Starter on L reg diesel Astra

Rac man got the starter going by wacking it with a hammer to free the bendix
off, or so he said, but I cant see the starter in case I need to do the
same. Is it reachable from the top? Is it on the right hand side?
Thanks for any info
Sue

 

best way...........

get someone to turn the key while you have your head under the bonnet,
that way you will know exactly where it is

but yes it would of been a stuck bendix [the name of the popular maker of
the relay / pinion assy - the bit that flies fwd and engages with the
flywheel that turns the engine over]
it often gets gunked up and either sticks half engaged, or fails to turn
because of gunk, thus drawing too much power and then makes the relay go
click click on key turn.

there two ways to free it:
hit the starter casing with a hammer [vibration causes it to become free]
or stick your car in 1st gear and rock it back and forth till you hear it
drop out
distinct clunk!

give it a dose of wd40, then it sould not do it again.

if it does it regularly after cleaning, a visit to a garage is best
or get a recon one and fit it.

mike

 

I had sticky bendix on my cavalier mk3 for a while, I neded up
keeping a 2 foot length of 3 by 2 in the boot, so I could give it
playful tap when necessary, without getting my hands dirty. Eventually
I got bored with that, a new starter / solenoid asembly was about 60
quid, 5 years ago.