Starter had one job

Starter shit the bed, apparently. Anybody know of any trick to nudge the rotation of the starter or bash it’s to get another start out of it? Yes I know it’s under the intake manifold. I’m currently stuck at at gas station. Plenty of battery charge. Starter just gives one loud click. I’ve tied getting it rolling and throwing it into reverse as well as drive, but it doesn’t shift without the truck running. I got under and turned the engine with a socket on the crankshaft. No help. Anybody. Don’t want to call AAA when I’m less than a mile from home

 

Another reason I’ve always loved manuals

 

So does a condom on prom night…consequences of failure can ruin a man’s life…



on a serious note you probably don’t have your paddle with you…



cause you’re probably up the creek…

 

You got jokes, I’ll give ya that. No help tho. At all.

 

Did you check for loose battery and ground connections?

 

Wiggle shit around.

 

Jump the starter relay?

 

It gives a loud click. Definitely getting all the power it needs

 

If it were any other vehicle I’ve ever owned, I’d get under there and give it a couple smacks with a blunt object like a hammer, and get it goin.

 

The click is coming from the starter so
I know it’s getting past the relay.

 

sorry man, a good rap of a hammer on the starter body is all that helps…but I know that it isn’t super feasible. So i fell back to comic relief to ease the pain.

 

I'm guessing your problem is already solved, but others on this forum said adding the extra current from a jump helped get the starter to engage when problems arose. How many miles on your truck/starter?

 

It’s all good. Yeah the starter on the 1st gens is bolted on top of the block, down in the valley between valve covers, and then covered completely by the intake manifold. You literally cannot see any bit of it from any angle. Unfortunately.

 

Thank you. I actually did try that. I’ve got a new battery (about 1 month old) that had a full charge (checked with a multimeter), and I hooked up my jumper box to it anyways just to see. The single ‘click’ sounded a bit louder/stronger, but nope. I just rolled 200k a couple months ago and believe it may be the original starter. Im just thankful I wasn’t out in the middle of the desert or mountains. My fix for the evening was a flatbed tow truck to get it home.

 

That stinks sir. When mine was going out, I repeatedly tried to start it until I won the lottery and the lucky turn of the key actually engaged the starter. The copper contacts inside had worn to the point they stopped, well, contacting. $13 for contacts and a set of new $107 intake manifold gaskets fixed it up once back home. 200k miles was a good run, mine made it 113k or so before the first fail. I believe fail 2 is upon me as I occasionally get a click instead of a start.

 

I'm a little surprised. I thought a lot of people were still on their original starter well past 200k. Maybe I should order one before Denso stops making those too.

Keep is posted on how the swap goes Rusty.

 

Mine went out a couple months ago. Went to the gym and when it came to leave the starter made this horrible grinding noise. Then, it just made a noise like one of those old toy race cars that had that long plastic tool you had to pull through it to make the wheels turn. Had to call a tow truck.

 

Yup - just need new contacts and plunger in solenoid. Don’t replace starter as they are bulletproof. If you do replace starter, only buy DENSO. Anything else you’ll be doing it again next year.

 

Bummer, but it looks like you should be able to slide an extension between the rear intake runners on the driver side to smack the starter.

 

Just wanted to give an update/followup post, as it drives me nuts when people leave threads like this without end resolves/results.
@Mr.bee you were correct about being able to put eyes on the starter. Daylight is helpful. However tapping the starter housing did nothing for me.

This is not a thread on how to remove the starter so I won't go thru the process, but I did that next.
Then bought a repair kit with the contacts, which are surprisingly universal for many makes and models. Upon opening the starter, it didn't appear to be worn to the point of failure. When something fails, I want to find broken parts, so there's no doubt. The contacts were definitely worn, but not gone.
Moving on. Replaced the contacts, put the starter back together, and back into the truck. Made minimal connections necessary, including the battery itself, and jumped the starter relay to confirm the starter would turn over the motor. Indeed. Slapped on the intake, throttle body, and finished making all connections.
I know my battery charge had gotten a bit low so before I started the truck for the first time, I put a charger on it for a couple hours.
Go out to start the truck, and get one loud click. Over and over again.
The fact that I tested it by jumping the relay and it turned the motor over, ruled out anything else BUT a weak electrical connection. And it did that without the full charge it now had. Jumping the relay now only gave a click as well.
I found that a ring terminal bolt that screws into the battery clamp connector had become ever so slightly loosened. Still connected, a tight finger-tight, making good contact, but not completely pressed solid. Wrenched it down and truck fired right up.
Did the starter even fail? Probably not. Yet I gave it all the blame. Fully charged battery and connected to a jump box, and the relay was kickin. Also, the cable powering thru the starter relay, powers everything else on that relay box, and everything else was still working. The weak connection just didn't allow the power to flow at the amp level necessary to start the truck. That's how i understand it anyways. Another shitty thing about the starter location, is that you cant run a jumper straight from the battery terminal to the positive terminal on the starter, which handicaps the troubleshooting process.

TLDR:wasn't the starter, just a loose electrical connection.

 

I can't believe I missed this thread. Huh. I thought I replied on it for some reason.

Glad you got it figured out. Where was the ring terminal? The extra screw-down terminal at the positive clamp?

 

What was the issue with yours?

 

Do you have a pic of where the loose connection was?

 

Did you get this from Toyota? What exactly did you replace inside the starter?

 

So did I.....I thought for sure I replied saying that its probably not the starter but a cable or terminal.....maybe we mixed it up with another similar thread? Seems we get a post like this once a week and its never the starter.

 

Yes. It appears to be the original clamp, and has 2 threaded holes in it. Ring terminals from several harnesses are stacked, with a bolt thru and into the clamp

 

I will take one but have not yet

 

https://www.oreillyauto.com/shop/b/.../v/a/8199/automotive-truck-2000-toyota-tundra

this is the list of compatible makes

 

Reminds me of a jeep I helped out on the Rubicon. He would go down the trail for a bit and then the engine died. Would just click. He had a wingnut on his battery terminal. I told him to tighten it. He used his hand to tighten it to prove that it was tight. Told him to wrench on that sucker. After he wrenched it that was the last time I saw him.

 

Cuz he broke it and you left him there?