Anyone done this? My starter is not engaging, and is only free spinning. I dont even see where it is, so that I could possibly mash it with a bit of a hammer . . .

 

no one knows where the starter is? really

 

If it was the 2.8/2.7T I would have responded when I first saw the thread. I figured a 4.2'er would have chimed in.

On my 2.8 the starter is located passenger side (underneath), a little back of the Alternator. I think the 4.2 has a different setup, so I'm unsure if it's the same for you.

I know there's mention of the Oil Filter being in the way on the 4.2, but I have no way of knowing if that's accurate or not.

Here's a sketchy diagram from Elsawin of the starters location:



I assume the little bolts are the engine oil pan?? Or it could even be the Transmission pan..

Hopefully someone with a 4.2 can clear this up.

 

Ok so if anyone else is doing this...

The starter is in fact in the same location as posted above. Held in place with two main bolts. One you can reach from the bottom. The other, you have to remove all air intake components and reach between firewall and engine block to get at it. Its a fair bit of a pain in the ***. Once you get it loose, it comes out through the bottom (tight fit) I loosened the sway bar just to get an extra mm to get it out easily. It took less than two hours with two of us going at it while drinking beer.

Cheers

 

Do you have experience changing the starter on a 2.7t? I have taken the bumper off, moved the radiator assembly out of the way, and removed the alternator. I can see the starter and have removed the bolt that is on the belt side. All the manuals say that I have to remove a bolt from the transmission side, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do so. I'm at the point where I'm pretty sure I have to remove all the intake piping and even the k member from underneath, just so I can see where this bolt is. I've been working on this for 10 hours plus and have pretty much exhausted all possibilities. Any help would be much appreciated, as the only information I can get is images like this.

 

Nah, fortunately for me, I haven't had the pleasure of changing my starter on my C5 yet (2.8).

But maybe I can help you out via some searching.

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Judging from that diagram you posted, it looks like one bolt comes out from the front side and the other (top) comes out from the transmission side.

Alright these look like the mounting points for the starter (it's a diagram for a B5 S4, but I think the layout is nearly identical):


http://forums.audiworld.com/showpost...75&postcount=3


Here's another photo from a B5 S4(2.7T) showing the how it's mounted in there, you have a A6 2.7T, so you can check & confirm if the setup/layout looks similar under there:




Now comparing that to the diagram above (2nd photo I posted), If I'm correct, the bottom bolt you removed is visible in the last photo (4th) just above where the words "STARTER MECH" are located. If that's correct, then the top bolt should be located right by the 3rd slant in the "ENGINE MOUNT" box/graphic, but on the transmission side.

...continued

 

Here's a photo of a 2.7T transmission I borrowed from Ebay:


The red circle is where I'm assuming the starter mounts to the transmission to engage the flywheel/flexplate. You can see where the top bolt should be located, so when you're under there, it would be a little bit infront & above the CV Boot/Axle.

Now what's in the way? Is it easily accessible? As far as THAT goes, I don't have a clue. Can you post a photo maybe? Is it possible to get in there with an extension or anything?

I apologize for having so many questions when you're the one seeking the advice.