Starter motor replacement E61 530i

[chuckitinbro 10]

So my e61 decided it didn't want to start on the weekend. thought it was battery as its had a history of seemingly slow start/cranks. I replaced the battery about 14 months ago. But anyway i tried charging it off the charger and the old battery that had been charge too and nothing, Just a click and a buzz for a few seconds.

Did some googling, decided it could be the starter motor, pulled the intake manifold out of the way (what fun that is) and removed the starter. Brushes are munted and big gouge marks and chewed up bits on the coil part. I'm about to order a bosch replacement and  2 crank case hoses. valve cover one snapped in half and the one to the crank case broke a clip. That one would probably be fine but i don't want to do this job again cause of a $60 hose. So anyway i read the the starter bolts are 1 time use. They are aluminium it seems. Rock Auto pricing is about $200 cheaper than FCP euro for all the parts. BUTTTTTT they dont have the bolt kit. FCP do for $7US but they want $80US freight if i ordered the bolts alone. So question. Do i NEED to replace them or can i get away with locktite and the old ones? There doesnt seem to be a way you could even get a torque wrench on the top bolt. IF the answer is yes you need to replace them would anyone local stock them> Part number is 12410392577

Appreciate any advice

[F10er 62]

Yes definitely replace them. They are 100% one time use only being aluminium. Like you said, you don't want to end up doing the job twice. BM Parts or Import Parts Specialists should have them. They may even have the starter for a reasonable price as well.

[Spinner99 53]

A couple of tips from me from when I replaced mine

1.  Don't be tempted by the starter motor from Partmaster.  The signal cable connection isn't the correct size to hold it on (the retaining ridge is too far back).  Other than that it's working fine    I wish I had just got the Bosch one though.

2.  Most e-torx bolts can be fitted with a multi sided metric tool (not the 6 sided ones, whatever the more than six sided ones are). An 11mm ring spanner fits nicely onto that top e-torx bolt.  You're right you can't get a torque wrench on there but you can double up the ring spanner to get a good bit of leverage onto it.

[chuckitinbro 10]

Bumping this. Got it done. still yet to test drive it and make sure it doesn't throw any codes for stuff i forgot to plug in. But man does it crank and start so much faster now. Ended up getting the bolts from BMW dealership. $31 which is cheaper than amazon+shipping. used a double linked spanner to do them up and after some googling did them to just past finger tight (15nm) and then 90degrees. top back bolt is meant to be 180 degrees but thread said some can snap at that so i just did it a bit less and i'll hope it doesnt bite me later.

Replaced 2 crank vent hoses. man those "quick release" clips are not that quick. Even less so doing them for the 3rd time lying on top of the motor cause I connected the plug on the wrong side of the fuel pressure hose.

Plus side i found the passenger side cabin filter pocket where a bunch of wiring sits was 3/4 full of water due to the infamous blocked drains. must have had over 1L of water in there. drivers side wasnt as bad as it seems to have 2 drains and only 1 was blocked.

I got the bosch motor, 2 hoses, intake and AFM orings from rockauto. all arrived in about 7 days. very good service and price would recommend and use again.