Replacing Starter

I have a 1996 Mercruiser 7.4L 454. The starter is located on the under the rear of the engine on the starboard side. Any suggestions on accessing the mounting bolts, getting enough room and leverage to break them loose. Any prefered technique or tool. Best way to contort myself to get my arm under the engine without leaving a rib in the manifold. Any suggestions, tips, directions, etc. would be appreciated.

You may have to remove the exaust manifold for better access, drain it first
cut/remove any side panels
Option 2 is remove the motor, some boats need the motor removed to change it

I just changed out my starter for a 2000 5.7l EFI. My boat unfortunately put the walkthrough on the starboard side so it was tight, but luckily there was a little hole in the side wall for me to reach through. I used a second person to hold onto the starter as i removed and put back into place as I could only get 1 arm in there. A person could try to rig up a harness to hold it, but easier to grab a buddy that can reach over the top while you remove the bolts.

As Bt Doctur mentioned, removing the manifold is a viable option, much more viable than removing the whole motor. Just recommend that you don't drop a bolt to the bottom of the hull.. Spent a few extra minutes fishing mine out. Good luck!

Captain Quint said:

I have a 1996 Mercruiser 7.4L 454. The starter is located on the under the rear of the engine on the starboard side. Any suggestions on accessing the mounting bolts, getting enough room and leverage to break them loose. Any prefered technique or tool. Best way to contort myself to get my arm under the engine without leaving a rib in the manifold. Any suggestions, tips, directions, etc. would be appreciated.

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My suggestions:

Warm engine before attempting to crack the bolts loose.
Once you have good access, use a SIX point wrench ONLY, and then crack the bolts loose.