2005 Honda CR-V Starter Replacement - Without Removing Intake Manifold 

A reasonable voice in the Honda fog.

Yeah, I agree. Did this in 1 take, just showing the viewer exactly what I used. Some people like to see exactly how the things function that I used - but I understand that that information wasn't useful to you. Noted. Thanks.

From underneath is the way to go?

@@miriammiriamxoxo yes sir remove the plastic cover and top bolt 1st

@@pweeloco510 I'm actually female but thanks for the advice! I honestly like the way MrMizat03 explained the replacement but sadly the video doesnt actually show him doing it. Seeing is believing!!!

Yeah, so I've heard about 40 times. You're number 41. I said as much in the video, I believe I said something like "if you don't have to do this in 30 minutes with the intake method, take some time, don't remove anything you don't need to. Etc. You're welcome. Use it next time you want to spend 8 hours carefully doing a job that takes apparently 30 minutes if you're a master mechanic that's half drunk with only one hand. This is for people who don't have the tools or know-how to do what you do. The thing about my method here is I removed two bolts from the motor, then put two more bolts back on and I was done. You have to remove about 20 bolts, unhook a bunch of lines and hoses and clips and wires that you could break because they're old lines and if you wrench, you know old shit breaks when you touch it, and then you did a whole bunch of other stuff that's unnecessary to the job. This is a doctor saying: "I need to remove your heart, and instead of opening you up carefully he's going to cut the whole front of your chest off." Don't worry he says, "I've done it a hundred times, it's an easy job." Well what if the ribs don't match up right? What if your torque specs are off? What if the skin rejects after you put it back together? You see my point? I removed two bolts. Put the new starter on, put the bolts back in, and reassembled the car. Easy. Took a long time, but easy. I watched someone do what you're talking about. He was flopping around a bunch of hoses and lines, he had all the bolts saved in some stupid spot, the engine was open and exposing the pistons, and I'm sure as the world's greatest mechanic you have experienced like I have when people that aren't Master mechanics decide they want to do some job that they shouldn't be trying...then they bring it to you and say I screwed it up, can you fix it? Let me ask you something. If I pulled a random guy off the street, would you let him take off your intake and put it back on? You'll stand there, you'll tell him how to do it, do you trust it? Or would you rather he just take two bolts out that aren't torque spec, and put 2 back in? Even then, I've seen people break windshields trying to change their wiper blades, I saw a guy try to put a spark plug back in and he crossed threaded it so bad we had to drill and tap the whole damn motor. I already know the answer, and if you think he'd be fine to do it your way, you're lying to yourself. Look man, I rebuild computers all day. I rebuild small electronics and firearms. I've built race cars and done my own wrenching for 20 years. I watched them remove the intake before I tried this method, and I did not like what I saw. A little too grimy and involved then I wanted to ever try in the parking lot of an apartment building. So I got in and got out, and did the entire job with a ratchet, two extensions, and a lisle body apron tool. I'll have you know, apartment management doesn't take kindly to intake manifolds laying on the ground while their trying to sell a lease to a pair of doctors next door. I took some body parts apart, and carefully removed the starter from the motor. It worked perfectly. I sold that car and made $4,000 profit. Thanks for letting me know I'm a jackass like the 10 experts before you, and the next 8 that will surely come after you. Have a good rest of the day, boss. this video is for the amateur that wouldn't normally even try to touch their car if it's broken. This video is not for the Master mechanic that can rebuild the planetary systems in a auto trans by heart. This method saved me about $400 in labor fees. I hope it saves somebody else some money too.

@@MrMizat03 well said. I’m no mechanic, but I’m about to try doing the same task the same way as you on my wife’s 2004 CRV. Can I just ask, is it hard to remove the radiator too if deemed necessary in order to have greater space to work in? And, would the removal of the radiator provide much greater space to work in and greater visibility of what you’re doing? Thanks in advance for any advice.

@@paulfletcher8544 Yeah, so it's going to give you a few inches of space - the width of the radiator - which would help, but isn't necessary. It's not going to reveal a whole lot of extra information, and it'll be a bit more work. Basically, you'll drain the radiator, then unplug everything that's plugged in and lift it out. There is a lot of radiator fluid, so a receptacle would need to be shimmied in there. I didn't mess with it, and glad I didn't, but it would have been helpful definitely - it would allow for a different level of geometry, more space to work from the front, gets you lower towards the bumper. It's not hard, just can be a bit messy, and you could damage the fins if you're too rough with it. I'm also not sure if that model has ac cooling lines hooked up - if it does, don't even try it. That's a nightmare. Check the hookups before you start. I just covered the radiator with a folded box, loosened it so it could sway back and forth a little, and it did the trick.

@@MrMizat03 thanks for that. Given that it does have an AC condenser too, I’ll just do it the way you did and see how I go. Thanks again. 😎

@@paulfletcher8544 How was your experience ? I'm fixin to change my starter and any advice you could share is greatly appreciated

If the intake gasket doesn't need to be disturbed for reasons apparent to diagnosis, then removing the factory "schmoo" and gasket that has married well over the last whatever-thousands of miles - no matter how level expert you are - will only hasten the eventual permeability of said membrane. Essentially, don't fix what ain't broken. You taking something apart, no matter how good you are, cannot put it back like it was from the factory. You can get it done well, and near perfect, but microscopically, that razor may mar in just the right way, the application of sealant if needed could be thin, yanking old lines and hoses, draining fluid, poking things, etc. Might be infinitesimally small changes, but unnecessary to the job at hand. If it need be done, it's necessary, and so on. But I've proved in this video that it is not necessarily necessary. I've seen a lot of Subaru gasket jobs that leak again, and sooner than before - same with a few jeeps or anything really. That's my evidence.

@@MrMizat03 its got rubber oring style "gaskets", no schmoo or sealer or any of that, the orings are for easy servicability. as long as you blow all the dirt away before removal there are no downsides. honda made it that way for a reason. this can be done in less than an hour easy.

@@MrMizat03 there is no membrane... and it aint no subaru lol

@@robbieseteg5418 be that as it may, you don't fix what ain't broken. That would be like needing a gallbladder removed, but the doctor says he needs to remove your stomach too. I went in, bada bing, took out the gallbladder. I was going to just take the radiator out - that would have made it very easy and fast - but again, unnecessary if you've got all day to do it. Pulling, wrenching, and tugging on stuff makes problems. I don't know the world you live in, but in mine, you take something apart, other things sometimes go wrong, then you need a new bolt, or hose, or the threads did something weird, or now it's overheating, etc...what could it be!?! I avoided all that, replaced ONLY the starter, and sold the car for a $2k profit. If all the things you've wrenched on in your life have gone exactly like you thought it would, you're a better mechanic than most wrenchers I know. Today I ripped a capacitor off a MacBook pro logic board, ruining it completely. All I was trying to do was tighten up the heat sink screws after repairing the copper tubing...just a tiny little adjustment to prevent ark due to the bent heat sink channel forcing capacitors on top of each other...and...total failure. I've learned, if you can avoid extra steps, do.

I watched a RU-vid video (Fall 2020) in which its maker showed convincingly how to replace the starter in a Gen 2 CRV from underneath, the main difficulty being to work almost entirely by feel, especially getting a wrench on the b-post, if I recall correctly. He also removed a bracket obstructing access to the long bolt, I think it was. I don't remember the maker's name, but I think he was Indian, and he was working in an unpaved driveway using ramps. He also stressed the greater ease and simplicity of doing the R&R from underneath, as opposed to the recommended but unnecessary removal of the exhaust manifold. If I can find that video again (or another doing it down under), I'll share the good news.

Since it is a K Series motor, I'm almost positive it's similar. Just get your hand down in there and feel around. To think they redesigned the engineering entirely with the K Series between two years is irrational. They keep it that way if they can, and mostly, parts interchange from 2003 to 2006. If the parts people say that the new starter is compatible with both the '05 and the '04, you're on the green!

Yes, you're going to have to work from the top and bottom to articulate all the motions required to facilitate this task; I was on the ground a lot to see what I was doing and to position. But removing the starter through the bottom, I don't think it'll fit anywhere through the bottom because that lower cross-member is prohibitively intrusive. It's possible I guess if you removed and released certain things, but I found the path of least resistance from the top.

I can't remember. I think just through the body. I don't remember it having a dedicated negative. I remember the bolt holding the positive on, but that's it.

@@MrMizat03 I believe it’s the body. At least according to the positioning of the ground bracket on the electrical. I suppose we’ll find out here in a few minutes as soon as I get it buttoned up. Thanks for the prompt response. Much appreciated.

Yeah, in the beginning of the video I said as much. This video is not for the competent mechanic; it's for the non-competent, "complete idiot" as you've said. We all can't be tactful geniuses with unlimited powers of mechanical ability. Some of us are just useless, stupid idiots. This is for those people. Also, I changed the starter the proper way before, and the last time I did it, it took a torque wrench and specialized tools, and more importantly, specialized knowledge to ensure the proper torque specs and configuration was used to reattach the manifold and avoid ripping a vacuum line, handling old tubing and cables, and removing the throttle body as well. This method in the video I present required three hand tools and time - that's all. Seems like a pretty good trade-off to me.