Thought I'd share some lessons learned replacing starter. Located directly under the intake manifold, its not readily accessible.
There are two strategies for replacement: Access from above or from below. I chose above, having already replaced a starter on an '06 Accord equipped with the same basic engine.
In retrospect, I think I should've chosen the 'below' approach, but didn't because I didn't have a lift or access to a floor jack. As it turns out, I don't think lifting the car is necessary, but - I can't say for sure. The drawback on the 'below' approach is that you can't see the rearward bolt on the starter; you must rely on feel. Plus, having done the Accord from above, I thought, "what could go wrong?"
Anyway, if you choose to access from above, it is not as easy as it is on the Accord. Begin by disconnecting the battery cables. Next, remove throttle body assembly; Incl the air intake hoses, vacuum hoses, and coolant line attached to the throttle body. The coolant line and vacuum hose are metal tubes connected to one another. The vacuum hose runs into the large air intake tube. But to remove it, you also have to disconnect the coolant line because the 2 of them are attached to one another. When I disconnected the coolant line, a little coolant leaked out, but not enough to worry about. Disconnect the electrical connection closest to you, attached to the right (drivers side) side of the intake manifold. Next, unbolt the manifold's 2 nuts and 2 bolts (12mm). Now the tricky part: in order to extract the manifold, you must loosen the crossbar overtop the radiator. Remove the plastic shroud fitted with those plastic 'buttons' to reveal the bolts necessary to remove. (It helps to have a battery powered socket wrench, believe me. Search for a Kimo, on Amazon - proved to be a frustration saver) Remove all the 10mm bolts attaching that cross piece (the one to which the hood latch is fastened), all EXCEPT the one on either lower side of the bracket that are facing you. Because if you remove them, I don't know how you'll get your fingers in there to put them back in. You only have to loosen those two. Remove the 2 brackets holding the air conditioner radiator (I forget what you call that thing - you'll know what I mean) to expose the bolts below them. Once all the necessary bolts are removed, you can gain enough play to pull that crossbar towards you to make enough room needed to extract the manifold. Underneath the car, remove the plastic panel with the square access hole in it. Next, remove the bolt (12mm) holding the metal manifold support bracket. Next, locate the electrical cable below the manifold. It has a connector that is impossible to see from below because there is a bar in the way. You must disconnect it from above by manipulating the left side of the manifold up to reveal that connector. The connector lock is tricky. Its the white plastic thing. I used a screwdriver to rotate it to the unlocked position and disconnect the cable. Next, in theory, you may be able to remove the black plastic plenum attached to the manifold. There are 3, 12 mm bolts and 2, 10 mm nuts holding it on. The bolts are arranged in a triangle. The 3rd bolt, at the top of the triangle, cannot be seen. I didn't know that till I had wrestled the manifold out. If you can remove that 3rd bolt, that's the way to go. The manifold will practically fall out. If you can't get to it, then, like me, you'll have to wiggle the whole assembly out while pulling forward on that metal crossbar and cussing Honda.
Once the manifold is out, the starter is held on by a rearward 14 mm bolt and a forward 17 mm bolt. Disconnect the 2 electrical cables held by plastic connectors. The one on top of the starter cannot be removed because of the plastic shoulder around it. I simply broke the shoulder to get to the nut. Then I realized I might have voided the core exchange. Oh well. The other option is to remove the starter, then the cable. Spray the 2 starter bolts with a healthy amount of PB Blaster or other penetrating oil. My breaker bar doesn't ratchet, so I couldn't get a purchase on either bolt. I used my Harbor Freight ratcheting torque wrench to remove the bolts. After all that, Bob's your uncle and you can install the new starter.
Clean the face of the manifold and its gasket, as well as the face of the intake. If you couldn't detach the plenum from the manifold, do it now before reinstalling the manifold. Set the plenum back in its place above the starter, then lower the manifold into a position where you can bolt the 2 back together. Reinstall the manifold, lightly tightening the bolts, beginning at the center then working outward. Torque the bolts in the same pattern to 16 ft/lbs. Reassemble everything else and congratulate yourself for saving a ton of $$!
There are two strategies for replacement: Access from above or from below. I chose above, having already replaced a starter on an '06 Accord equipped with the same basic engine.
In retrospect, I think I should've chosen the 'below' approach, but didn't because I didn't have a lift or access to a floor jack. As it turns out, I don't think lifting the car is necessary, but - I can't say for sure. The drawback on the 'below' approach is that you can't see the rearward bolt on the starter; you must rely on feel. Plus, having done the Accord from above, I thought, "what could go wrong?"
Anyway, if you choose to access from above, it is not as easy as it is on the Accord. Begin by disconnecting the battery cables. Next, remove throttle body assembly; Incl the air intake hoses, vacuum hoses, and coolant line attached to the throttle body. The coolant line and vacuum hose are metal tubes connected to one another. The vacuum hose runs into the large air intake tube. But to remove it, you also have to disconnect the coolant line because the 2 of them are attached to one another. When I disconnected the coolant line, a little coolant leaked out, but not enough to worry about. Disconnect the electrical connection closest to you, attached to the right (drivers side) side of the intake manifold. Next, unbolt the manifold's 2 nuts and 2 bolts (12mm). Now the tricky part: in order to extract the manifold, you must loosen the crossbar overtop the radiator. Remove the plastic shroud fitted with those plastic 'buttons' to reveal the bolts necessary to remove. (It helps to have a battery powered socket wrench, believe me. Search for a Kimo, on Amazon - proved to be a frustration saver) Remove all the 10mm bolts attaching that cross piece (the one to which the hood latch is fastened), all EXCEPT the one on either lower side of the bracket that are facing you. Because if you remove them, I don't know how you'll get your fingers in there to put them back in. You only have to loosen those two. Remove the 2 brackets holding the air conditioner radiator (I forget what you call that thing - you'll know what I mean) to expose the bolts below them. Once all the necessary bolts are removed, you can gain enough play to pull that crossbar towards you to make enough room needed to extract the manifold. Underneath the car, remove the plastic panel with the square access hole in it. Next, remove the bolt (12mm) holding the metal manifold support bracket. Next, locate the electrical cable below the manifold. It has a connector that is impossible to see from below because there is a bar in the way. You must disconnect it from above by manipulating the left side of the manifold up to reveal that connector. The connector lock is tricky. Its the white plastic thing. I used a screwdriver to rotate it to the unlocked position and disconnect the cable. Next, in theory, you may be able to remove the black plastic plenum attached to the manifold. There are 3, 12 mm bolts and 2, 10 mm nuts holding it on. The bolts are arranged in a triangle. The 3rd bolt, at the top of the triangle, cannot be seen. I didn't know that till I had wrestled the manifold out. If you can remove that 3rd bolt, that's the way to go. The manifold will practically fall out. If you can't get to it, then, like me, you'll have to wiggle the whole assembly out while pulling forward on that metal crossbar and cussing Honda.
Once the manifold is out, the starter is held on by a rearward 14 mm bolt and a forward 17 mm bolt. Disconnect the 2 electrical cables held by plastic connectors. The one on top of the starter cannot be removed because of the plastic shoulder around it. I simply broke the shoulder to get to the nut. Then I realized I might have voided the core exchange. Oh well. The other option is to remove the starter, then the cable. Spray the 2 starter bolts with a healthy amount of PB Blaster or other penetrating oil. My breaker bar doesn't ratchet, so I couldn't get a purchase on either bolt. I used my Harbor Freight ratcheting torque wrench to remove the bolts. After all that, Bob's your uncle and you can install the new starter.
Clean the face of the manifold and its gasket, as well as the face of the intake. If you couldn't detach the plenum from the manifold, do it now before reinstalling the manifold. Set the plenum back in its place above the starter, then lower the manifold into a position where you can bolt the 2 back together. Reinstall the manifold, lightly tightening the bolts, beginning at the center then working outward. Torque the bolts in the same pattern to 16 ft/lbs. Reassemble everything else and congratulate yourself for saving a ton of $$!
. I remove the splash guard, undo the bracket supporting the manifold and let it dangle, then loosen the starter bottom bolt. Moving to the top, remove all the usual stuff but I don't take the manifold out, just tilt it up then move it as much as possible to the right and secure it. I find this gives me just enough room to access the knock sensor connector, starter connections and the other starter bolt. I re & re the starter from the bottom.
