Starter help.....

Are the bolts on the manifold to exhaust indeed metric though? Cause I was using an SAE and it had a solid grab on it.

 

I used a 14mm when I was removing the bolts connecting the front of the muffler to the connecting pipes coming from the engine. I haven't encountered any SAE on my Toyotas. There are some that are very close though.

 

Well damn, if that's the case that's where I probably went wrong. Good news is I talked to a guy where I'm staying and he's supposed to come look at it tonight.

 

Yeah, glad I have the reference now. Just hopefully today or tomorrow I get it back and have beast running again I'm having withdrawls right now.

 

Good luck. The starter swap is probably the trickiest. I have not read any good DIY experiences with the starter. Certainly doable just a pain in @ss. Home depot has PB too. It works.

 

Thanks, luckily I have a neighbor that's a mechanic and he's going to take a look and fix the truck tomorrow hopefully.

 

I have a question guys, my truck is 8yrs old, has 167k on it the guy looked at the truck but sad it's possible that when taking off the bolts on the manifold to the block they could break. What are the real odds of that happening?

The guy is a true mechanic and he's being upfront with me.

 

It's a very real possibility, look at what happened to the bolts that you were working on, and they were of similar material. The bolts and the engine block are different materials and given the heat cycles and passage of time, they tend to be....difficult to separate. If any one of them are broken, they will need to be drilled out and new threads inserted. It's generally referred to as a "helicoil". That's just one of the reasons that many consider the placement of the starter behind the manifold such poor engineering.

If this fella can get your truck back on the road, you will be indebted to him. IMO

 

Yeah he said he can do it, he's just afraid that one will break and then I'll be screwed, but I'm caught in a hole cause if a shop does it, puts me in the same position.

So I'm not quite sure what to do.

 

Have you been squirting the bolts with PB Blaster/WD40 while pondering your decision? That can only increase the odds of removal, but it's a chance that will need to be taken regardless of who has a try at it, this guy or the shop. Someone has to do it or the truck never moves again.

 

I haven't going to pick up some now. Regardless if it breaks have to send it in a shop period.

 

Is there a slight chance with enough pb blaster they could come out smoothly?

 

Yes, absolutely. That's why most everyone usually has some variant of it handy. It does necessitate a little time to soak in though. If you're dashing out to get some this evening, give them a splash tonight so that it has a chance to soak in overnight, then hit them again as soon as you can in the morning. That will increase the odds in your favor before you guys actually put a wrench on them. I know you're in a pinch to get this sorted, but giving it some time to work in is prudent.

 

Yeah, let me ask this as well. If i took it to a shop and they broke the bolts they would be liable for any extra work correct?

 

Dammit....guess i'm in quite a hole then huh?

 

Thanks for a laugh buddy

 

I would think not. They're not being negligent or careless, like over tightening the lugs with an impact. Just my opinion there...

 

Yeah thats where it's a catch 22 I think, cause it's not like there already broke.

 

True, but your starter is (broken), and you may need to "break some eggs to make an omelette". You're between a rock and a hard place man. From what is understood, the manifold must come off to get to the starter...

 

Yeah guess I'll find a shop and say a prayer. Like you said a rock in a hard place have to make a decision

 

He said he could but he's afraid then it would mess up the threads.

I do have a question though, before I go any further with this task. Whenever I went to start my truck the day it didn't start. My truck voltage meter was reading in the middle between 9v and the middle line, but when tried to jump start it, it would go straight to the middle line could that be an indication of a bad alternator?

 

I'm not sure how it's set up, but I would speculate that when the engine is not running and the key is in the run position, the voltage gauge displays the battery voltage. When the engine is running, the voltage gauge displays the alternator output voltage. A shop is going to have a way to check the alternator voltage output and it's ability under electrical load as well.

It's also possible that your battery is getting tired. A shop will be able to load test that as well. If the battery is greater than five years old, it may need to be replaced.

Ask the shop to check those two items first, as they're easier to get to and cheaper to replace. I don't know what the alternator costs, but it's got to be WAY easier to replace than that fricking starter.

 

Yeah talked to a shop and they're going to charge 500 to do the job.

Battery was tested and came back fine, so going to put it in the shop tonight and hopefully tomorrow or day after have me a running truck.

 

I remember looking at my alternator and thinking it would be a bitch to swap if it ever failed. Then I located the starter.... I would still replace my alternator myself. Starter??? I just hope it is very well made to last. At least if the dealer has it and something breaks, they will be able to fix it. I won't even touch that.