My '99 accord is 4 cylinder and manual transmission.
I try not to do repairs myself, but this time I have to because of money problems. I'm 99 percent sure my starter is dead. Haven't bought a new one yet, but all the instructions for replacing it are confusing me on a couple of points:
Haynes and all the instructions online say to "Remove the lower radiator hose and the wiring harness from the starter bracket." I haven't seen any illustration or explanation for what this bracket is, and I can't figure out what this is talking about.
I hope it does not mean that I have to remove the radiator hose from the car entirely, because then I'm getting in way over my head.
I'm also hoping I can do this without jacking the car up and getting underneath, and most of the instructions aren't clear about whether this is necessary.
Thanks for any help.

To briefly give some history: My car has been having more and more trouble starting cold after sitting for 7 hours or more. Autozone tested battery, said it was bad and sold me a new one, but the problem didn't go away. I replaced the spark plugs myself, and problem didn't go away. Did more research and figured out it is probably the starter. It clicks once and I can hear the fuel pump hum. Starts up after many, many attempts, worse every day.

 

download the CB7 factory service manual. it's more detailed and the engines are almost the same

 

Thanks, I think I found it and I will have a look. Downloading now. ... Well I tried a couple of sites that offered free downloads, but the files were bogus, hopefully not viruses. Guess I'll look for a pay copy somewhere.

 

If your car is similar to mines with regards to the radiator hose, it simply clips gently into the "bracket". You just grab the hose and manuever it out of it...its really nothing to it. The starter is usually held in by two 14 mm bolts. You should remove the negative battery terminal before replacing the starter so you don't touch the power lead to ground and arc power. You shouldn't have to drain the coolant at all. This job shouldn't take longer than 25 minutes even for a novice.

 

Thanks, holmesnmanny, that is very encouraging. I will definitely be trying this myself.
I guess my issue is that I don't see a bracket anywhere that the radiator hose is connected to, and certainly not one that is part of the starter. Maybe my car doesn't have that bracket.

 

Make sure you have a 12" exstension and the correct socket. One bolt is short and one long make sure they go back into the correct hole. (Disconnect the battery + side)

 

Turned out the long bolt on the underside needed a 17mm socket. Didn't have it so used a wrench, little by little maneuvering in between things. Took a while but it's out.

 

Fixed it. Starts up fine now. So I guess replacing the copper contacts and plunger inside the starter was what it needed. (I got the parts on ebay.) It was kind of an ordeal to get the starter out and put it back in without getting underneath the car.
Thanks for the help.