I've been having starting problems as of late. This started 2 months ago, went away, and is now re-emerging. On cold starts I turn the key, and all I get is a click and no cranking. It takes between 2 and 4 attempts to finally get the starter cranking. When the car is warm, there is no problem. I've searched, and starter contacts seems to be a common problem with these cars. Looks like this job will be a PITA, taking off the intake manifold and such. Will I need to replace the intake manifold gaskets when I get into this? Does this sound like a contacts problem?
Starting Problems on my 99 TLC (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter rph74
- Start date
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Wayne
Bought by His blood, kept by His power
rph74,
You don't have to take the intake mainfold off to access or remove and replace the starter
. Unhook the negative cable on the battery, unhook the electrical wires on the starter, remove the two bolts that mounts the starter to the engine, and it's off.......
The starting problem sounds like a battery problem to me.... get that checked out first, before you remove the starter.
Wayne S
"Merry Christmas"
You don't have to take the intake mainfold off to access or remove and replace the starter
. Unhook the negative cable on the battery, unhook the electrical wires on the starter, remove the two bolts that mounts the starter to the engine, and it's off....... The starting problem sounds like a battery problem to me.... get that checked out first, before you remove the starter.
Wayne S
"Merry Christmas"
actaully you do have to remove the intake(or part of) on a 100 series to replace the starter, at the dealer is almost a $800 job, labor and parts. I looked at a 98 that had the starter replaced, included in the parts was an intake gasket.
for a fzj Toyota gives the replacement of the starter .5 hours. for a 98+ 2.7 hours(same as a V8 Tundra)
I would clean up the conections at the starter, at the bat and check the bat.
John H
[quote author=Wayne link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80218#msg80218 date=1072321754]
rph74,
You don't have to take the intake mainfold off to access or remove and replace the starter. Unhook the negative cable on the battery, unhook the electrical wires on the starter, remove the two bolts that mounts the starter to the engine, and it's off.......
The starting problem sounds like a battery problem to me.... get that checked out first, before you remove the starter
Wayne S "Merry Christmas"
[/quote]
for a fzj Toyota gives the replacement of the starter .5 hours. for a 98+ 2.7 hours(same as a V8 Tundra)
I would clean up the conections at the starter, at the bat and check the bat.
John H
[quote author=Wayne link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80218#msg80218 date=1072321754]
rph74,
You don't have to take the intake mainfold off to access or remove and replace the starter
. Unhook the negative cable on the battery, unhook the electrical wires on the starter, remove the two bolts that mounts the starter to the engine, and it's off....... The starting problem sounds like a battery problem to me.... get that checked out first, before you remove the starter
Wayne S
"Merry Christmas"[/quote]
- Thread starter
- #4
So it doesn't sound like the starter contacts then? I replaced the battery last year (with a cheap Wal-Mart battery). The battery terminals are very clean. If it was indeed the battery, then why would this problem go away for a couple of months, and then come back? I still have the battery that was on the car when I bought it, so I guess I'll try it and see what happens.
With the common starter contact problem, does difficulty starting happen ALL of the time? As stated before, this only happens when cold, and starts perfectly fine when warm.
Thanks
[quote author=Landpimp link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80220#msg80220 date=1072323084]
actaully you do have to remove the intake(or part of) on a 100 series to replace the starter, at the dealer is almost a $800 job, labor and parts. I looked at a 98 that had the starter replaced, included in the parts was an intake gasket.
for a fzj Toyota gives the replacement of the starter .5 hours. for a 98+ 2.7 hours(same as a V8 Tundra)
I would clean up the conections at the starter, at the bat and check the bat.
John H
[/quote]
With the common starter contact problem, does difficulty starting happen ALL of the time? As stated before, this only happens when cold, and starts perfectly fine when warm.
Thanks
[quote author=Landpimp link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80220#msg80220 date=1072323084]
actaully you do have to remove the intake(or part of) on a 100 series to replace the starter, at the dealer is almost a $800 job, labor and parts. I looked at a 98 that had the starter replaced, included in the parts was an intake gasket.
for a fzj Toyota gives the replacement of the starter .5 hours. for a 98+ 2.7 hours(same as a V8 Tundra)
I would clean up the conections at the starter, at the bat and check the bat.
John H
[/quote]
Just put a SC on my fathers Tundra and can give you some info.
First, the intake has to come off to remove the starter. It sits at about 12:00 right in the middle of the V.
Second, you can reuse the intake gaskets but I'd get some injector seals as they will most likely be a little ragged and they are cheap.
Third, there is 3 starter choices out there. 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 kw. The 1.8 and 2.0 take the same plunger and contacts. Give yourself some lead time as LA is the only place that has one side of the contacts. Looking in from the passenger side of the truck you should be able to read the part number off of the starter so the dealer will know which starteer you have.
Fourth, there is 2 breather tubes on the starter one at each end. They are held in place with small plastic clips. These clips are NOT available. Be careful not to pull one off. :-[.
Fifth, the whole job start to finish would be in the range of 4 or 5 hours. Not very technical but if you have a digital camera I'd take a few snapshots and label the hoses well just to be sure to get them back in the right spot when done.
It does sound like the typical starter contacts to me. How many miles on the truck and what percentage are short trips? That will give us an idea of how many starts you might have on the starter.
First, the intake has to come off to remove the starter. It sits at about 12:00 right in the middle of the V.
Second, you can reuse the intake gaskets but I'd get some injector seals as they will most likely be a little ragged and they are cheap.
Third, there is 3 starter choices out there. 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 kw. The 1.8 and 2.0 take the same plunger and contacts. Give yourself some lead time as LA is the only place that has one side of the contacts. Looking in from the passenger side of the truck you should be able to read the part number off of the starter so the dealer will know which starteer you have.
Fourth, there is 2 breather tubes on the starter one at each end. They are held in place with small plastic clips. These clips are NOT available. Be careful not to pull one off. :-[.
Fifth, the whole job start to finish would be in the range of 4 or 5 hours. Not very technical but if you have a digital camera I'd take a few snapshots and label the hoses well just to be sure to get them back in the right spot when done.
It does sound like the typical starter contacts to me. How many miles on the truck and what percentage are short trips? That will give us an idea of how many starts you might have on the starter.
- Thread starter
- #6
I have 106k on the car, we bought it last year with 96k. A lot of short trips, as we live in Springfield, MO where everything we need is within 5 miles of us. So it's about time for the contacts to go bad.
Sorry for the noob question, but you said LA is the only place to get one of the side contacts? What is LA? So not every LC has the same starter within the same model year? So all I will need is injector seals and the contacts for the starter? Looks like I know what I'll be doing this Sunday now!
Sorry for the noob question, but you said LA is the only place to get one of the side contacts? What is LA? So not every LC has the same starter within the same model year? So all I will need is injector seals and the contacts for the starter? Looks like I know what I'll be doing this Sunday now!
LA is the only Toyota distribution point that your local dealer can get it from. Or at least that was the case last week for me. C-Dan could explain the part support network better. Basically most parts can be gotten in a single day through your dealer. That one contact wasn't in the local distrubution point in Mansfield MA so my dealer would have had to get it from LA which would mean a longer wait.
Everything seems top point to the starter. This is something you don't want to put off. The plunger can get wedged into the grooves that form in the contacts and hold the starter in the engaged position keeping it on and spiking the electrical system damaging the alternator.
Merry Christmas!
Everything seems top point to the starter. This is something you don't want to put off. The plunger can get wedged into the grooves that form in the contacts and hold the starter in the engaged position keeping it on and spiking the electrical system damaging the alternator.
Merry Christmas!
- Thread starter
- #8
So is getting to the starter the hardest part of the job? Once I get the starter out of the car, is it easy to replace the contacts? Any tips would be appreciated!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
[quote author=rph74 link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80282#msg80282 date=1072356838]
we live in Springfield, MO where everything we need is within 5 miles of us.
[/quote]
Welcome, I live just 10 miles south of you, and we have another member in Springfield.
we live in Springfield, MO where everything we need is within 5 miles of us.
[/quote]
Welcome, I live just 10 miles south of you, and we have another member in Springfield.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks! So you're a Christian county boy?
R and R of the contacts is pretty straight forward. There might be a write up for the 80 which is pretty much the same.
[quote author=rph74 link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80294#msg80294 date=1072362314]
Thanks! So you're a Christian county boy?
[/quote]
Yep, halfway between Nixa and Clever on hiway 14 where the James river runs under hiway 14. Need a LC to get up the private road I live on (when it snows), since the county won't maintain it, (too narrow and steep). We moved here 5 years ago. Great part of the country, we need to keep it a secret so we don't get to many people moving here. I figure I will get a 100 series when I wearout my 80.
Thanks! So you're a Christian county boy?
[/quote]
Yep, halfway between Nixa and Clever on hiway 14 where the James river runs under hiway 14. Need a LC to get up the private road I live on (when it snows), since the county won't maintain it, (too narrow and steep). We moved here 5 years ago. Great part of the country, we need to keep it a secret so we don't get to many people moving here. I figure I will get a 100 series when I wearout my 80.
- Thread starter
- #13
Agreed, we moved here 2½ years ago from St. Louis and I can't imagine living anywhere else. My friends from St. Louis and Chicago where I'm orig. from laugh about living "in the middle of nowhere" when really everything is more convenient (and cleaner) than the big city. It's amazing how many transplants live down here.
[quote author=Pitbull link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80298#msg80298 date=1072362921]
Yep, halfway between Nixa and Clever on hiway 14 where the James river runs under hiway 14. Need a LC to get up the private road I live on (when it snows), since the county won't maintain it, (too narrow and steep). We moved here 5 years ago. Great part of the country, we need to keep it a secret so we don't get to many people moving here. I figure I will get a 100 series when I wearout my 80.
[/quote]
[quote author=Pitbull link=board=2;threadid=9212;start=msg80298#msg80298 date=1072362921]
Yep, halfway between Nixa and Clever on hiway 14 where the James river runs under hiway 14. Need a LC to get up the private road I live on (when it snows), since the county won't maintain it, (too narrow and steep). We moved here 5 years ago. Great part of the country, we need to keep it a secret so we don't get to many people moving here. I figure I will get a 100 series when I wearout my 80.
[/quote]
Wayne
Bought by His blood, kept by His power
rhp74,
Well, do I look like a dumb a-- or what?? :whoops: Failed to see that you are driving a 100 series truck
It's those small little details that will kill ya........ 
Sorry for the bum scoop 
.
Wayne S
Well, do I look like a dumb a-- or what?? :whoops: Failed to see that you are driving a 100 series truck
It's those small little details that will kill ya........ Sorry for the bum scoop .Wayne S
- Thread starter
- #15
Well, replaced the contacts last night, what a PITA! Thanks landtank for the idea to take pics before doing anything. That REALLY made a difference when putting everything back together. I accidentally broke off one of the breather tubes, I hope that won't effect anything. Looks like it was there to allow air in without letting too much dust in. We'll see what happens..
The hardest part was simply overcoming the sheer size of the car. Having to climb into the engine bay was not fun. Great learning experience though.
The hardest part was simply overcoming the sheer size of the car. Having to climb into the engine bay was not fun. Great learning experience though.
Good to hear things went sorta ok. That breather you broke, was it the one closest to the front grill :? I took the end off and inserted a brass nipple and then wire tied the rubber hose back on. To late for you I think. How bad were the contacts? Love to see a pic.
? I took the end off and inserted a brass nipple and then wire tied the rubber hose back on. To late for you I think. How bad were the contacts? Love to see a pic.- Thread starter
- #17
I broke the breather closest to the front grill. Yeah, it's too late to do anything about it now. The contacts were worn out pretty bad, I would say a little more than halfway down. It worried me a little because one of the contacts that I bought (the bigger one) was slightly smaller than the original one. But when I pressed down on the plunger, it made excellent contact. The car starts and runs great the first time around now.
I had to remove one of the brackets that attach onto the valve cover on the passenger side to get the manifold to go back on. It was a real bitch to get that manifold back on! Did you have the same problem? I have a pic I can try to e-mail you it is too big to attach here.
I had to remove one of the brackets that attach onto the valve cover on the passenger side to get the manifold to go back on. It was a real bitch to get that manifold back on! Did you have the same problem? I have a pic I can try to e-mail you it is too big to attach here.
The layout of the tundra engine might be a little different. However there are a couple of brackets removed permanently when installing the Supercharger. It might have been one of those. I might have jinxed you by the way. After tearing in to my fathers truck I had replyed to a post on difficult servicing on the 80s and hinted that I was waiting for the first 100 guy who needed a starter contact job :.
. - Thread starter
- #19
So am I one of the first of the 100's here to have to do this then? If so, I can try to do a write up on the procedure while I have it fresh in my memory. That ESM manual was a little helpful, but not very much IMO. We wasted a lot of time just trying to figure stuff out as we went along. Took 6½ hours, but now with the knowledge it would easily be 3 hours or less.
sleeoffroad
Supporting Vendor
We did a truck a couple of weeks ago. Same symptoms. Not as easy as the 1FZ, but not that bad either. We are thinking that if you do the timing belt at 100k miles, it is a good thing to do the contacts then as well. Some shared labor.
