My guess is that you have a 95 which was made late in the model year with a M42 engine. That's the situation with my car. Mine is an m42 and has vacuum shrouded injectors and the later oil filter housing. This means when I buy an oil filter I have to tell the parts guy the car is a 96.
There are 2 easy to spot differences between the M42 and M44. The M42 has the cam position sensor on the exhaust cam... The M44 has the same sensor on the intake cam. And if you look at the back of the head at the firewall, the M44 engine will have a black plastic y connector with 2 lines connected to it. On the M42 there is a metal connector there with only one hose.
As far as not starting, I one time had a no start situation at a gas station... it turned out to be a blown fuse. Check them before throwing parts at it. Also, I was surprised on another occasion when my batter seemed ok (headlights turned on and were bright) but it actually didn't have enough power to even make the starter click. But a jump start worked.
Lastly, if you do need to change the starter, I did this once and it was a PITA. But I think the best way was from under the car using 3-4 long extensions which would sag in the perfect arch to get around the transmission hump and to the bolts. I think there is a diy on this site for that.
Good luck |