Procedure for replacing 100 series(98 and up) starter contacts (5 Viewers)

[Gabby]

Just talked to CDan at American Toyota 1-800-432-6668 X8. Knowledgeable, professional, polite guy. Ordered the contact set and plunger. He said his techs do not rebuild the contacts, they just swap in starter motors. They never put new intake gaskets on--originals are metal and work just fine.

Getting the alignment right on the contacts is apparently very important for a long lived repair. Cockeyed contacts will result in premature plunger wear.

Thanks to him and this fine list, I will save almost $200 on parts. Can't do the wrenching myself for another 4 weeks. My wife needs to drive the LC sooner than that.

Thanks to all that contributed to this thread. Chalk up helping another member.

 

[Gabby]

The 2000 is back from the indy mechanics. CDan's parts came in on schedule, and the starter was rebuilt the next day. Starts like it was new. Repair done at 118K on the clock. the flange on the plunger was quite worn, as well as the contacts--although the plunger seemed to have taken the worst of the wear.

$300 labor and about $50, including freight, for the repair kit from CDan. He may have snagged an indy repair shop customer from NW Georgia, because the local Toy parts guys claim to not have rebuild kits for the starters.

Good to have it back on the road. As soon as I move a couple of cars out of the driveway that will make room for an 80 series that I can play with. The hundy is my wife's DD. Infected I am.

Thanks for the tech info. Saved us at least a $150.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Curious to know if Toyota even sells "new" starters or are they just rebuilt? The interval seems to vary quite a bit, based more on the shear number of starts rather than mileage.

I don't know, good question. I think you can only get a reman. alternator "new" from Toyota. May be the same with the starters too.

 

[KoosKoos]

Well, I just joined the club here and glad I found this thread... My starter was making a noise after it engaged- like the gears weren't going back quick enough after the start-up. Then today my starter stopped. This article was a BIG help- my local Toyota shoppe said "6 hours =$600 plus $300 for a new starter" No thanks, I did it in 3-4 hours OUTSIDE 95 degrees- yuk, can you say Heat Stroke? Well, it went back together pretty easy enough- OH the gear assembly from the bad starter was broken off and looked like shredded wheat.

 

[Yotato]

Thanks for the post you guys. It was truly an easy job. I had to replace my starter due to bad contacts and bad bearings on the commutator instead of rebuilding.

One thing I would add is: Inspect the fuel injector grommets (bottom of the injector). The injectors should pivot without much effort. 4 out of my 8 ifuel injector grommets were cracked and leaking. Once I removed the injectors, 3 of the 4 cracked ones were torn all the way from top to bottom.

 

[dls0008]

Anyone have the original thread with the pictures? I could really use them.
Thanks in advance.

 

[dnp]

Anyone have the original thread with the pictures? I could really use them.
Thanks in advance.

What's wrong with THIS thread? The photos are at the beginning and spread throughout

 

[smm3]

I want to give a big thanks to all who have posted on this thread about replacing the starter. I printed out all the comments on the thread and used it them to replace my starter this past weekend. I also had a set of the FSMs that helped out some.

I had never even changed my own oil before. I did 80% of it by myself. I had a friend who helped with the manifold removal and re-installation. He also assisted with the actual starter removal. I decided to replaced the entire starter and not just the contacts and the plunger. I felt more comfortable that way.

What a sense of accomplishment!! I now feel that I can change and work on more stuff with the advice from this board!! Thanks again.

 

[jp213a]

Another Trick for Removing Starter - Plank

After spending an hour trying to get a socket on the driver’s side starter bolt and still coming up empty handed, I decided there must be a better way to improve my position to reach the starter instead of leaning in from the front or sides. I laid two 8 foot long 2x4’s across the fenders with a heavy towel folded up on each fender under the 2x4’s. An eight foot 1x12 has laid on top of the 2x4’s and 1-5/8” long sheet rock screw were added at each corner to hold it all together. The homemade plank was positioned about two feet back from the firewall and, being left handed, I crawled on from the passenger side and got right over the starter. From this position I could easily see the 10mm screw that holds the wiring harness to the top of the bell housing. I loosened this screw with a long extension and removed it with my fingers. With the wiring harness and plugs now moved out of the way and the improved position I had from the plank, the driver’s side starter bolt was off in less than a minute. I also removed the starter wiring harness from the plank. Since all your weight is on the plank (I weigh 220), you don’t run the risk of breaking anything on the engine by laying on it. An eight foot long 2x12 would also make a good plank but get a smooth one or sand it down until it is.

Working from the plank also gives a bird's eye view for removing and installing the intake manifold bolts and nuts.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

Hmmmm, super charger will be a treat to pull I am sure.......


Rob

 

[jmarshall1225]

Problems with Idle after replacing starter

Great directions, my car will not idle after the change, starts fine, but stalls as soon as I stop giving it gas.

 

[jahmaka]

Check and see if you have a vacum leak some where.

 

[lash]

Dang - I have this same problem.

My mechanic quoted $865 yesterday. So the question is...do I it myself and then get it towed and put back together when I fubar it, or do I just take it back to the shop first.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

If FUBAR is in the equation, then I would take it to a shop. I have no idea if that is a reasonable quote, but I do try to keep in mind my own limitations. Good luck!

 

[spressomon]

Just an FYI based upon my 2UZFE starter experiences to date: As a PM measure I replaced my original starter at around 100k miles. The starter wasn't giving me any problems but given I was already "in there" with the 90K PM and given the remote places I travel I decided it would be prudent...

Anyway, I used an OEM Toyota starter; reman (can't buy new starters from Toyota). I only got 73k miles/3-years before the "click, click, click" symptom began. I thought about just rebuilding my starter with new contacts and plunger but decided to go another route when a local starter rebuilder found a brand new Nippon starter. So we shall see if I get more than 73k out of the brand new starter. I do understand its not so much the "miles" but the "starts" that determines a starters lifespan...but I still am disappointed with the relatively short lifespan of the 2nd (Toyota reman) starter!

Seems by the starter experiences of others and also mine here the rebuilt starters, for whatever reason, don't last near as long as the factory OEM starters. So far no explanation as to why though...

 

[uzj100]

I used these same instructions 3 years ago on my previous 99 and they worked like a champ. Thanks to all that posted. I sat in the engine bay on the passenger firewall and did the work from in there. My wife was laughing so hard but it worked.

 

[rph74]

Well after a few years, I finally got around to reposting the pics in the beginning posts. Now coming up on 7 years since I did this, I imagine I'll be doing this job over again before I know it.

 

[1loudLX]

Well, I just joined the club here and glad I found this thread... My starter was making a noise after it engaged- like the gears weren't going back quick enough after the start-up. Then today my starter stopped. This article was a BIG help- my local Toyota shoppe said "6 hours =$600 plus $300 for a new starter" No thanks, I did it in 3-4 hours OUTSIDE 95 degrees- yuk, can you say Heat Stroke? Well, it went back together pretty easy enough- OH the gear assembly from the bad starter was broken off and looked like shredded wheat.

that's the sound mine is making right now Anyone know where the gear assembly would break off to? Inside the starter housing or off into some abyss that will eventually lead to some larger and more expensive component to break?

 

[spressomon]

that's the sound mine is making right now Anyone know where the gear assembly would break off to? Inside the starter housing or off into some abyss that will eventually lead to some larger and more expensive component to break?

Flywheel/bell housing. Probably not a good thing to delay.

 

[1loudLX]

Slee's tomorrow. It stopped making the noise though after I started the engine in Iowa. The noise started, faintly in June when I went up to Wyoming and played around in the snowmelt/t-storm puddles with HWY22. Then this month it started to sound really bad, and has since disappeared. We'll see how it looks tomorrow.