[FIXED] Starter stuck 2 bellhousing!? Wth?!

My 05 Acura TSX (auto) failed to crank. troubleshooting led to starter being bad..took intake manifold off & disconnected a bunch of mess just to access the starter (BTW engine is K24A, same as similar year Honda Accord 2.4).

I def have all the bolts and connectors removed but the starter will not budge!!

I've oiled the sh*t out of the seam. Tried using hammer and chisel, little hand saw, craft knife, pry bar underneath it...still stuck like hell!

Got a dremel tool with a copper brush circle tip and polished up both ends to the longer starter bolt and my battery posts and tried jumping it straight from my 12.7v (just charged & not connected to the car) battery.
*The first 2 times I jumped it the starter motor quietly whirred for a second but then no matter how many times I jumped it there was no "whir", just one click each time the circuit was closed.
*Got a ratchet and turned the pwr steering pulley to make the drive belt turn then tried jumping it again and 1st time got a short whir, after that only a click.
*When the whir stops it seems kinda sudden, like almost a click sound when it stops...ive gotten it to spin for anywhere between <1 to 3 secs MAX b4 it stops.
*noticed that every time I turn the drive belt by hand then jump the starter it will click&spin the 1st time then only clicks
*When I turn the drive belt, right off it seems to make a lil "tap" sound & I found out even just barely turning it is enough to get one whir out of the starter when jumped afterwards.
*the last time I hand turned the drive belt I didn't jump the starter afterward, but rather took the bolt back out of the starter to see if it was any looser, but still stuck to the point I could prob hang from it and it wouldn't budge!

After all that, here's my question...What do you think is holding the starter onto the bellhousing like that?!

Oh yeah after I did all that I took a piece of wood and put it against the top of the starter and angled it as best I could to make it where hammering the end of the wood would provide a straight back force to try and knock the thing out. I did manage to get a teeny tiny crack in the top of the seam where they meet & took the thinnest craft knife I own and attempted to drag the knife around but it got stuck and the end of it broke off where the crack stopped.

I'm afraid to do the hammering thing again bc im scared the bendix could be binded up with the Flexplate gear and by doing so I could seriously damage the Flexplate, or the entire transmission!!

ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm a female with hardly any experience working on cars. I get the electrical aspect of a decent amount of vehicular systems but as far as the mechanical stuff I'm pretty clueless.
Thx u guys!

fr33spirit wrote: Oh yeah after I did all that I took a piece of wood and put it against the top of the starter and angled it as best I could to make it where hammering the end of the wood would provide a straight back force to try and knock the thing out. I did manage to get a teeny tiny crack in the top of the seam where they meet & took the thinnest craft knife I own and attempted to drag the knife around but it got stuck and the end of it broke off where the crack stopped.

This is the ticket, IMO. Apply more penetrating oil to the crack and keep hammering. As with stuck wheel bearings, the trick is to get them moving. Once you get it to crack, you're much better off.

I dunno if this'll make sense, but it might be beneficial to apply a few blows from a perpendicular angle to the starter. As in, 2x4 on the starter motor standing straight up and down where the intake would be. Hit it like it owes you money and recheck. Work back and forth with your previous angle, and keep oiling. If you have something more solid, like a prybar or pipe, use them. They'll absorb less of the impact force than the wood.

It'd be great if you could get some blows in from the bottom? But this is an RSX with little ground clearance. :silly: Plus, the lower splash shield is a lot of work to remove.

I'm afraid to do the hammering thing again bc im scared the bendix could be binded up with the Flexplate gear and by doing so I could seriously damage the Flexplate, or the entire transmission!!

I understand your hesitation, but I wouldn't worry about it at all. I've probably replaced a hundred of these K-series starters. NONE of them had any significant flywheel/flexplate damage as a result of the starter failure or starter removal.

The behavior you're describing sounds very typical of a starter with high resistance in the brushes or open motor segments. For perspective, I took this capture off an '08 CR-V. This one had a very slow crank, and eventually died in the bay during testing. Yellow is battery voltage, green is starter current:

www.scannerdanner.com/forum/diagnostic-t...-i-m-right.html#9818

Yeah there's not really any way to get in and hit it from the bottom. Its a TSX but I cant even get my fingers around the edge at the bottom and around towards the back. It's like the metal engine housing is shaped to sit right against the starter.

It did finally click what you were saying about hitting it from a diff angle.

I stopped typing and installed the zoom app and jus sat my phone down and beat the hell outta the 2x4 against the starter and eventually it popped out!! Omg, I was rejoicing!! You should see the pool of oil that came out with it! Lol penetrating oil that is!
Thx 4 giving me the confidence to keep at it and not worry id break my whole transmission in the process!

No problem! Glad to hear it finally gave up!

If you haven't already put the new starter in, now's the time to clean up any corrosion in the starter bore with a wire wheel/brush/emery cloth. Maybe a thin coat of anti-seize if you're feeling fancy. The corrosion is probably what stuck the starter in there in the first place, and you may end up thanking yourself in the future if you go to change the starter again.