I think my starter is on the way out - any other maintenance items to do while in there?

[MtnMantologist]

I don't have the time or space to spend all day figuring it out so I'm going to take it to a shop I trust down the street. Looks like the intake needs to come off so I'm wondering whether there are some other things to do at the same time. Thanks in advance!

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Not really, it's kind of a stand alone item. Make sure they replace the intake gaskets with new.

 

[3_puppies]

I don't have the time or space to spend all day figuring it out so I'm going to take it to a shop I trust down the street. Looks like the intake needs to come off so I'm wondering whether there are some other things to do at the same time. Thanks in advance!

CLEAN, CLEAN, and CLEAN the intake area and top of the engine before removing the intake
you may want to get the plastic connector as it may break when removing it on the starter
there is a crossover tube to look at also while the intake is off
some have changed a sensor under the intake
good torque wrench
OEM starter also

Not really, it's kind of a stand alone item. Make sure they replace the intake gaskets with new.

OEM gasket only

 

[Marshmallow]

I ended up finding a mouse nest underneath the intake. Two or three broken connectors as I went (no real way to predict which ones though) plus a knock sensor that disintegrated.

 

[baltistyle]

Not sure what year you have, but it could be a time to do the SAIS filter mod…

 

[CJF]

I don't have the time or space to spend all day figuring it out so I'm going to take it to a shop I trust down the street.

How did you determine the starter is the problem; i.e., what symptoms are you seeing?

 

[MtnMantologist]

How did you determine the starter is the problem; i.e., what symptoms are you seeing?

It’s mostly been fine but three times in the past 5-6 weeks it hasn’t fired up the first or even second time. You turn the key and it’ll crank but the engine doesn’t turn over. Took it to autozone to check the battery and their little system says the battery and alternator are fine but the starting system failed for voltage and current.

It’s a ‘99 with 230k miles so maybe the original starter?

 

[OwnerCS]

I saw it as an opportunity to refresh the fuel system from the firewall forward. It actually came out looking better than new after cleaning up the valley and replacing water lines. It runs like a new truck now. No more heater-Ts with straight OEM hoses.

 

[DuckLN]

For sure replace the 2 plugs to the knock sensors. I had 6 different plugs break during my diy starter replacement project and all were available at dealer for about $6-$9 each. You’ll be able to identify the part number by looking at the number on the old plug. They depin and repin very easily - i used a dental pick looking tool.

There are several vacuum hoses that could be getting brittle too.

 

[Zuberg]

Not a bad time to also replace fuel injector o rings and clean the injectors. Also consider replacing gaskets on the water bypasses, if weeping or original.

As someone said above, clean the manifold area REALLY well before taking the intake off. Most shops won't do this and a bunch of crud will fall into your valves.

 

[2001LC]

With age/heat, the single wire housing block lock will likely snap. I keep them/these standing by, since 8 out of 10 break:

Remember, new OEM intake manifold gasket, white tabs up and use a torque wrench 13ft-lbf working to evenly torque down a little at a time..

Tips:
Bend engine hoist hooks outward just a tad. Give a touch more clearance, while R&R intake manifold.

Cut a 2x12" board to fit between fenders, to lie on. (I fit it between fender lip, on fenders bolts. Not on body paint)
A garden foam knee pad or some sort of cushion, makes board more comfortable to lie on.

Leave throttle body in engine bay, with it's water hose connected.

Stuff shop towels in each (8) intake port of head. After cleaning surface, vacuum out shop towels, and any sand from port/valves. Dust/sand can damage valve seals & cylinders.

Pull the one 10mm bolt holding wire harness bracket, that's on top of bell housing. Give extra wiggle room for LH rear starter 14mm bolt R&R.

Disconnect fuel line from fuel filter. Snake it out and back in while attached to intake manifold/fuel rail. This save time, and gaskets for dampening devices and banjo on fuel rail. It's best to replace the green pinch locking clip.

https://partsouq.com/en/search/all?q=9092307002

Red arrow points, to green locking clip on fuel filter

OH inspect all 4 gaskets of water bypass joints front & rear and pipe (to heater Tee) seal/pressed in point on rear bypass joint. (2 gaskets on each bypass). Any leaking, now's the best time to R&R.

 

[CJF]

It’s mostly been fine but three times in the past 5-6 weeks it hasn’t fired up the first or even second time. You turn the key and it’ll crank but the engine doesn’t turn over.

The starter/flywheel/engine cranks every time, but sometimes the engine doesn't fire?

That's not a starter problem.

 

[MtnMantologist]

The starter/flywheel/engine cranks every time, but sometimes the engine doesn't fire?

That's not a starter problem.

Hrmmm, well I’m going by what the autozone tester reported but the shop will do its own diagnosis. What else could it be?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Fuel - fuel pump more likely, possibly fuel filter. The starter is either a it's working or not kind of thing. If it's turning over when you turn the key every time, it's working. If it becomes intermittent, then it's the contacts.

 

[MtnMantologist]

Fuel - fuel pump more likely, possibly fuel filter. The starter is either a it's working or not kind of thing. If it's turning over when you turn the key every time, it's working. If it becomes intermittent, then it's the contacts.

I wish I knew more about what this test result actually means - I’m probably putting too much faith in AutoZone

 

[diesel22]

Revisiting this thread - Is there a way to get an understanding on start health outside of taking it to autozone? How much faith would one put into autozone's test? I've got an 06 w/ a LOT of miles and can't find any record of the starter being done (I have almost every maintenance record) - trying to avoid it becoming a problem when I don't want it to vs. unnecessary expense at this time

 

[Zuberg]

Not familiar with the autozone starter test. If your starter is engaging and starting the truck every time you start the truck, I doubt autozone will be able to say anything other than "it works". But that won't tell you the condition of the starter contacts, brushes, gears, solenoid etc.

What's a lot miles? I swapped mine at 220k miles but that was only because I was already in there doing intake manifold gaskets. The original starter was still performing perfectly. I kept the original to rebuild. It's not unreasonable to think about swapping them out after 200k but I'd look at the intake manifold base first and see if you have leaky intake manifold gaskets. The 06/07 rubber gaskets are notorious for being leaky after all this time.

If you do swap the starter, there's a bunch of stuff you can check and possibly replace while the intake manifold is off. Test knock sensors, air pumps and valves, add 2001lc sais air filter mod, clean fuel injectors and new o rings, intake manifold gaskets, water bypass gasketsetc. The biggest thing to note is to clean clean CLEAN before removing the intake manifold. You don't want dirt, sand, debris getting into your intake ports. Most shops will not clean before they remove them.

 

[diesel22]

Not familiar with the autozone starter test. If your starter is engaging and starting the truck every time you start the truck, I doubt autozone will be able to say anything other than "it works". But that won't tell you the condition of the starter contacts, brushes, gears, solenoid etc.

What's a lot miles? I swapped mine at 220k miles but that was only because I was already in there doing intake manifold gaskets. The original starter was still performing perfectly. I kept the original to rebuild. It's not unreasonable to think about swapping them out after 200k but I'd look at the intake manifold base first and see if you have leaky intake manifold gaskets. The 06/07 rubber gaskets are notorious for being leaky after all this time.

If you do swap the starter, there's a bunch of stuff you can check and possibly replace while the intake manifold is off. Test knock sensors, air pumps and valves, add 2001lc sais air filter mod, clean fuel injectors and new o rings, intake manifold gaskets, water bypass gasketsetc. The biggest thing to note is to clean clean CLEAN before removing the intake manifold. You don't want dirt, sand, debris getting into your intake ports. Most shops will not clean before they remove them.

364k miles - I am going to dig through some records again

 

[Zuberg]

You can also snake a fiber optic camera under the manifold and see what the starter looks like. If it has a green sticker it's probably the original. If original at 364k miles, I'd think it's probably lead a good life and I'd be planning on swapping in a new one (toyota reman).