Expert: Brad Sears - 4/15/2010

Question
i have a 1959 lincoln continental premier with a 430 mel engine how do you remove the starter

Answer
This is probably one of the most difficult starter replacement jobs to ever roll out of any auto makers plant. Here are the steps in order.
1. Remove the battery and its support and tray.
2. Disconnect the transmission control rod at the accelerator linkage at the back of the engine.
3. Jack the car up and place on safety stands so that you can comfortably work under the car.
4. Locate the engine block drain plugs and drain the coolant from the block. Just draining from the radiator will not lower the coolant level in the block enough.
5. Remove the nuts on the front engine mounts on each side of the block. These are the nuts on the studs from the mounts that go through the frame mounting pads.
6. Put a block of wood between a jack and the large flat bottom of the oil pan and raise the engine as far as you can (watch the fan and make sure that it does not contact the radiator and watch the back of the engine to make sure that it does not contact the fire wall) and then slip blocks of wood between the engine mounts and the frame as safety precaution.
7. Remove the right hand exhaust manifold from the engine and the exhaust pipe. The bolts for the manifold go though into the cooling system and that is why you needed to drain the block.
8. Now you can see the starter and remove the wire. The the bolts that hold the starter to the engine block.
9. When you put it back together it is important to tighten the exhaust manifold bolts to between 23 and 28 foot pounds. Over tightening or uneven tightening will cause an exhaust leak.
The factory flat rate time for this procedure when the car was new and non of the bolts were rusty and prone to break was 3 hours in a well equipped dealer service shop.
Other that it being a lot of work, the exhaust manifold bolts are prone to breaking off in the cylinder head. If this happens the best route to take is to remove the head and work on the broken bolts on a bench. Good luck.
Brad