Replacing a starter on a 98 626. Can see or feel the bolts. Do they come through from the other side?

Ford engineers obviously got a big laugh when they designed this one. The third bolt is not visible, but it is right at the top of the bolt "circle", the bottom two are visible and fairly accessible. If you have small hands, you might be able to reach a finger way up there and feel it. Because of the engine mount, you have to have a socket and extension that is exactly the right length, leaving just enough room between the end of the starter and the engine mount to attach a ratchet. Getting the socket on the bolt head is sort of a stab in the dark; push the socket and extension toward where you think the bolt is, and sometimes you can feel the socket engage the bolt head. The only other option might be to remove the exhaust manifold so you can see the bolt, but you are likely to break off at least one manifold bolt/stud, so that would be a last resort for me. Once the top starter bolt is loosened, you might have better luck finishing the removal with 1/4 inch drive tools as they take up less space.

The Starter is located under the intake manifold on th back bottom side of the motor!
The only way to remove it is from under the car!
Remove the Neg Battery terminal from the battery before going under the car.
If I recall correctly, there are (2) 14 or 15mm bolts holding it to the engine block, one of them is a Blind bolt, as you will only be able to feel its location on the back side of the starter. (tip, when replacing the bolt behind the starter, either have a small magnet inside the socket to hold the bolt inside the socket while tring to locate the hole. You could also use a small piece of paper or plastic bag to wedge the bolt head to the socket so it doesn't fall out while tring to locate the hole!
You will also have a 13mm nut holding the Positive battery and Alt. cable to the starter and a 10mm nut holding the wire coming from the ignition switch.
Hope this helps!
Happy Saturn Motoring!

Thank you for using Fixya.
Heres's the procedure on how to remove and install starter for your 03 Expedition. First remove the battery cables from the battery. Remove the electrical connections to the starter and label for replacement. There are 3 bolts - 13mm. The bottom bolt is also the ground terminal, therefore you will need a deep socket for that bolt. The other two are accessable ideally with about a 7" extension to your socket wrench. The top bolt is on the top of the starter and you could fit your hand up there to feel it and place the socket. The 3rd bolt is between the bottom and top bolts. Remove the 3 bolts and the starter falls right out.

All the best!

The starter install is fairly simple and will require a 13mm socket and a long extension. First get the car securely on jack stands or ramps so your have access to the bottom of the car and engine.  lying on your back with your head towards the rear of the vehicle (approximately center of the car) you can look up past the exhaust pipe and CV axles and see the starter from there.
 
First remove the main wire that comes from the battery (13mm nut and lock washer)  then unplug the two wires that are on separate sides of the lug you just remove (noting the wire colors and which side you removed them from).  
Next remove the 13mm bolt that holds the bracket attached to the rear of the starter. It's the one bolted the to the engine block that is attached to the passenger side of the starter.
Lastly you will find 3, 13mm bolts that actually bolt the starter through the engine bell housing into the transmission.  
There is one on the very bottom, one in the center (kinda towards the rear of the vehicle only about 3 1/2" upward of the bottom bolt) and one at the very top directly opposite the bottom bolt ( this one is the hardest to locate and remove but it's up there, you just have to feel around or get a light to shine on the top of the starter to see it)  
After all bolts are removed you navigate the starter out by pulling it towards the passenger side wheel and between the CV axles and suspension parts of the front end.
To reinstall it's the opposite of this procedure!
Hope this Helps!!

I just removed and replaced the starter contacts on my 1995 4runner...twice. It doesn't look like it will fit, but it does. Do all the obvious stuff first, such as disconnecting the battery and removing the skid plate and passenger side access panel in the wheel well. Unbolt the bracket holding the positive wire and move this stuff out of the way as much as possible. Then, get under the vehicle and open up the cover and unbolt the main power supply (the big red wire).
The starter is held in with 2 bolts and both have their own issues. First, the upper bolt is pretty hard to find. If you feel all around the top of the starter you will feel 2 bolts; one is attached to a bracket and is facing the drivers side of the vehicle (don't remove this one) and the other if directly facing the front of the vehicle (this is the one you need to get out). Second, from under the vehicle the lower bolt is visible once you remove the skid plate. It is the large bolt at the bottom of the starter facing directly to the rear of the vehicle. It has room for about 1/10th of a complete turn on either side of the brake lines. If you have a long u-joint extension this is not a problem, but I did not and had to use a 14mm wrench and slowly back it out until it could be moved by hand. The starter will now be sitting free on some suspension parts (if I remember correctly). Twist the starter clockwise and remove the small black wire with a flathead screwdriver.
Now the starter is completely free from the vehicle. To remove it, push up the front of the starter (end that does not have gears/sprockets sticking out of it) and twist about a 1/4 of a turn so that it is aligned where it looks like it will fit through the frame. Gently, wiggle it around and it should pop out in several seconds.
A word of advise, be sure all the connections between the bolts, relays...are all very clean when you put the starter back in. This is why I had to do it 2x's.

There should be two or three bolts holding it in have a good look and feel around the starter to see if there are more bolts.

there are 3 bolts, the third is on top it comes out from the back side of the starter just like the other bolt on top, you cant see it, just feel for it.

Hi, I am assuming you know where starter is. If you have found bottom bolt #14 metric socket which to reach you "must" use a medium length extention and go into it right above manifold pipe to reach it. I found if you take the guard off the starter 3 small hex head screws, it is much easier to get at all bolts (2). Whats strange is the lower bolt on starter mounts from the front and the "TOP" bolt #14 has to be reached from the rear of starter. You can not see the top bolt from bottom or top, but if you use your hand and reach up aroung the back of starter you can feel it! It took 2 of us one reaching up from bottom with just #14 deep well socket (no extention) on the rachet and feeling where to place it with rachet facing up, and person over top of engine reaching down helping to align socket on bolt, then use a piece of pipe or ? From the top place pipe extension on end of rachet and bolt will easily.
break loose. Good Luck it sounds hard but is fairly easy with right tools. kasheyboy77

There shouldn't be any hardware to remove to get to the starter bolts. You should try removing the bolt you can see and see if the starter comes off. There is a small chance the other bolt is broken. It may be in a spot you can't see as well. You may have to try to feel around the starter in places you can't see and feel for a bolt.

The starter is behind the engine and accessible from beneath the car. The mounting bolt under the car might be obscured by the starter wire, but you will be able to see it clearly enough after pulling the wire out of the way. It goes through the starter and threads into the engine (from the passenger's side of the car toward the driver's side).

The other bolt is barely accessible from the top of the car. It goes through a hole in the engine and threads into the starter (from the driver's side toward the passenger's side), so it is oriented opposite to the first bolt. You can't see it, but you can feel it by reaching your fingers in from the driver's side under the steel bracket that supports the wire harness in that area. I was able to place a 14mm socket head over the bolt by feel, then snap the handle in and remove it that way. You won't be able to get it with a wrench unless you undo a bunch of wires and hoses. Be careful; there are two bolts there, and the one for the starter is further to the rear of the car. It is identical to the other starter bolt, so you should be able to distinguish the bolt head by feel.

The starter can be wrestled down and out of the car from beneath, but it takes a few minutes of struggling and twisting. It might be easier if you remove some bracketing or hoses, but I managed without.

Good luck!