Water Crossings affecting starter?? (1 Viewer)

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Oct 26, 2016
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Hey all, went camping om ARkansas with 2 80 series, and a 4.7 Sequoia a few weeks ago. Before this trip, NO issues with water crossings and any electrical issues. Water was a tad deeper than normal, so we were extra cautions, and I drove slower than usual, getting some ingress of water in the cab of my 100. Nothing horrible, but I did short out my amp :/...

After this trip, one of the 80's and both 4.7s developed poor contacts at the starter, resulting in the exact same "CLICK" wait a beat or 5, and then cranking over eventually.

Is there another component to the starter system that sits lower in the engine bay? It didn't get to the depth of maybe 1/2 of the engine, and I'm struggling to figure out how this impacted the starter under the intake in the 100 and the Sequoia. OR, is starter open to the air from under the intake in the back? OR??

New alt and starter showing up, going to dig in this weekend.

Thanks.
 
It's not that bad of a job. If you shorted out the amp it definitely got to the starter. Would need significant water in the cabin to short the amp. Might wanna take out the carpets and let them dry if they got soaked.
 
it is possible to kill the starter by going through deep water, been there done that :bang:. if you made it that deep that the starter was getting submerged I would also check the condition of the oil, milkshake is no good. starter is under the intake manifold so youll want new intake manifold gaskets as well when you do the job
 
I replaced the starter on my 100 last year. After my local shop quoted me $1,100 to replace a $150 starter, I figured I'd give it a shot myself. I'm not much of a mechanic, but I got the job done in about six hours. It wasn't super fun, but definitely not the worst job I've done. I took a ton of pictures to make sure I reinstalled everything correctly, taped off all hose and electrical connections so I could easily find them, which probably added to the total time.

The bolts on the back of the block, next to the firewall, will make you hate life, for sure.

Thought, after all was said and done, I felt pretty good saving myself $950. :D

This thread was a huge help (though, I replaced the entire starter, rather than replacing the contacts on the original starter):

Procedure for replacing 100 series(98 and up) starter contacts
 
The fan will blow water back to the intake , if the crossing is deep enough.
I just finished a alternator replacement due to one to many creek crossings.
 
I just replaced my starter last week, after the failure symptoms began. It's not too bad, for having to remove the intake. Get new gaskets, and for the sake of your own mental health, triple check all the electrical connections to the starter before you put the intake back on. Ask me why... I hated myself
 
Having a shop replace mine next week. Just don't want to deal with being in that position for extended period of time. I consider myself fit and pretty flexible for a guy and when I did the heater t's (which took me about 2hrs all together) I still hurt the next day. Just an extremely awkward position to be in for extended periods of time without proper equipment (like a top creeper). While it can be done and you could save yourself a buttload of money (shop quoted me about $700 for the job) I would rather not put myself in the position.
 
I had the same issues with my fj60. It lasted for about a month then it cleared itself out.
At least with the 60 the starter is right there though!!! That could be R&R'd in less then 30 minutes most times.
 
At least with the 60 the starter is right there though!!! That could be R&R'd in less then 30 minutes most times.
My old 60 seemed to have starter issues a lot but I crossed a lot of creeks with it , a good hit with a hammer usually got it going , I had a orileys rebuilt Asian with a lifetime warranty, that’s one warranty that more than paid for itself. I wish the 100’s were that easy to work on.
 
My old 60 seemed to have starter issues a lot but I crossed a lot of creeks with it , a good hit with a hammer usually got it going , I had a orileys rebuilt Asian with a lifetime warranty, that’s one warranty that more than paid for itself. I wish the 100’s were that easy to work on.
Mine was still running on the original. Buddy had his replaced once, rebuilt with new brushes another. But yeah I am sure multiple water crossings can do that.
 
Mine was still running on the original. Buddy had his replaced once, rebuilt with new brushes another. But yeah I am sure multiple water crossings can do that.

Got the starter replace over the past two weekends. I made and ran new power and ground wires and came up with a 'snorkel' for my new Denso Reman starter. Looks like they re-designed the breather, or maybe they just a few different versions. My original one had the breather on top, which kept water out longer, but didn't allow for it to drain. The new starter has the breather on the bottom. I basically cut the end off and glued a copper fitting over it and to that, some fuel line up and out to the top of the motor. Pretty simple, but MAY keep this from happening again.
 
Adding a few pics

Clipped the tip off the new style breather, a 3/8" 90 Deg copper fitting slipped perfectly over it. Tried using permatex but it didn't grab. Cleaned that out and used super clue.

IMG_20200314_120239.jpg


New HD Power Cables.

IMG_20200312_192838.jpg


Here's the breather extender to attache a fuel line to. Snap it back in place, attache fuel line and rout up to the top of the motor.

IMG_20200314_125628.jpg


I added some Zip Tied to keep the weight of the tube off the breather connection to the starter (not shown)

IMG_20200314_154524.jpg
 
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Replacing the starter was a PITA. Especially since there are so many bolts and having to lay down on top of the engine is very uncomfortable. I have pics in my thread if you need them. Be careful with the plastic connectors as they can be brittle and brake. Good luck.
 
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Replacing the starter was a PITA. Especially since there are so many bolts and having to lay down on top of the engine is very uncomfortable. I have pics in my thread if you need them. Be careful with the plastic connectors as they can be brittle and brake. Good luck.


I used a 2x12 board spanning from fender to fender to kneel on, putting me right over the engine. Helped alot I used moving blankets on the fenders to protec teh sheet metal from the board
 

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