Strange electrical and a brake issue

[sacmaster]

Yesterday, my 2000 barely cranked before I went on a fairly long (60ish mile) drive. It went Eh Eh Eh Vroom. Thought it was strange but didn't worry about it. This morning, the truck wouldn't crank at all, so I had to jump it. Then I let it idle outside my house for an hour. This is the first cold weather we've had, so I figured the battery was just showing its age, so I took the truck to O'reilly, where they tested the battery. The guy said it checked out fine. It's a Bosch that I put in a little over 3 years ago.

He said in order to check the alternator, it would have to be taken out of the truck, so I didn't worry about it. It shouldn't be the alternator if the truck is running fine and not powering down after cranking, so I'm confused why the battery is showing fine. If it was the starter, jumping it shouldn't work either. Truck has 178k, and I replaced the starter when I replaced the battery 3 years ago at 100k. Any suggestions?

My other issue is when I popped the hood to check the battery, I noticed the cap for the Brake fluid reservoir had popped up and wouldn't screw back down. Looks like the threads on it are stripped. O'reilly didn't have a replacement cap, so I just duct-taped it down until I can find a replacement. My question is whether this is safe, since it seems like the system will lose pressure from the cap being loose. There is no fluid loss, and the brakes are working fine.

Thanks!

 

[CappyKD]

Check your grounds, still sounds like a starter issue even though you replaced it.

 

[sacmaster]

It does sound like the damn starter again. I just didn't want to believe it. That is ridiculous! A part that difficult to replace going out after 75k is unacceptable. Toyota really let me down with some of these issues (starter contacts, crappy exhaust manifolds that I've refused to replace, constant worry about my tranny, etc.).

As far as the cap for the brake master cylinder reservoir, any suggestions on where to get a new one, and whether it's safe to drive until then? The plastic gasket on the bottom of the cap is super flexible, and the cap just pops off when I screw it down.

 

[CappyKD]

Did you replace it with an OEM new? Reman? or after market. For the Brake cap, not sure about driving like that, probably ok. I would get a new one from a local dealer or from Beno or CDAN here on MUD.

 

[sacmaster]

I replaced it with a Toyota reman'd unit, so it only had a 12 month warranty. I don't have time to try and replace it myself, so I took the truck and dropped it off at LexTech here in Charleston before it got so bad I would have to get it towed. I'll call them and let them know what's up in the morning; they've always done good work at a fair price for me. Now I get to drive my 95 Range Rover Classic until it is fixed... Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Sandroad]

Just because the battery "checked out fine" doesn't mean it's good. If it was my truck, I'd start with replacing the battery. And, the simplest of alternator checks is just output voltage and it doesn't have to be removed to check that.

 

[TheFuzz]

Agreed about the battery. Just because the local high school kid at the parts store said the battery was ok, doesn't necessarily make it so. Three years is approaching the service life of most aftermarket batteries. Can you swap it out with another one to check?

 

[sacmaster]

The truck is already at the shop. The only way I could get it there tomorrow and have a ride home with my schedule, was to drop it off tonight. I'm going out of town on Wednesday, so I need it back asap. When I call in the morning, I will explain what the symptoms are. I'm sure Glen at LexTech can rule out the battery/alternator pretty quickly.

Also forgot to mention that when it wouldn't start, I heard the starter clickclickclick after a few tries, so I'm pretty sure that's the problem.

Thanks for the replies