Hi, just got my daughters 02 CRV back, she’s had it for some time. She has a new CRV now, so I get to get this one back in shape and sell it!

Hi, Dne’ here;) this blog is about removing the starter from a CRV. It’s probably identical to many Honda, but I’m only familiar with this particular CRV.

 

As for the removal, I’ve watched a few videos, some pull the starter from below(yeah, ok), some pull it from above by removing the intake manifold. After looking at how tight it is, I chose to pull the intake manifold;)

 

Let’s get to it!~!!! The Honda hood can open a long way, take advantage of it;) Get a soda water, kind of a long blog.

Note: you will be disconnecting the battery and removing it from the vehicle for added clearance, but for goodness sake, if you have the original radio, make sure you have the code written some where, otherwise you may not have a radio to listen to. The code for ours was written by the original owner, check your manual in the glove box.

 

Though this may not be absolutely necessary, I pulled the bumper cover, the underneath engine cover(splash shield) and the top radiator cover. They’re kind of a pain due to all the buttons(buy a bag of these buttons, cheap!), but once out-of-the-way, life is much easier. You may even want to replace the bumper cover if yours is beat up, they’re cheap, but can be replace easily at any time.

 

 

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Bonus info: The lower radiator support bolt, access panel:
 I kept noticing the imprinted arrow in the splash shield, it’s precisely at the location of the lower radiator support bracket, this allows access to that one little pesky 10mm bolt! I took a razor cutter and did a piss poor job cutting, but it does allow access to it. Just cut it larger than I did and allow a flap to “re-seal” it when done. Honda thought this out for its techs! 😉 Way to go Honda, but if you should want to remove the splash shield, it doesn’t take that much longer to do so. In doing so, you can inspect the harmonic balancer crankshaft seal, and other things! For goodness sake, DO NOT USE A SAWZALL TO CUT IT OUT!!!

Aha, the arrow!!

The little bolt needed to move the radiator support;)

 

 

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So if you do the above method, then just remove the front bumper cover and the top radiator cover. The front bumper is easy to remove, a little testy maybe.;)

 

Below is one of the buttons, they’re usually destroyed(most of the time) when removing, but when ordering a new starter, the new buttons can be purchased and they are quite cheap to replace.

 

One uses a screwdriver to pop the piece up, then it pulls out of what it’s holding together. They usually get destroyed removing them. New ones can be bought on Amazon pretty cheap for a bag of them.

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Hey Dne’ why do I have to remove the front bumper cover? Many people just bend the little radiator support bracket, I do not condone this, but if you insist on bending it, it’s your choice.  Remove the front bumper and just do it right;) Below you can see the bumper cover is in the way of the bolts on the sides of the frame, can’t get to it unless removing the bumper cover;)

 

see, one on each side, sigh, it can be bent I guess just enough to move the radiator support.

See again;)and this one too of course;)

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I don’t have everything listed, but if you are doing this, you must have some knowledge about what’s going on? 😉  I’m just here to help with more pictures and what I’ve learned;) and hey, If I help you a little bit, let me know, subscribe to my blog;)

Here and below, I’ve unbolted the radiator support and unbolted the hood release. However, down the center of the radiator support down at the bottom of it is one 10mm bolt and it has to be removed in order for the radiator support to be moved easily out-of-the-way. To access it, that is why at least the lower plastic cover needs to be removed or the other method shown above. I saw one guy remove the intake with it still bolted, but I found it much easier this way.

 

I’ve already had the intake out at this point, but note the throttle body on the right of the intake, remove 4 bolts from the throttle body and it can be gently moved away from the intake and just enough room to maneuver the manifold out. There are a few plugs to unplug, mainly the one which goes un-noticed is on the left lower intake, but you’ll see it when pulling the manifold off. Be gentle removing it in case you missed a wire.

 

below: there is one 10mm bolt holding a little vacuum valve there. The vacuum hoses to that can stay connected when removing the intake. Be careful removing vacuum hoses if you do, the plastic on these older cars are brittle, that darned valve is probably 50 bucks or so!

Below: where my index finger is pointing, that hose needs to be removed.

 

Just more information/suggestions: if your CRV has a lot of miles on it, below I’m pointing at the thermostat cover. I replaced the thermostat on mine when replacing the AC system at 80k miles. Now would be a good time to take care of that. Perhaps even replace the lower radiator hose too.;) Also notice how easy it would be to replace the radiator cooling fans at this point??

The intake manifold on the bench in various angles for your enjoyment;) Be sure to replace the intake manifold seals and throttle body seal!!!

 

 

 

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The Starter!!!

below: With the intake manifold out of the way, the starter is staring you right in the face! Yeah!!

 

Notice the Air conditioning compressor, would be easy to get to if your AC is out and needs a compressor;)

 

So, removing these bolts from below would have been Hell! lol  They were tight, very tight!! one is a 17mm and the one closest to the block is a 14mm. May want to spray some WD-40 at the threads.

This coolant hose is under the intake, the only way to get to it is to remove the intake manifold. No, I didn’t replace mine either:(  Let’s say it springs a leak on a long road trip? eek!

Just pointing out the thermostat again.;) It’s going to be a while before the parts show up, I covered the holes to the valves, don’t want anything to accidentally get in there, that would be TERRIBLE!! I’d hate to make a blog on how to remove the cylinder head!!

There’s another thing to keep in mind here: On my CRV, the cooling fans went out, both of them. It has a 139,000 miles. If these go out, it can be costly, ruin an AC system or toast an engine. Both of the fans on this CRV were out almost ruining the AC system!! If anything, make sure BOTH fans are working before tearing down to get to the starter. They’re not terribly expensive on Amazon, think about it;)

Consider also:

1) Starter(of course), 2) both radiator/condenser fans, 3) thermostat, 4) lower radiator hose, and that 5) one other coolant hose under the intake manifold which is probably a dealer item. Also, if you remove the front bumper cover, might be a good time to replace the 6) headlights?  This can be determined on if your budget, and plan whether or not to keep the vehicle for a long time.

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Trouble shooting time:  After the installation of the starter, the starter worked great, however, when running the engine sped up from 1000-2000 rpm, then a rough idle. I removed the intake about 3-4 x times thinking it was a vacuum leak, but eventually the computer threw a DTC(diagnostic trouble code) PO505 translating into the IAC valve(Idle air control valve). What are the odds of this happening, I didn’t even touch the darned thing! I ordered a Honda replacement from Ebay for 37.oo which I just installed today and that took care of it.

Below is a pic of the throttle body laid up on the radiator support with the throttle cables still attached. The IAC has one plug in, a single coolant hose all held by two phillips screws. Having the intake off made access to the IAC valve much easier, but it doesn’t look to bad to remove even with the intake attached.

Sorry for the length of this blog, the starter removal isn’t too bad, you can do it! Please subscribe and leave a nice comment if you would and other suggestions I can put for other car enthusiasts, or DIY’ers!!

dne’ 😉