solenoid from the starter in situ (prob not, as the new starter has to go back in the reverse way), or if the firewall side engine torque support can come out to clear the starter motor to drop.


1993 TR 2.6 auto wagon with A/C

to get the starter out in one piece

you get under the car
to undo the bracket supporting the inlet manifold on an EFI

Most of the TR have the short starter and usually will extract ok, you need to twist it a little bit

If it has had an early starter fitted yes the support bracket needs to come off.

If its like the TS starter, then there are two bolts holding the support to the intake manifold. Just undo one, and the bottom one, and swing the support out of the way. Don't undo both top bolts as they need the flexible extension to reach them and are impossible to put back in. Mine's got just the one bolt in the top of the support - I will put the other one back when I need to take the motor out. lol

BOTTOM bolt is 19 mm (or 17) Tops are 14 mm

Mine's got just the one bolt in the top of the support

for someone as fastidious as yourself, this shocks me
those two bolts are holding your interim shaft to the engine.

I just did my stater motor last weekend. All I did was disconnect battery, take of the air intake pipe to the filter box and filter cover, reached down unhooked the spade wire 12mm and loosen main power lead then remove. Removed the two retaining bolts and wriggled it a bit, moved towards firewall and then up and out. Reverse procedure to replace. All done in 45 minutes. Maybe I was lucky, but that was how I did it.