Starter Motor

[katanacrazy]

No sooner than I had got the inlet manifold off and there was another problem before me. You realy have to love these old cars!!!!
The reason for this work is two fold. First my starter motor has been temperamental as of late. Sometimes requiring a gentle tap with a table leg. Second, there was a hissing sound coming from No 6 inlet. Once the manifold was off the hissing was easily explained. Poor maintenance by a previous owner , the gasget was damaged and not sitting right.
I have a replacement starter and was attempting to undo the two mounting nuts, but they are not nuts on studs. They are bolts with Torx heads on the other side.
My questions are as follows:
1. Is this normal?
2. Do you have to lower the engine to gain access?
3. Or is there a tip?
Otherwise, I am thinking of taking a Dremel to it and cutting the nuts off then replacing with Hex bolts and modify a spanner to aid with tightening.
Thanks for reading.

[Grrrmachine]

Torx bolts are very common on the gearbox, which is why your starter has them (going through the block into the bell-housing). If you're going to keep your E30 it's worth investing in some Torx sockets because you'll use them eventually.

I don't think you need to lower the engine to get to the starter, but it can be very fiddly.

[daimlerman]

Working from under the car,offer up a suitable(female torx E14 IIRC)socket on the end of a long extension.Get an assistant to hold a spanner on the nut from within the engine bay.I mostly find that 'er indoors is capable of holding a spanner on a nut,but if asked to turn the spanner,she usually turns it the wrong way....

[Jim320i]

I can get to them using a standard ratchet spanner, 10 or 11mm from memory, you place it on, it is then extremely close to the bulkhead wall so get a ring spanner on the end of the ratchet spanner to the angle and leverage... Only 2 hold it in place and they're easy to get on and off.

I have a set of Torx bits but they are all deep socket ones so no good for getting starters off

[Brianmoooore]

I keep a 7/16" AF combination spanner in the toolbox especially for this job. The ring end fits the starter torx bolts perfectly.

[katanacrazy]

Thanks for the advice. I went and bought a set of Torx spanners and after about an hour of swearing and cut knuckles I got the grinder out!!!
I cut 40mm off from the end of the spanner and welded it at 90 degrees to some 9mm square bar. I could then easily get to the head and apply sufficient pressure to undo the nut with the added bonus of leaving the tool in place when putting the motor back in without knocking the bolt out of place.
Thanks again.