Starter removal I have a 1994 Crown Vic that i have worked for 9 hours on trying to get at the top bolt to remove it. In my 45 years at wrenching on all types of vehicles from farm tractors and combines to riding lawn mowers I've never seen a starter so difficult to remove. First off you have to use a mirror to even see it I've tried socket and wrench know to man.as a last resort I thought about cutting the starter off with a torch and then removing the bolt,but I would have a fight replacing the bolt on the new starter. I'm out of ideas. anyone have and ideas?

you need a socket set probley a 1/2 " combination wrench 5/16s combination wrench for the wires a 9/16s combo wrench for the battery to starter wire. and a flex adapter between exstention and the 1\2 short socket to remove the 2 starter bolts. ratchet of course.

Crown Victorias that year came with two engine options.
The regular Crown Vic had a 302 cubic inch engine.
The Police version had a 351W.
The 351W is a much better, stronger engine.
The easiest way to tell at a glance is to see if you can access the bottom thermostat housing bolt with a socket. If you can it's a 351W. If you can only get a wrench on that bolt, then it's a 302.

The sizes given are the wrench sizes needed to perform the step.
1. Remove the negative battery cable from the battery.
2. Remove the hose that connects the air cleaner to the throttle body.
3. Remove the top of the air cleaner box (4 clips on the corners).
4. Take out the air filter. Disconnect the sensor on the side of the air cleaner.
5. Remove the three bolts (2 - 12mm, 1 - 10mm) that hold the bottom of the air cleaner box to the inner fender and remove the box.
6. Disconnect the two rubber hoses on the top of the air canister (one large, one small).
7. Loosen the clamp bolt (10mm) (be careful as there is a non-captive nut that will drop if you remove the bolt completely) and slide the air canister out.
8. Remove the two bolts that hold the fuel filter on to its bracket (10mm). It is the same bracket as the air canister's.
9. Remove the air canister/fuel filter bracket by removing the four bolts that hold it in place (10mm).
10. Remove the wire harness/hose bracket directly in front of the top starter bolt (12mm) - this will facilitate your ability to get a socket wrench on the starter bolt. On my car it was RIGHT in the way!
11. Loosen the top starter bolt (14mm).
12. Loosen the bottom starter bolt (14mm) and remove it completely.
13. Hold the starter up and remove the top bolt completely. Flip the starter over and place it on the drive axle below with the wiring facing up.
14. Disconnect the solenoid plug and the starter cable (12mm).
15. Remove the starter by snaking it through the driver's side of the motor compartment. There's enough room if you're patient - be careful not to snag anything and damage it.
16. Snake the new starter down through the driver's side reverse of the way the old one came out. Lie it on the drive axle and connect the solenoid connector and the cable.
17. Flip it over and up into place. Hold it in place and start the top bolt. Tighten it by hand enough that the starter stays in place by itself.
18. Start the bottom bolt; tighten it up all the way.
19. Tighten the top bolt the rest of the way.
20. Connect the battery cable and try the starter - before you put everything back!
21. Replace canister/fuel filter bracket and bolt the fuel filter in place.
22. Slide the air canister in and tighten the clamp bolt. Connect the two rubber hoses on top of it.
23. Install the bottom of the air cleaner box; plug in the sensor.
24. Put in the air filter and then replace the top of the air cleaner.
25. Connect the big hose from the air cleaner to the throttle body.
NOTE: You may have to reset the "check engine" light when you're finished (I think starting the car when we check it in Step 20 can freak out the computer since there are still things disconnected). To do this, find the fuse block on the driver's side of the engine compartment; remove the 15A EFI fuse for 30 seconds. Put the fuse back in - the light should now be reset.
That's it! Shouldn't need another one for another 150,000 miles!

A helpful rating and an testimonial would be greatly appreciated if you are satisfied with my solution ...

Since the starter involved the electrical system, disconnect the negative battery terminal to avoid any electrical shorts or other issues.The starter is located on the driver's side just below the intake manifold and near the firewall. Remove the transmission dip stick, which partially obstructs the starter.Loosen the top bolt on the starter with a 14-mm wrench and loosen the bottom bolt with a 17-mm wrench a couple of turns but do not remove the bolts.After both of the bolts are loose, remove the top bolt and then the bottom bolt and pull the starter out of the transmission bell housing. You will have to angle the starter a little to remove it.Remove the wire that goes to the ignition switch. The wire should simply slide off. Use the 9-mm wrench to disconnect the nut that holds on the solenoid wire.

Place wires on the new or remanufactured starter and place it back in the bell housing

Replace the top and bottom bolts.Put transmission dipstick back in the gearbox and reconnect the battery.

Yes it is. They will need to be drilled out. Thats the best way, some people try to put bolts on, but I dont advise it.

Easy stuff first. Try replacing the #9 fuse on the interior fuse panel. This fuse protects the instrument panel, license, parking and tail light circuits. The panel is located under the dash to the left of the steering column. You will need to pry off the cover on the panel to access the fuses. The fuse you want is a 15 amp fuse located directly under the turn signal flasher. It should be easy to figure out which fuse it is because it will be 'blown' or open. This is easy to determine just by looking at the fuse once it's removed. And, if you aren't sure what's what, I'm sure you can find a diagram of this fuse panel somewhere on the Internets if you look around a little. I took this info out of the Owner Manual from my own '94 Vic. If this doesn't solve the problem I would suggest taking your Vic to a shop and letting them take a look at it.

1 Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2 Turn on ignition and radio, if it works, see number 1 above.
3 Jack up car (front) and set on jack stands.
4 Put on safety glasses and crawl underneath front end 15mm socket/ratchet & combo wrench, and it seems like a 10mm socket/ratchet & combo wrench, and a couple other tools I forget. (I just did this a few weeks ago).
5 Remove 2 wires from the starter, save nuts just in case. (10mm & 15mm)
6 There are 2 bolts holding the starter on, one of which is hidden/buried behind a sheetmetal shroud, remove the shroud, it is a pain in the keester, but it comes out.(seems like 10mm or 13mm maybe).
7 Remove the 2 bolts from the starter (15mm)
8 Remove starter from engine.
9 Clean the grease,dirt, grime, and grass off your safety glasses, they saved your eyes-you ONLY get 2 of them at the most.
10 That about covers it, reach around and pat yourself on the back, GOOD JOB!!!

I think most starters are about this easy/hard. A few older ones you can just about do from the top of the car.

yes they are very difficult to get to.
its just the top one and some mechanics leave them out after starter replacement.
it sounds bad but true.
i use either a stubby 10 mm wrench and a prybar to break it loose,
or a 3/8 ratchet and a wobble extenion and socket. it has to be the perfect length using different extensions to reach and still fit with the ratchet handle at the back of the starter.
sorry but it can be done.....
no stubby wrench, cut one

hi,

take off the passenger side front tire and youll have to use a couple of socket extensions to get it, make sure to jack and block car correctly. when you remove the tire you should be able to see the top bolt with a droplight through the wheelwell
access is through the wheelwell I believe.

J

I mount bolt is a RELLY hard to remove. Pay the money and have a mechanic do it on a lift.