New starter

[meat]

Well 4 hours later and I have my new starter installed. I ordered it from cruiserdan for about $200 plus a $30 core. I followed the instructions in the faq and it went great, some minor bleeding but thats to be expected. The key tip for removing the starter bolt on the drivers side is to remove the 10mm bolt on top of the bellhousing holding the wires that are blocking the bolt. After removing it all I needed was a 14mm deep socket, 1 knuckle, 3/8 ratchet and about 2 minutes. The reason I went with a starter from cruiserdan was I read 1 thread where the guy put the contacts in wrong and it obviously didn't work so I figured I'd take care of 1 potential problem that way. This turned out to be quite easy to do and by the way I did this by myself.

 

[SINCITY100]

Sounds like Dan hooked you up

Yeah.. for that price you might as well change the whole unit ( plus you get any improved or updated parts with the O.E. starter). You should be set for a while !

 

[ff347]

4 hours, $200, and a little blood? That is a very succesful! Congrats.

 

[bluecruiser]

Awesome deal....I just had mine replaced (under used car warranty) and it came out to $745 bucks..

These faq's are very helpful...

Well done.......

 

[ZJ2UZJ100]

Good deal, Meat.

Beginner's luck!
I tried the contact replacement the first time. "Think of all the money I will save on this!!!!!" I thought.

After the over-cautious super slow-mo dissassembly of the intake, the dreaded stuck starter bolt, the stripped starter cover screw heads, and cursing the starter when the guts fell out into my lap, I put it all back together. I should have tested the starter with a couple of jumper wires to the battery.

Turned the key........click. Crap!

A week later, a new starter for $350ish, and curses from my wife and kids, I climbed back into the engine bay to do the job again. I think it only took me a couple of hours the second time around.

At least I have the old starter core to play around with for next time.

Was I the guy you read about with the contacts installed wrong? **Doh!**

 

[tabraha]

These faq's are very helpful...

Well done.......

No doubt. The starter contact write-up saved me $$$$$$$. It spent a few hours of my life but I did feel like I accomplished something. I just did the contacts but even getting the whole starter you still came out way ahead.

 

[spressomon]

Well 4 hours later and I have my new starter installed. I ordered it from cruiserdan for about $200 plus a $30 core. I followed the instructions in the faq and it went great, some minor bleeding but thats to be expected. The key tip for removing the starter bolt on the drivers side is to remove the 10mm bolt on top of the bellhousing holding the wires that are blocking the bolt. After removing it all I needed was a 14mm deep socket, 1 knuckle, 3/8 ratchet and about 2 minutes. The reason I went with a starter from cruiserdan was I read 1 thread where the guy put the contacts in wrong and it obviously didn't work so I figured I'd take care of 1 potential problem that way. This turned out to be quite easy to do and by the way I did this by myself.

I assume you had to pull the intake manifold correct?

 

[meat]

I assume you had to pull the intake manifold correct?

yes you have to pull the intake manifold

 

[tedzap]

whew

wrong thread... sorry!

 

[GaFJC]

Well 4 hours later and I have my new starter installed. I ordered it from cruiserdan for about $200 plus a $30 core. I followed the instructions in the faq and it went great, some minor bleeding but thats to be expected. The key tip for removing the starter bolt on the drivers side is to remove the 10mm bolt on top of the bellhousing holding the wires that are blocking the bolt. After removing it all I needed was a 14mm deep socket, 1 knuckle, 3/8 ratchet and about 2 minutes. The reason I went with a starter from cruiserdan was I read 1 thread where the guy put the contacts in wrong and it obviously didn't work so I figured I'd take care of 1 potential problem that way. This turned out to be quite easy to do and by the way I did this by myself.

Meat - how would you rate your mechanical aptitude? I ask as I'm thinking about doing this myself. Save myself the labor $$.

Ordered all the parts from Beno.





D'oh: just noticed this thread was 5 years old and tedzap posted in the wrong thread. Some days I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed

 

[APKhaos]

Meat - how would you rate your mechanical aptitude? I ask as I'm thinking about doing this myself. Save myself the labor $$.

Ordered all the parts from Beno.

Its a fairly straightforward job. If you are comfortable removing and replacing parts, you should be fine. No rocket science or other advanced techniques required. I did mine last year, and kicked myself for not doing it earlier [when starting often required a few minutes of trying before the click was followed by cranking]. Don't forget to buy new intake manifold gaskets.

 

[petrotk40]

Be careful to not over torque the manifold bolts, they are specd at 13-15ftlbs. It's an straightforward job but you will be sore afterwards. You don't have to replace the gaskets but it's cheap insurance.

 

[GaFJC]

Its a fairly straightforward job. If you are comfortable removing and replacing parts, you should be fine. No rocket science or other advanced techniques required. I did mine last year, and kicked myself for not doing it earlier [when starting often required a few minutes of trying before the click was followed by cranking]. Don't forget to buy new intake manifold gaskets.

Thanks, this helps. Guess I take it slow and be patient

 

[spressomon]

One challenge with replacing the starter (this is more of an issue if you have big hands/big arms): Getting the mounting bolts on/off; it helps to have 3/8" flex extension and/or flex socket.

The other little thing that kinda gave me thoughts of cuss'n is the plastic shroud that covers the positive lead to the starter. It was impossible, due to heat embrittled plastic, to get the darn thing off without damaging it...YMMV. Not sure what Toyota was thinking on this part

 

[Liam]

Meat - how would you rate your mechanical aptitude? I ask as I'm thinking about doing this myself. Save myself the labor $$.

Ordered all the parts from Beno.





D'oh: just noticed this thread was 5 years old and tedzap posted in the wrong thread. Some days I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed

i had to replace my starter twice. I got a reman from toyota and it lasted only 18K, so i had the pleasure doing it all over again. Replaced it with a Bosch from NAPA. I actually liked the Bosch better than the OEM, seemed a bit beefier.

the first time it took me 5 hours to replace it, but i was taking my time and cleaning everything i could along the way. The second time took about 3 hours. It's not a hard job, just a bit time consuming. The plastic clips on the plugs were the most frustrating. Go slow with them as they will break.