Starter gear won't retract? 22RE

[tired80]

The first time I start my truck each day, or if I start it after it has been sitting for awhile, the starter seems to stay engaged with the flywheel for too long.

The engine starts right up, no problem. However, I'm hearing a somewhat high-pitched whirrrrr and the engine sputters a little for about 2-3 seconds, then it goes away and everything is fine.

Worth noting: I don't believe that my cold-start injector is functioning. The sputtering engine at startup may be caused by this and therefore unrelated to the starter problem.

So, what it sounds like to me is that the starter gear isn't retracting and disengaging from the flywheel. I think it's a spring that is responsible for retracting the gear. I removed the starter and ran it through the tests in the FSM, including the extend-retract, pretty much the whole gamut. Also, when I pulled the gear out with my hand, it pops back in pretty solid.

I guess my question is, has anyone else had this problem? Or for those who know more about these starters than myself, is there something else besides a weak return spring that would cause this? I'm considering rebuilding the starter anyway.

Thanks!

 

[KLF]

Did you pull the cover off of the plunger and clean it? Check the contacts while you're there, you might as well replace them while you have the starter off and apart.

 

[Hilux]

if you put any other starter on it, I HIGHLY recommend you use a Toyota starter.



the contacts and relays are relatively the only things that go wrong with Toyota starters.

 

[Tools R Us]

In my experience the #1 cause of this is the starter contacts/plunger. When they wear out they can stick, causing the drive gear to stick. When the starter is stuck on, it's driven by the motor, this drives it faster than designed and can come apart inside, causing a short fed by the main battery cables (no fuse) so can cause a fire. The parts are easy to install, but the rig shouldn't be driven until it's repaired.

 

[tired80]

Thanks for the info. I guess it's time for a rebuild. When I had it off yesterday I started to disassemble it, but couldn't get the two phillips-head screws out of the main cover. They're just stuck, and I don't have an impact driver. I'll borrow one from someone at work. I don't know why Toyota insists on using phillips-head screws where a regular bolt would be so much easier to loosen/tighten.

I'm not driving around with the starter spinning all the time. It disengages after a second or two.

 

[WristPin]

Thats right guys. the plunger like the contacts are made of copper, and it becomes pitted from years of service. which causes it to stick.

when putting in the new contacts, i put a light blue, or a dark color grease on them, to visually check for proper height and alignment of the contacts. once its good, i wipe it out and use brake clean to clean it out

 

[Rix86]

a bad cold start injector or thermal time switch can cause this too.