931C Nippondenso starter removal help

I started a new thread hoping someone would spot it faster. My buddy managed to pull the starter out, but it's wedged in there at a 45 deg. angle. The bigger solenoid would need to come off to get it free. I'm heading over tomorrow to give him a hand. The small solenoid's straightforward, but I've never tackled the larger one before. Does anyone know how it comes off?

If he ends up needing a replacement starter, what would be the best call? I've seen a bunch of different options on Amazon and eBay. I think one of the members here swapped in a smaller, lighter gear reduction starter. What's the consensus on that?

Are you pulling it out from the top or the bottom?

On my 931B the starter would come out from underneath, but that didn't work on this one. He didn't want to drain the hydraulic tank and disconnect the hoses off the pump to get it out from the top. So we ended up ordering a smaller aftermarket starter instead, probably cheaper than fixing the old one anyway. He said it's the worst starter he's ever had to deal with. There's just no space to get it out without a lot of hassle.

He should probably keep that old starter around. A lot of the cheaper replacements out there don't last very long.

He had to break the old starter to get it out. Once we removed the end cap, we could smell something really burnt inside. The armature was all glazed over and black.

The smell could be pointing you toward what went wrong. Stuck brushes are another thing that happens with these. On my machines, I'd rather rebuild it if I can. I've got a rebuilder nearby who sources quality parts—not always cheaper than buying new, but usually better. Sometimes a cheap replacement makes sense though, depending on the situation. If it got damaged coming out, it might not be worth the cost of fixing it anyway.

Back when I was working on Jags, the manuals would say stuff like "with a suitable prising bar" or "maneuver clear" for situations like yours. Either way, it usually meant you were in for a rough time.

He broke it on purpose. It's a real pain to get out. It wouldn't come out from the bottom, and he didn't want to disconnect all the hydraulic pump hoses.