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A number of threads have been written about how to replace starter and in regard to the top bolt, the 14mm head bolt (as opposed to the easily accessible 17mm bottom bolt) it is always suggested that a socket with extensions and flexible joints be used to get into this tight spot. All authors note that this 14mm bolt is tightly torqued.
Well using sockets with extensions with flexible joints on a tight bolt can be a recipe for disaster, or at least skinned knuckles.
What I recommend after doing the job myself is to simply remove the coolant overflow tank (one small bolt on top) and turn the hose clamp on coolant hose out of the way. These steps take only about two minutes and will provide you with ample space to fit a box wrench or combination box/open end into place. A box wrench on bolt head is a helluva lot more secure than a socket with torque being applied less than 90 degrees from the longitudinal axis of bolt.
Once bolt is loosened you can use fingers or short handled ratchet with socket to remove bolt.
Good thinking, FTBT. Still looks like a short wrench with only a small space for leverage. Was it difficult, or are you exceptionally strong?
That's a regular-sized Craftsman combination box/open end wrench. Further the "non-working" end is next to one of the radiator fan shrouds -- this shroud is somewhat flexible so even if wrench was somewhat longer, this method should still work (without having to remove fan/shroud assembly).
I believe that the amount of torque one can apply manually in this instance is greater than you could apply using a socket with long extension and flexible joint because all the torque is being applied rotationally to bolt head (both because the attitude of the wrench to bolt head is more efficient and because some of the torque applied at the breaker bar end has the effect of forcing the socket off the bolt head risking damage to bolt head and to the hands of the guy torquing on the breaker bar!).
When loosening the bolt, you pull upwards on the box or combination wrench against the weight of the car -- even with a relatively short wrench you can apply a lot of torque -- just put on a pair of gloves and pull up. Still, I imagine that under some extreme circumstances you may need to apply more torque to break loose bolt (as with any bolt). Had that been necessary I would have fist tried using a penetrating oil or perhaps even applying a little heat first. If all that failed, then I would have fabricated some sort of special tool by canibalizing a box or combination wrench such that a long lever could be attached to the box / combination wrench. I do not think that extreme measures would be necessary typically.
