Starter replacement & P0325 blues. Any other "while you are in there maintenance?"

[jbyrd78]

The dreaded "P0325" code popped up yesterday while I was running errands in my 2004 LX470.

After running the code, it came back knock sensor 1 is bad.
-The good. I have 30 days off work to do this job.
- The bad. I really don't want to do this job.

For those of you that don't know, knock sensor is right by the starter.

My LX has 232, 700 miles on her, so I've decided that while I'm in there replacing the knock sensor, I'm going to replace the starter. Can you fellas think of any other "while you are in there parts I should replace while I have the intake manifold off?

 

[3_puppies]

use OEM starter and intake gaskets

heater T's and hoses?

 

[jbyrd78]

use OEM starter and intake gaskets

heater T's and hoses?

RockAuto has Denso starters for $100.00

Heater T's & hoses only have 20,000 miles on them.

 

[AHdon]

Did my starter last month. While I was in there I did knock sensors, spark plugs, heater tees. and snogged up vc gaskets. Good luck, not such a bad job if you take your time.

 

[SteveH]

I got the same code yesterday at 315K miles. Cleared the code and it came right back.

Starter was replaced at 236K miles with an unknown brand starter, but has been working fine. I'm not sure if I should replace the starter anyway. Guess I could see what brand it appears to be, or how nasty it looks under the manifold.

Other than manifold gaskets, is there any other soft parts needed? I replaced the VC gaskets, heater tees, and the spark plugs are good.

 

[jbyrd78]

Did my starter last month. While I was in there I did knock sensors, spark plugs, heater tees. and snogged up vc gaskets. Good luck, not such a bad job if you take your time.

Thanks for that heads up. I'm hoping if I can take the front of the engine off of an 80 & 200 series to replace gaskets, pulleys, and water pumps, then I can pull this job off...(knocks on wood) Any advice for when it's time to pull the starter?

I got the same code yesterday at 315K miles. Cleared the code and it came right back.

Starter was replaced at 236K miles with an unknown brand starter, but has been working fine. I'm not sure if I should replace the starter anyway. Guess I could see what brand it appears to be, or how nasty it looks under the manifold.

Other than manifold gaskets, is there any other soft parts needed? I replaced the VC gaskets, heater tees, and the spark plugs are good.

Yeah, that's exactly what happened to me. Reset the code and it comes back. I'm going to go with a Denso starter one from RockAuto. It's around the $130.00, $100.00 if I was to ship them back my old starter. The Toyota/ Denso starter is $239.00 from Toyotaparts.
I just can't justify spending that extra $$$ on the same part just for the Toyota stamp. Most Denso parts that I get have Toyota grinded off of them. Knowadays as well, getting stuff from the stealership isn't a guarantee anymore.
2.5yrs ago I paid for a rebuilt Toyota alternator, and it failed in 1.5yrs around 17k miles.

 

[jbyrd78]

After watching a couple of videos over the weekend, I have decided to replace the following:

- Knock Sensor #1
‐ Starter
- Intake manifold gaskets
- Fuel injector O-rings & Grommets
- Vac lines?
- Valve cover gaskets?

Anyone have any other recommendations, or any tips?

 

[Rednexus]

You will very likely break the plastic connectors between the knock sensor and the wiring harness. I did when I replaced my starter at 136K, did a half-ass repair with some epoxy, only to have the knock sensor codes start appearing 2.5 years later. I would definitely have spare connectors on-hand. For my VVTI motor, the knock sensor connector is exactly the same as a fuel injector connector. I picked up a 4-pack on eBay for around $10, and spliced them in with some heat-shrink connectors, and the repair has been fine for a few months now.

100% agree on the starter too. I'm running the Denso reman from Rock Auto and it's been great, and it's cheap enough to just replace it when you have the intake off. Denso made the OEM starter for Toyota so it's a legit part.

 

[SteveH]

@Rednexus - thanks for the tip on the knock sensor harness, since that's why I'm going in there.

I just ordered both knock sensors from the dealer, along with their reman Denso starter ($130). My starter is a no-name with 90K on it, and I'd feel better replacing it while I'm in there.

Beyond the big intake manifold gasket, if you're not disturbing anything else, are there any other gaskets (specifically) that I should have on hand?

Thanks - Steve

 

[Rednexus]

Beyond the big intake manifold gasket, if you're not disturbing anything else, are there any other gaskets (specifically) that I should have on hand?

Thanks - Steve

Both coolant crossover pipe gaskets (I bought Fel-Pro gaskets from O'Reilly's and they were Japanese and identical to OEM), plus some of the coolant pipe O-rings. I think there are 1 or 2 O-rings you may need to disturb when you pull the coolant pipes. IIRC this is for the vertical one that comes out the back of the motor, plus one in the front. I did this job in late 2020 so it's been awhile. I also replaced all of my heater and radiator hoses, plus the thermostat and O-ring, when I did this job, but in hindsight my OEM hoses were in great shape at 136K and didn't need to be replaced. New Gates hoses were cheap enough on RockAuto that I just did it anyway. Either way you'll need to have some Toyota coolant on-hand to top things off.

Also when you pull the intake it's highly likely you'll get some gunk down in the intake ports (sitting on top of your intake valves). You should check each of the ports with a flashlight and be ready to suck out the gunk with a vacuum or blow it out with compressed air.

If you want to put some more money into the rig, you could also upgrade/recondition your fuel injectors (either get your 4-holes reconditioned or install a set of reconditioned 12-holes). It's not a hard job with the intake on, but it would be an easier job with the intake off. FWIW, I'm running Fel-Pro intake gaskets (rather than OEM Toyota) and they have been totally fine.

 

[jbyrd78]

Decided to drop in with and update.
Yesterday morning I decided to get moving on getting this project taken care of, so I set the timer on my phone for 3hrs and I hoped into the engine bay and got on it.
To my suprise, the job wasn't that, I had everything removed, the intake manifold removed from the vehicle, and had the starter out before my timer when off. My advice, since you are going to be all up in the engine, remove the air box, that gives you alot more space to work in. Also, remove the bolts from the power steering pump, because you will need to move that around. Also wear knee pads

-The good:
Removing everything wasn't that bad,
just be prepared for some fuel & coolant leakage when removing some of the lines, and the fuel injector rails. There are also 4 bolts on the rear of the intake manifold holding the fuel line, and a ground wire up. Removing those is kind of a "by feel process" so just becareful. The intake manifold weighs around 20-25lbs.

-The bad:
It looks like a rodent was living in here because it chewed thru the wire that goes to the knock sensore. It also left its droppings all over the place in here. Rednexus, you were not lying about the knock sensor connector being fragile, the tab that secure the connector was already broken off. The tab on the starter connector was also, already broken off as well. The good thing about both connectors is that they are still sturdy, and fit on both connections snug, so I'm hoping dropping a dab of silicone on them will keep things secure.
My only problem is, is that I need to find someone who can remove the pin from this knock sensor connector and repin it with some fresh wire, so I can splice it, and solder it back to the original wire. Now it's time to wait for all the parts, and the new starter to be delivered sometime today. In the meantime, I guess I will start the infamous cleaning process

 

[jbyrd78]

More pics.

 

[jbyrd78]

And a few more

 

[Rednexus]

I used a fuel injector pigtail and spliced it in with heat shrink butt connectors. This does not require soldering and gives a very good connection.

Not the exact ones I used, but close (please check). You might also be able to find one at NAPA or another parts store.

Amazon product ASIN B091BFZFS5

 

[jbyrd78]

I used a fuel injector pigtail and spliced it in with heat shrink butt connectors. This does not require soldering and gives a very good connection.

Not the exact ones I used, but close (please check). You might also be able to find one at NAPA or another parts store.

Amazon product ASIN B091BFZFS5

Thanks bro for posting that pic. Unfortunately, that's not a match, but because you posted that, I was able to Google it, and low and behold, my local NAPA has it in stock. I have to swing by there today to order some brake hoses for my 2hundy, b/c Toyota discontinued them??? So I will just order it in store. If you don't mind me asking, is the knock sensor a 26mm, or 28mm deep socket? And by chance, do you have torque specs you can share for the knock sensore, and intake manifold?

 

[Rednexus]

I left the knock sensors in place on mine, since just the wiring was the problem. I'm pretty sure that would fix your problem as well, but certainly no harm in replacing them anyway if you have the parts in-hand and have the intake out. The pigtail you posted even comes with the heat-shrink connector! Should be a 10-minute fix.

FYI it looks like the non-VVTI engines had a different knock sensor and connector connector than the VVTI motors, hence the difference. For the VVTI motor it's exactly the same as the fuel injector connector.

 

[excessive]

you can buy the knock sensor connectors from Toyota. I replaced both of mine and the starter plastic connector when I did my starter . here are the part numbers

starter contact plug 90980-11400, also 90980-09585
knock sensor plug 1 90980-11166
knock sensor plug 2 90980-11166

 

[2001LC]

The only times I've seen knock sensor codes, is rodent damaging wire.

Number one procedure before removing anything, expect engine cover. Clean top of engine. Paying special attention to both sides where intake manifold meets the heads. You do not want even one dust practical dropping into intake ports of heads. Also, before installing intake manifold. Get on top of engine with flashlight and vacuum out any dust/sand from each intake port. These two step alone, add 1 to 2 hours to the job. Shop's are trying to beat the clock, so they don't do this. But pros, at least blow off with shop air.

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

forum.ih8mud.com

Knock sensor wire cut, what do I do HELP

Mickey & Minnie nesting in the engine valley, snacked on the wire(s). With a P0325 (knock sensor #1 bank #1) and a visual inspection. I was able to confirm at least one wire is cut. I was thinking I'd just splice the wire, possible adding a small section if need be. The I realized this is a...

forum.ih8mud.com

Knock sensor wire cut, what do I do HELP

They are just different sizes, not sure if your sizes are correct as we have the metric system in the uk so AWG is alien to myself.

forum.ih8mud.com

These butt solider splicers are the way to go, a one and done.


Denso starter is fine, but Toyota Denso is remanufactured to higher standard with specific list of parts. In either, I reset contacts.

I always have the starter single wire housing block (OEM) on hand. The lock almost always breaks. All wire house blocks have a number on them, which is last 5 of P/N. To date, every engine wire block housing I've needed. Toyota has had available, most in stock locally. Once I needed 7 for a signal starter job, all were in stock.

Knock sensor wire cut, what do I do HELP

I was thinking they made these knock sensor wire & connector kits because Mickey & Minnie's favorite home. But now I see it must be because these often get brittle and break when replacing sensor.

forum.ih8mud.com

The water cross-over pipe, can be left in place. But if removed, replace the small O-ring. I use Dove dish soapy water, to lube O-ring for install.

If working on a VVT engine. This is the time to mod the S.A.I. filter.

S.A.I. Filter Modification, in VVT engines. To prevent its failure! Alert Alert!

We've a $2.00 part in the S.A.I. (secondary air injection) system of the VVT engine, that is taking-out ~$7,000.00 $15,000 $25,000 (inflation) in parts. WOW! I've a very easy and cheap WORK AROUND. You are going to love this ;) This thread is dedicated to the 4.7L 2UZ-fe VVT engine, in the...

forum.ih8mud.com

Head cover gaskets, I've re-torqued the cover bolts to 53IN-lbf on over 100 4.7L engines. Stopping leaks/weeps 100% of the time. The only head cover or spark plug tube seals I've replaced. Is where I came in behind one's replaced by someone else. Eventually, they'll need replacing I suppose, but I've yet to see it!

Nice time to replace fuel inject seal, is while intake manifold off. No real need to split intake manifold on the 98-05, its gaskets is fine if undisturbed. If you've the time, sending out fuel inject to be cleaned, rebuilt and tested, is a nice touch.

When to Clean or Replace fuel injectors

Please post your experiences and thoughts on the subject. I’ve been considering cleaning or even replacing all 8 fuel injectors, is this wasting time and money. I understand keeping fuel injector clean by adding a can of additive to the gas tank, now & then, is a good practice. This keeps them...

forum.ih8mud.com

Look for any sign of seepage at front and rear water bypass joints. Any sign, replace the gasket. I've found those gasket in great condition, if no sign of coolant seepage. So I only replace (both banks) I do see signs of seepage.

VVT

Replace any and all seals disturbed.

Use a torque wrench!

 

[SteveH]

Opinion needed: If I find only rodent wiring damage, should I skip replacing the 2 knock sensors (OEM are $150 each) even with 315K miles?

 

[2001LC]

Opinion needed: If I find only rodent wiring damage, should I skip replacing the 2 knock sensors (OEM are $150 each) even with 315K miles?

If wire or wire housing block cut/bad, I'd not replace the sensor. I do have two used in stock, if you feel the need to replace.. PM/DM me.