Thank you so much. Did my first starter yesterday. No wonder it costs so much to do this shit. LOL. And you are definitely right, I had to Tetris that thing out the bottom past the exhaust. At first I did not think it was ever coming out of there. But it eventually did. All I had was jack stands and a cheap jack that came with the car. My step daughter is so lucky I did this for her. My left arm is so scratched up. Anyway, thanks again. Very helpful as I watched your video as I did the job.
You helped me very much. Now I know what to do for sure. I started thinking I knew what I was doing but I couldn't even finish what I was doing. I was having such a hard time. I had to leave it for tomorrow because I broke something (the bolt) that holds the plastic thing that goes into the starter. I was having a hard time trying to figure out where everything went specifically that one negative cable thing that in where the last bolt you took out. I didn't think about taking a picture or anything before I took off the bolts. I'm so dumb . Now I gotta buy a new starter 😢 but oh well. By the way I was just replacing the cable that connects from battery to starter and to the alternator. Hopefully I can get er done today.
THANKS, this clip GREATLY helped in getting me to replace the battery cables, the worse part was finding the starter bolt that held the harness clip/bracket. As you suggest using a swivel with extension is definitely the BEST way to deal with THAT bolt, I didn't have a swivel, so I did deal with it using a short stubby ratchet and a deep well socket. I also attached the starter harness connections as the loose starter laid on the exhaust pipe. When installing the starter I found a short 3/4 piece of plywood worked perfectly in holding the starter in place to tighten the starter. I placed the wood under the starter and wedged it between the starter and the cast bosses protruding from the side of the block. The 3/4 thick plywood piece was about 3 inches long, about a inch wide. I would suggest while under there, tighten up your water hose clamps @ firewall and at the junction piece where 2 of the hoses connect, I found I had a leak from where a local shop had replaced ALL my hoses less than 5000 miles earlier. I found it best working the harness FROM below after hooking up the starter connections.
I am so glad I can help someone else as I have gotten so much help from other folks doing videos. If you cant find it on TH-cam....then make it to help others.
Fantastic video. Great job detailing what to do and how to do it. Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It definitely helped me. Thanks again and happy car fixing!
Thank you. I just replaced my front end, and my battery decided to die. When AAA came out, the tests were made, and I have to replace the Starter (in the Fail zone), and Alternator is pumping too much juice to the battery. That's why the 3-year-old Duarlast died. I don't want to drive a lot until THIS new problem gets fixed.
Thank you for pointing this out. I know it is a Ford Focus. I also have a Ford Escort too. Thanks for being so kind to point this out. I have annotated the video to clarify.
Very helpful video thanks so much for taking time to make it and share! I couldn't even find the starter looking under the hood,, and thought to check google, youtube, found this video excellent work my frined, Richard
Quick Question, I need to replace the battery harness as you did WITHOUT removing the starter, would you say you COULD access ALL the battery harness connections FROM THE TOP???
How many bolts do u actually have to take out the starter to drop it because i took out 3 and it still in there. Is it hard to get out like get stuck from old age or what any tips I would be thankful
Well....I did say it was an Escort a few times......but the car is a Ford Focus. Thank you for being kind enough to point this out. I think most people would realize that I am working on a Focus.
hi men, I'm from México, sorry for my english, the problem that I have in my focus began today trying to start the car, the board (panel) turned on and immediatly turned off, seems like the starter is the problem but in another cases here in TH-cam, only is the starter, not the board (panel), should I have to unistall and check the starter? or is a problem with the computer fuses?
Please what can I do , I have changed my ford focus 2002 starter twice , it won't start in the morning unless we pushed , and after then it would start
Tools you will need 13mm deepwell and regular 1/4 drive 10mm socket regular ,short and long extensions 1/4 ratchet ,13mm wrench ,1/4 swivel,You must remove air cleaner box and get clamp off big red wire down in to get slack to get terminals off starter duct tape to tape sockets and extinisions to gether to get top bolt out of starter below air box its a bitch. car on lift or jacked up high blocked well so you dont get crushed .beable to say damit and fuckit 5 hours and good luck i did it. allsowe mirror on extendible rod and good light. GOD BLESS AND DONT BUY A CHEEP STARTER DO IT ONE TIME AND FORGET IT.
If you are really a mechanic. You'll know that ford stopped making escort right around the time the ford focus came out. So the car you were working on is indeed a ford focus. I know that it is 100% without any doubts, because my friend and I have the same exact car.
yes, because being a mechanic makes you impervious to calling a Focus an Escort... The Focus is a piece of shit. You can thank Ford for designing that piece of crap Zetec engine
Ford are not pieces of shit. My friend had his 2003 Ford Focus SE towed to my house last sunday. It took my 15 minutes to take the starter and put the new one in. Plus fords last forever just like the honda's and toyota's do. Other then them putting in the wrong place, you have no idea what your talking about. Since I haven't took a car to a mechanic, since Jaguar was going to charge me $1,500 for brake replacement on my 2003 Jaguar X-Type which was rare because it was a 5 speed manual.
The first gen focuses are pieces of shit. Ford knows it, owners know it, mechanics even know it. That Zetec motor is garbage. Valve cover gaskets that routinely fail for no reason, thermostat housing o-rings that fail for no reason, alternators that decide to fail one right after the other, suspension parts that wear prematurely... hell, you couldn't even get the car properly aligned for the first few years because the specs everyone (including Ford) had were WRONG, causing rear tires to wear prematurely. BTW, your 03 x-type... is a rebadged Ford. Taking it to Jag to be serviced was your first mistake. There are WAY more civics and corollas still on the road versus Focuses.
questions: does the starter connect to the alternator directly in any way? i just replaced my alternator and battery, but the guy who did it didnt use the same wire that was connected to the alternator and batt: is was fried. So I bought a new wire, he ran is from the alternator to the batt, and put everything back together and still wont start. I was wondering if you knew if the alternator is wired to the starter as well. 2000 Ford Focus SE DOHC
Only two bolts hold that starter, not three it's crazy how once you pulled it there were only two bolt holes on the case just so you don't confuse someone that don't know any better my .02!
8 years later, still incredibly helpful. Thanks m8
Thank you so much. Did my first starter yesterday. No wonder it costs so much to do this shit. LOL. And you are definitely right, I had to Tetris that thing out the bottom past the exhaust. At first I did not think it was ever coming out of there. But it eventually did. All I had was jack stands and a cheap jack that came with the car. My step daughter is so lucky I did this for her. My left arm is so scratched up. Anyway, thanks again. Very helpful as I watched your video as I did the job.
#best dad ever!
You helped me very much. Now I know what to do for sure. I started thinking I knew what I was doing but I couldn't even finish what I was doing. I was having such a hard time. I had to leave it for tomorrow because I broke something (the bolt) that holds the plastic thing that goes into the starter. I was having a hard time trying to figure out where everything went specifically that one negative cable thing that in where the last bolt you took out. I didn't think about taking a picture or anything before I took off the bolts. I'm so dumb . Now I gotta buy a new starter 😢 but oh well. By the way I was just replacing the cable that connects from battery to starter and to the alternator. Hopefully I can get er done today.
Thanks so much for this viedo .I love my focus and hate when it breaks down. But so far I've been able to fix most things
THANKS, this clip GREATLY helped in getting me to replace the battery cables, the worse part was finding the starter bolt that held the harness clip/bracket. As you suggest using a swivel with extension is definitely the BEST way to deal with THAT bolt, I didn't have a swivel, so I did deal with it using a short stubby ratchet and a deep well socket. I also attached the starter harness connections as the loose starter laid on the exhaust pipe. When installing the starter I found a short 3/4 piece of plywood worked perfectly in holding the starter in place to tighten the starter. I placed the wood under the starter and wedged it between the starter and the cast bosses protruding from the side of the block. The 3/4 thick plywood piece was about 3 inches long, about a inch wide. I would suggest while under there, tighten up your water hose clamps @ firewall and at the junction piece where 2 of the hoses connect, I found I had a leak from where a local shop had replaced ALL my hoses less than 5000 miles earlier. I found it best working the harness FROM below after hooking up the starter connections.
I am so glad I can help someone else as I have gotten so much help from other folks doing videos. If you cant find it on TH-cam....then make it to help others.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video ! I was just gonna sell the car but ill try it Wish me luck !
Thank you so much, you are a beautiful person for doing this video and doing it right. May god bless you, you deserve it.
You are so welcome!! I just do it to help
Fantastic video. Great job detailing what to do and how to do it. Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It definitely helped me. Thanks again and happy car fixing!
Thank you. I just replaced my front end, and my battery decided to die. When AAA came out, the tests were made, and I have to replace the Starter (in the Fail zone), and Alternator is pumping too much juice to the battery. That's why the 3-year-old Duarlast died. I don't want to drive a lot until THIS new problem gets fixed.
Thank you for pointing this out. I know it is a Ford Focus. I also have a Ford Escort too. Thanks for being so kind to point this out. I have annotated the video to clarify.
Very helpful video thanks so much for taking time to make it and share! I couldn't even find the starter looking under the hood,, and thought to check google, youtube, found this video excellent work my frined,
Richard
Nice work and all along your mind was working on an Escort. 😀
Thanks for the great video. Mine is stranded and will replace it myself. Thanks again!
2021 friend needs this info..thank you
Quick Question, I need to replace the battery harness as you did WITHOUT removing the starter, would you say you COULD access ALL the battery harness connections FROM THE TOP???
Yes....the positive wire from the battery travels down to the starter and then branches off the starter terminal to the alternator.
I enjoyed your video great commentary
Great video Boss! Thanks alot. Helped me on this ford Pos model.lol. But indeed a great video.
This was awesome. Thanks!! May God bless you... and may he place a curse of biblical proportions on the engineers that designed this..
It's good , thanks for the video, you explication it's very very great thanks
good vid very well done but i was wondering why you changed the wireing harness did you still have problems after you put on the new starter
Very nicely done. Good info.
How many bolts do u actually have to take out the starter to drop it because i took out 3 and it still in there. Is it hard to get out like get stuck from old age or what any tips I would be thankful
2 that are accessible from up top and one from underneath, u might have removed a bolt holding the tranny to motor.
For the wire harness from the battery to the alternator. Did you have to go OEM on that or were you able to get it at ORielley, Autozone, or Advance?
A hose removal spike to loosen adhesion on water coolant pipes is good to unstick this wire harness clip.
Well....I did say it was an Escort a few times......but the car is a Ford Focus. Thank you for being kind enough to point this out. I think most people would realize that I am working on a Focus.
Bro look at that engine bay 🤦♂️ that’s a #FordFocus not an #Escort 🤦♂️
You’re not going to gain any popularity if you keep giving out the wrong information.
0:50 that’s a focus brother.
@jptolman no need for the profound comment bro. Have a great day.
@jptolman see my comment helped this man give the right information to his viewers. And that for me is success.
hi men, I'm from México, sorry for my english, the problem that I have in my focus began today trying to start the car, the board (panel) turned on and immediatly turned off, seems like the starter is the problem but in another cases here in TH-cam, only is the starter, not the board (panel), should I have to unistall and check the starter? or is a problem with the computer fuses?
Please what can I do , I have changed my ford focus 2002 starter twice , it won't start in the morning unless we pushed , and after then it would start
Tools you will need 13mm deepwell and regular 1/4 drive 10mm socket regular ,short and long extensions 1/4 ratchet ,13mm wrench ,1/4 swivel,You must remove air cleaner box and get clamp off big red wire down in to get slack to get terminals off starter duct tape to tape sockets and extinisions to gether to get top bolt out of starter below air box its a bitch. car on lift or jacked up high blocked well so you dont get crushed .beable to say damit and fuckit 5 hours and good luck i did it. allsowe mirror on extendible rod and good light. GOD BLESS AND DONT BUY A CHEEP STARTER DO IT ONE TIME AND FORGET IT.
If you are really a mechanic. You'll know that ford stopped making escort right around the time the ford focus came out. So the car you were working on is indeed a ford focus. I know that it is 100% without any doubts, because my friend and I have the same exact car.
yes, because being a mechanic makes you impervious to calling a Focus an Escort... The Focus is a piece of shit. You can thank Ford for designing that piece of crap Zetec engine
Ford are not pieces of shit. My friend had his 2003 Ford Focus SE towed to my house last sunday. It took my 15 minutes to take the starter and put the new one in. Plus fords last forever just like the honda's and toyota's do. Other then them putting in the wrong place, you have no idea what your talking about. Since I haven't took a car to a mechanic, since Jaguar was going to charge me $1,500 for brake replacement on my 2003 Jaguar X-Type which was rare because it was a 5 speed manual.
The first gen focuses are pieces of shit. Ford knows it, owners know it, mechanics even know it. That Zetec motor is garbage. Valve cover gaskets that routinely fail for no reason, thermostat housing o-rings that fail for no reason, alternators that decide to fail one right after the other, suspension parts that wear prematurely... hell, you couldn't even get the car properly aligned for the first few years because the specs everyone (including Ford) had were WRONG, causing rear tires to wear prematurely.
BTW, your 03 x-type... is a rebadged Ford. Taking it to Jag to be serviced was your first mistake.
There are WAY more civics and corollas still on the road versus Focuses.
Thank you!
questions: does the starter connect to the alternator directly in any way? i just replaced my alternator and battery, but the guy who did it didnt use the same wire that was connected to the alternator and batt: is was fried. So I bought a new wire, he ran is from the alternator to the batt, and put everything back together and still wont start. I was wondering if you knew if the alternator is wired to the starter as well. 2000 Ford Focus SE DOHC
Late reply,and I had to laugh! yes of course the wire Has to connect to the starter or No start
@@skip741x3 better late than never my friend lol. Thank you for replying. Sadly I had to give up the Focus due to multiple electrical issues
@E025796 Where did you order the starter cable from? I would like to replace mine as well.
If it is not too late, I had to get mine from the Ford dealer. You may look on ebay too.
I got mine from Parts Geek. 70 bucks. Motorcraft part.
Tight spot had to ginecologist to do.it
Thanks for your trouble.
Only two bolts hold that starter, not three it's crazy how once you pulled it there were only two bolt holes on the case just so you don't confuse someone that don't know any better my .02!
There are 3
2 in mine. Watch a fuquin bitch getting that fuquer wired back in
this has given me nothing but problems since i got it its a piece of shit car
elektrout avzi