Since AutoZone checked my stuff I thought that I would go ahead, buy a starter from them, and hopefully fix my car by a reasonable hour. The employee looked left and right, leaned in, and said "Psst! Ya wanna save some dough on a startah?"
"What if I do?"
Suddenly he was wearing a jacket, which he opened, showing an assortment of Chinese knockoff starters.
No, wait, he told me to find a starter with lifetime warranty on RockAuto, and ask them to price match.
"They don't carry the same brands."
"It doesn't matter as long as they have the same warranty."
Napa, AutoZone, and O'Reilly's each sell remanufactured starters for around $150. However, RockAuto sells a Remy starter for $97.59 with shipping, but not tax.
So, he sold me the part for over $50 off.
You just need to remove the battery and battery tray to access the starter. The first bolt is incredibly easy to remove, but you need to move, but not disconnect, the upper radiator hose and disconnect one end of the intake. At just the right angle and just the right light you can see the other bolt. You need a 14mm deep socket on a 3" extension, as well as a great deal of patience to introduce the two, and then it is challenging to keep the ratchet in position and loosen the bolt.
As you can see, I removed the starter:
Edit: I posted that on my phone because it made vastly more sense than taking a picture with my webcam and writing with my laptop, but for some reason the virtual keyboard stopped responding. I uploaded and switched to Lappy.
I moved the bracket over, took it off again, and attempted to bend it back into shape. I do not look forward to putting that bolt back, but the whole area is as greasy as the old starter. I want to stuff a rag into the transmission hole, spray liberally with Simple Green or something, and scrub enthusiastically, although I cannot help but feel that I should put my new cookie sheet oil pan underneath first. I also cannot help but feel that I need to determine where that errant vacuum hose is supposed to go.
Wait, does the intake have vacuum hoses?
Could it be that simple?
If the hose is supposed to go back into the intake then that one bolt is my major obstacle. Otherwise this may get quite frustrating.
What are the chances all of that oil is from the distributor that I replaced? Can an oil leak ruin a starter?
Google indicates that it can.