Starter Solenoid only as trail spare?

[TimCFJ40]

My 08 has 265k miles on what I believe is the original starter. I generally pay close attention to the truck, keep up on maintenance, etc. and have had very few issues that weren't easily resolved.

I have been considering replacing the starter preemptively, as that is one failure that is somewhat likely and certainly would be inconvenient 2000 miles from home. When shopping starters on any of the common Toyota parts sites (Bosch, Camelback, Olathe, etc) I noticed two things:
1) The factory starter has come down in price significantly, and can be had for reasonable money (~$186 right now) which is less than most auto parts stores questionable reman offerings.
2) The solenoid only is available as an option for ~$54

I noted in several threads that folks removed the solenoid from the original starter to facilitate easier removal. This would lead me to believe that a solenoid only replacement on the trail might be relatively straight forward if needed, certainly easier than replacing the whole starter.

That leads me to the question of whether the newer solenoid on offer from Toyota (which I assume is for the most recent smaller starter) will work with my factory starter, can anyone confirm?

If it was fairly certain that the $50 solenoid would fit my factory starter, I'm thinking of buying the $50 solenoid for my trail box just in case. I have read up on the long screwdriver trick, but If I were on a 2 week trip, I'd rather replace the solenoid in the field and keep moving. Then when I get home I could replace the whole unit.

 

[stonepa]

Having experienced starter failure/ replacement twice over my 25 year, 450k mile ownership of my 100, i have found the starter issue gives you plenty of notice before it becomes fatal. I never had a starter completely fail. Rather, it took several attempts to get the solenoid to fire and engage the starter. Both times it gradually became worse but never left me stranded. I personally would not replace the starter unless it starts indicating a future failure given the amount of work it is to replace. While it is in a protected space for operational use, that space requires a lot of parts removal to get to for replacement.

That being said, i would replace the entire starter rather than just the solenoid. From what I experience, it was typically a variety of electrical corrosion that caused the overall failure. While most focused on the solenoid contacts, the entire starter really prompted a full replacement while I was in there.

 

[Sandroad]

Here’s a good thread on the starter. There are others.

Keep the BIG BOY Starter

The following covers 2008 - 2010 model years, it will likely cover later models too... but there are some part number changes for later model years that I have yet to explore. I recently received Toyota's superseded tiny starter. Upon pulling it from the box and comparing it to larger and...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[TimCFJ40]

Here’s a good thread on the starter. There are others.

Keep the BIG BOY Starter

The following covers 2008 - 2010 model years, it will likely cover later models too... but there are some part number changes for later model years that I have yet to explore. I recently received Toyota's superseded tiny starter. Upon pulling it from the box and comparing it to larger and...

forum.ih8mud.com

Thanks for the reminder on that thread. There has been some useful tech and pics added since I last saw it. The solenoids do look identical between the two.

 

[bloc]

Personally if I were at 265 and regularly going to places a starter was inconvenient I'd just change it.

I was heavily influenced by the big boy starter thread and opted to preemptively change the solenoid on mine since the motor itself rarely goes out. Note that due to thread galling issues on the downpipe studs I ended up having to put an exhaust manifold on it.. If anyone reading this plans to avoid smashing the heat shields and reinstall all bolts, which requires manifold removal, put anti-seize on the threads of those downpipe studs before backing the nuts off. Mine isn't particularly rusty and two of the three absolutely weren't coming off without breaking or taking half the threads with them. I do believe anti-seize would have prevented the trouble.

Having experienced starter failure/ replacement twice over my 25 year, 450k mile ownership of my 100, i have found the starter issue gives you plenty of notice before it becomes fatal. I never had a starter completely fail. Rather, it took several attempts to get the solenoid to fire and engage the starter. Both times it gradually became worse but never left me stranded.

From my reading that isn't how the 200 tends to fail. Might be related to push-button start, so you can't just keep trying as with a key. My guess is the computer doesn't see the crank and cam sensor feedback it expects, so it just nopes out.

 

[grinchy]

At some point there was discussion about remote mounting the solenoid (or even leaving it where it is, and running 'jumper' lines to it), so that the solenoid could be more easily bypassed if necessary. I don't think this was ever done though.

 

[bloc]

At some point there was discussion about remote mounting the solenoid (or even leaving it where it is, and running 'jumper' lines to it), so that the solenoid could be more easily bypassed if necessary. I don't think this was ever done though.

You really wouldn't need to do all of that.. just run a heavy-gauge wire from the solenoid post that leads to the motor, out to a convenient spot and isolate it. If the starter s***s the bed just stick a jumper cable on that lead when hitting the start button and you are in business. Same as the screwdriver trick only less trouble getting access.

 

[CharlieS]

You really wouldn't need to do all of that.. just run a heavy-gauge wire from the solenoid post that leads to the motor, out to a convenient spot and isolate it. If the starter s***s the bed just stick a jumper cable on that lead when hitting the start button and you are in business. Same as the screwdriver trick only less trouble getting access.

I like this idea. Easy enough to make a heavy gauge lead that terminates near the battery for this purpose... SQOD - how accessible is the solenoid lead for adding this jumper? Edit - looks like a PITA to get to that lead. This seems like a mod best done when installing a new starter.

 

[tbisaacs]

I replaced the starter in the comfort of my garage and ended up disconnecting the midpipe and transmission coolant lines and found it to be a massively fiddly job. I could not imagine doing this in the field. I'm sure it's totally possible but woof.

Definitive list of starter removal methods

I’m about to tackle this on my 08 LC with 155k miles. Sharing everything I’ve gathered in one place. Symptoms The starter will warn you with intermittent no-starts. When she finally goes you’ll hear a loud click when you press start button, dash lights will dim, and you’ll hear a whirring with...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[daneo]

Some good food for thought in this thread.

Swap out the old starter and keep it in the trunk if going super remote?

 

[TimCFJ40]

I replaced the starter in the comfort of my garage and ended up disconnecting the midpipe and transmission coolant lines and found it to be a massively fiddly job. I could not imagine doing this in the field. I'm sure it's totally possible but woof.

Definitive list of starter removal methods

I’m about to tackle this on my 08 LC with 155k miles. Sharing everything I’ve gathered in one place. Symptoms The starter will warn you with intermittent no-starts. When she finally goes you’ll hear a loud click when you press start button, dash lights will dim, and you’ll hear a whirring with...

forum.ih8mud.com

That's why I'm wondering, if the solenoid is most likely to be the source of failure, and if it were possible to finagle your way to the solenoid without all (or most) of that, would it be a good trail spare? I could see a case for carrying a $50 part that takes an hour to replace. Otherwise I would likely replace the whole thing at home, and not even carry the old one as a spare for a few years at least...

 

[CharlieS]

What about the brushes? I recall that being a really common issue and a repair I did to my 80 series'. I can't imagine the 200 series is substantially different and things like brushes wear out eventually.

I'd be tempted to do more than just throw another solenoid on there given how hard it is to get to. Either a starter rebuild, if you are lucky enough to know someone that still does them, or are skilled enough to do it yourself; or a new replacement.

 

[TimCFJ40]

What about the brushes? I recall that being a really common issue and a repair I did to my 80 series'. I can't imagine the 200 series is substantially different and things like brushes wear out eventually.

I'd be tempted to do more than just throw another solenoid on there given how hard it is to get to. Either a starter rebuild, if you are lucky enough to know someone that still does them, or are skilled enough to do it yourself; or a new replacement.

I'm sure the brushes eventually need replacement, but if the long screwdriver hack works for most starter failures, then brushes aren't the immediate cause of death. At least that's my working theory. Field replacing the solenoid I think for me would just buy time to get home and have time to replace the whole unit.

 

[kcjaz]

I like this idea. Easy enough to make a heavy gauge lead that terminates near the battery for this purpose... SQOD - how accessible is the solenoid lead for adding this jumper? Edit - looks like a PITA to get to that lead. This seems like a mod best done when installing a new starter.

I almost added the extension cable when I replaced mine. That would be the time to do it. I decided against it in the end, mostly because I just wanted to be done and make it more complicated than it really needs to be.

At 260 miles, I'd replace the whole thing if I took the truck to places where a starter failure would be difficult. I replaced mine at 150 miles which was probably not necessary but I sleep better so it was worth it to me. If I am going into the boondocks I carry the old starter and alternator as backups. May seem excessive but I have seen water and mud kill alternators and I have space. of course, field replacing these would suck. If you carry a spare starter, you need exhaust manifold gasket, some studs and a few other things so you can actually do the job. I made a full kit. Not saying any of that is rational, its just what I did.

 

[99toylc]

As a person who just recently replaced the starter on my 2008 tundra driven in rust belt I honestly cannot imagine replacing just the selenoid - mainly because my entire starter was unbolted before I removed the selenoid just to make it smaller for removal without unbolting my exhaust.
At this point there is just as much work to replace the starter as the selenoid... by the way it would be super fiddly to try to remove the selenoid and put new one back in without unbolting the rest of the starter - not even sure if possible with my large hands / fingers... it really is deep in there.

 

[bloc]

The point of the keep the big boy starter thread is the older starters are built better. We have an opportunity to replace the separate part that actually fails while keeping the other parts from the better original build.

Yes brushes wear but the rate is directly proportional to the number of starts. The way the mood fails I believe there are other factors at play like battery health. The bulk of my miles are on the highway so start cycles are relatively low per mile.. I now have a ~20k mile solenoid with that low start count, on the older large-frame starter motor. Best of both worlds.

 

[04UZJ100]

The point of the keep the big boy starter thread is the older starters are built better. We have an opportunity to replace the separate part that actually fails while keeping the other parts from the better original build.

Yes brushes wear but the rate is directly proportional to the number of starts. The way the mood fails I believe there are other factors at play like battery health. The bulk of my miles are on the highway so start cycles are relatively low per mile.. I now have a ~20k mile solenoid with that low start count, on the older large-frame starter motor. Best of both worlds.

Bigger doesn’t mean better……time will tell.

 

[RET2]

IMHO if one is so concerned that they carry a spare solenoid why not just preemptively change it out before you leave? I see this alot when dealing with tires, some just absolutely need to get the last mile even though they know they're going to buy new shortly anyway. Just a Geezers .02.