Starter Starting to Slow Down

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S

sosodefcane

10 Year
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Threads
7
Messages
49
Location
Atlanta, GA
Yesterday I noticed that my '04 LC is acting funny when I start it. It still starts, but the starter is noticeably slower - not the same cadence. I used search but could not find a thread addressing a similar problem. I have to think the starter is about to fail. 161,000 on the clock. Has anyone experienced a similar issue?

This forum is invaluable and thank you in advance for replies.
 
I too think i am having issues. Recently sometimes i will turn the key and it will just click and no dash lights, light up but then on the 2nd try she starts right up…. battery terminals are tight as can be
 
Get the multi-meter out and give us a static battery voltage reading; otherwise its just guesswork at best.
 
krice118 said:
I too think i am having issues. Recently sometimes i will turn the key and it will just click and no dash lights, light up but then on the 2nd try she starts right up…. battery terminals are tight as can be
Click to expand...

That sounds like a starter going bad. If it's like most, it will get progressively worse and then will not start at all one day.
 
In my 07 with 85k I had a noise during a cold start that I've never heard before. Scared the crap out of me, like the motor was out of balance with no oil...

Turned it off quickly before it actually started, waited a few seconds and it started well like I've always known it to.

I know it's not a starter, and can't figure out if it was a piston slap or not... Never heard one before, and now I can't replicate it which is good.

TXLX100 any thoughts?
 
No dash lights? Sounds like a battery or ground strap issue. When the starter goes it just goes. May start, may not, but not in between. I replaced the starter in my 100 twice over 331k miles, although I think the second time was more likely a failing neutral safety switch.
 
Strider - how cold? Texas cold - there shouldn't be any weird noises. Minnesota or Alaska cold - weird noises are normal. Could be belts, water pump, alternator, power steering pump, AC compressor, belt tensioner, on and on.
 
Yeah no dash lights, and this definitely didn't sound like a starter issue. I've heard those plenty of times before on other vehicles. This sounded like it was at the top of the motor... Of course that's from inside the vehicle and in my garage...
 
stonepa said:
Strider - how cold? Texas cold - there shouldn't be any weird noises. Minnesota or Alaska cold - weird noises are normal. Could be belts, water pump, alternator, power steering pump, AC compressor, belt tensioner, on and on.
Click to expand...
My 07 LC is garage kept. It was in the 40's outside, but my garage was in the mid 60's. Definitely wasn't a battery or starter issue. That's a definite clicking sound. This was more like the whole engine was just out of balance and was metal hitting metal. Best description I can give, with the short notice of hearing it, saying oh crap, then shutting the motor off before it actually started up.
 
Maybe a leaking exhaust manifold. Did it go away once warmed up? Or was it gone when you started it again cold?

No dash lights with a good battery and solid battery connects really sounds like a ground strap issue. The clicking may be related.
 
The 2UZ has a bit of piston slap below 40F. Should go away in about 30 seconds but can be longer if really cold (below 20F). It's caused by the difference in expansion rates between the piston and cylinder wall. The degree and duration may vary slightly between vehicles due to wear and variances in manufacturing tolerances. Occurs in both our 2000 and 2004.
 
stonepa said:
Maybe a leaking exhaust manifold. Did it go away once warmed up? Or was it gone when you started it again cold?

No dash lights with a good battery and solid battery connects really sounds like a ground strap issue. The clicking may be related.
Click to expand...

Definitely not an exhaust manifold Stonepa, heard that before on my v8 conversion 60 series.


OregonLC said:
The 2UZ has a bit of piston slap below 40F. Should go away in about 30 seconds but can be longer if really cold (below 20F). It's caused by the difference in expansion rates between the piston and cylinder wall. The degree and duration may vary slightly between vehicles due to wear and variances in manufacturing tolerances. Occurs in both our 2000 and 2004.
Click to expand...

Thanks OregonLC for the explanation. I'm thinking more and more it possibly was a piston slap. I wonder if someone has an audio file of a piston slap that I could listen to... I tried searching for that with no luck.
 
I've yet to see a video with audio quality that correctly represents the true sound of cold start piston slap. Audio pickup on cell phones just can't replicate it (too much background noise).

As others have indicated, if its rhythmic, directly varies with RPM, and fades after about 30 seconds then it's piston slap. If it's more of a whine than a tapping rhythm then it's something else.

Also not that our transfer case has an oil pump that makes noise when cold. This is a deeper whine sound and only occurs when driving.
 
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