1989 325i Starter

[Mason]

I have a 1989 325i sedan and the top bolt has taken more than a couple hours of my life away. I can't for the life of me get the nut to spin with my hand. No amount of wd-40 has helped so I'm stuck in a position where im moving the nut 5 degrees at a time. If anyone has any ideas which could make this easier for me, my back and I would greatly appreciate it.

P.S. don't mind how dirty the bay is the previous owner left it outside and rodents fucked some of the wires so I'd rather not deal with that nightmare right now.

[twright]

This sounds drastic, but it's not:

Loosen the subframe bolts enough to lower the engine about 1/4" (maybe 1/2") If you loosen these, but don't remove them, you will get some more clearance and it's easy to tighten the subframe bolts after you're done.

Put a jack under the subframe. If you loosen the bolts too much, the jack will keep it from going anywhere.

[digger]

i usually use a longer set of extensions and perhaps a swivel to get ratchet into a more favourable position under the intake

[Mason]

Thanks for the advice, it's a 20 minute drive into town for me so I was trying to avoid having to pick up extensions.

Greetings from California 🤙