Starter Replacement

[assoutE12]

Need to replace the starter in my E30, I've been looking around and I seem to get mixed messages as to the difficultly. I've read that the trans or intake need to be removed, some say its not if the right combination of extensions/ swivels are used.
What's the scoop? is it really all that hard, I'm going to be using the lift at the shop I work so I have no shortage of tools, and I know what I'm doing to some degree.

[zedfez]

I did mine, and it took a couple of hours. The top bolt was a pain to get, I ended up taking off one of the heater hoses, removing the dipstick, and cutting some of the zip ties on the wiring harness, so I could move them to make room. Other than that, I just used a combination of a ratchet with a long extension, a box end ratchet and, a combination wrench. It was slow and a bit of a pain, but really not all that difficult.

[Dirtbleed]

I just did it both ways. taking the manifold off allowed me to re-do the plumbing, new intake gaskets, new o-rings on that pipe that was leaking, plugged the throttlebody coolant hose, fresh coolant, new thermostat housing, cleaned the manifold and injectors. Car runs better than ever. The new starter I installed was defective, so had to do it over. Just had to take the heater hoses off to get the bolts off with the manifold on.

[Goya20]

yea i messed up my knuckles doing the top bolt as well but when done with that everything else is easy