Rav4 mk2 Starter Motor bonded to the bellhousing... Please help!

[DenVal4]

Hello all, 

This is my very first post for any vehicle.  I need the communities help as I am stuck an not sure what to try next.  Having starter motor issues which I have read is normal so need to sort out however I can't take off the starter motor, I believe I have fully unbolted it as there are only 2 main bolts which came of easily, However I cannot free the starter motor from the bellhousing, I have tried force, hitting with wood, rocking the engine in gear incase of internal jamming, I have used PB blaster (didn't think this would work but gave it a go), I have even tried a heat gun where the bellhouse meets the starter motor but to no avail. 

I have also removed motor part of the starter motor assembly itself just for better visibility in case I have missed a third bolt or something but no... 

Any suggestions would be greatly received.  The car is a 2005 Rav4 2.0i and the starter motor is the original as we have owned the car for the last 13 years.

 

Thank you.

[roadster-rav]

There is a posting on the rav4world forum detailing starter repair on an earlier model which does say that a lot of brute force is needed because the starter is a tapered fit in the housing. Rather than too much hammering perhaps heat on the housing is the best option if its safe to do that.

[DenVal4]

Thanks for the suggestion, I have applied heat but it won't budge, I have checked out the rav4world post which just says penetrating fluid and brute force, but I think the engine mounts will give up before this lets go.  Never encounter this before.

[roadster-rav]

5 hours ago, DenVal4 said:

Thanks for the suggestion, I have applied heat but it won't budge, I have checked out the rav4world post which just says penetrating fluid and brute force, but I think the engine mounts will give up before this lets go.  Never encounter this before.

You have the option to apply rotational force to get some initial movement so it could be possible to make a simple tool to apply a twisting shock in each direction alternately.

[DenVal4]

Makes sense, I will give that a go as we will need the car soon.  Hopefully it will stop raining here during the daylight hours (when not working)

Thank you.