defender TD5 starter motor removal

Three times in the last month my defender has failed to start.
Turns out it was the starter motor and a judicious tap with a hammer on the motor would spring it back to life.

Now this is obviously not a permanent fix and sooner or later it would fail permanently.

New starter motors can be £200+ & then there is the garage charges making this a costly failure.
A few google searches and the most likely issue is the solenoid contacts so I purchased a kit from repairkitsuk. I paid the extra and got the kit next day.

The starter motor is a tad awkward to get at to say the least & an assistant will make life a lot easier.

To remove the motor you will need a

•  13mm socket
• 15mm socket
• 3 inch extension
• universal joint
• 3 ten inch extenders
• possibly 13 & 15mm spanners
• 1/2 inch drive

To open up the solenoid you will need:

• 12 or 14mm spanner - can't remember
• 8mm socket

The starter motor is held on with two 13mm bolts & a 15mm nut, The two 13mm nuts are relatively easy to see & get at from underneath. The tricky one is the 15mm nut. This is located on the inside side of the starter at the top & there is not enough room to get a socket & ratchet in from the top.

1. Disconnect the battery 
2. First off remove the top engine cover. Not absolutely necessary but it lets a lot more light in
3. Disconnect the bottom pan & shove to the LHS.
4. Disconnect the electrical connections
5.  Loosen the two 13mm nuts - access from underneath.
6. 15mm nut
1. attach the 15mm socket, 3 inch extension & universal
2. get the assistant to attach this to the nut accessing the starter from above & stay there waiting...
3. Connect the three 10 inch extensions to the drive
4. NB access is not from fully underneath
5. Insert the extension set from the front above the floor pan & differential at an angle of about 30 degrees upwards. You might see the assistants fingers.
6. The assistant can then get the extension to connect in to the universal
7. Undo the 15 mm nut
7. Remove the two 13mm nuts
8. The starter motor is now free to remove.

The instructions provided by repairkitsuk were perfect. We actually only changed the plunger & contacts. Other parts are provided but we decided everything was good.

Assembly is simply the reverse process.