So I’m halfway thru changing my 2001 4.7 starter and have some issues

So I’m halfway through changing out the starter, intake, manifold gasket, coolant crossover, gaskets, and both knock sensors in my 2001 4.7 L V8. This engine has 282,000 miles on it and I think that this is the original starter, which is unbelievable to me. This is a preemptive replacement as the current starter still works, I just felt it was time to change that and might as well change a few other parts while I’m in there.

I ordered a bunch of parts online and I think I ran into one problem specific to the intake manifold gasket. The one that they sent me is two pieces (1 layer of metal) that have a piece of metal joining them and it doesn’t look like it’s intended to be torn off and used as two separate gaskets. It’s also only one layer but the one that is currently on the vehicle is three layers and so I don’t quite know how to proceed with this aspect of this repair. The sensors were easy to replace the coolant, as were the crossover gaskets and I will be installing the new starter tomorrow. I also would like to completely remove the intake manifold and clean out the carbon buildup inside, but I seem to have run into a problem with a few items you can see in one pic that I don’t quite know how to separate them from the intake manifold to take it completely out of the vehicle.

I plan to use anti seize on the surface that Marries the engine block with the new starter, and I put a very small amount of anti seize on the threads for the knock sensors. They did come out easy. I always use a little bit of that just to prevent any issues down the road that I may encounter if I have to replacing of these parts again.

If anyone has any advice on what to do about these gaskets and also how to remove the what I believe to be a fuel line on the manifold itself so I can clean it out with degreaser that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot and have a good day

 

@bmf4069 - up your alley.

 

Is the gasket from Toyota or aftermarket? Part number?

What starter are you replacing the original with?

 

You can do one of two things with the fuel rail, pop all the injectors out together with the rail, or use a open ended wrench to pull that fuel regulator or whatever it is at the back, and then you’ll be free from the intake/fuel line

 

That gasket you're holding is for the upper half of the intake manifold. You need the lower gasket. Fel-pro or OEM only on that. To remove the fuel line you need a 22mm wrench on the regulator on the back of the rail. pay attention to which order the washers go or it won't run when you put it back together. The manifold itself comes out in one piece, then you can separate it.

Let me get on my tablet and I'll add some pics.

 

I bought an OEM stater from Fred Anderson Toyota. They said they could only get remanufactured as no new ones were available. I got it with the stater, knock sensors, etc as well from Fred Anderson Toyota. Here is the part number. (See attached).

 

Awesome. Thank you so much.

 

I wonder if I should just go ahead and separate the intake, clean it thoroughly, and then Use this new gasket since I have it?

 

These are the gaskets you need.



Use a 22mm wrench to get that regulator off, and keep a note of the washer orientation.



Pull the manifold in one piece....



Then seperate it.



This is where that gasket goes.



New lower gaskets.



Gasket sets.

Remember, OEM or Felpro ONLY! I've done this job 3 times already due to shitty gaskets.

 

Oh, and pay attention to the orientation of the lower gasket as well. It does have a right side up. And if you wanna clean that manifold, do it the right way:

 

Your parts are good, just need (2) of 17171-50020.

I was worried you were using parts store junk on this involved job.

 

Why not, you have the parts. Just take your time and do it right.

 

Yup. You're already there and have the gasket. I'll warn you: It's nasty in that manifold. Well, mine was anyways.

 

Pictures always help so much. I have to run an errand an hour away and that’s near a Toyota dealer so tomorrow I’ll get the additional and correct gasket. Thank you very much!

 

I expected it to be pretty bad. I bought some purple power degreaser specifically for this project. I was pleasantly surprised to see almost no buildup on the valves.

 

My wife is gonna love that. If it works I’ll do it. Lol

 

Anytime! It's what we're here for. Keep us posted on how it goes and remember: We like pics. Like, a lot.

 

Only OEM parts here. I do NOT want to have to do this again anytime soon. Thats why I’m changing out the knock sensors, starter, coolant crossover gaskets and intake gaskets. Anything else I should replace while I’m here? I’ll be at the dealer tomorrow and will get whatever I should.

 

Will do. Y’all have been a huge help already, thanks very much.

 

OEM Denso starters are bullet proof. What you need is to replace the copper plunger and contacts in the solenoid and you’ll be good for 200K more.

 

Note the orientation of the white tab on the lower intake gasket in @bmf4069 post

White tabs facing up!

Don't be like me and install the lower gaskets upside down, snug down the intake, reread the FSM to get torque specs only to learn the gaskets are upside down and then have to removed the intake manifold to flip the gaskets around

 

Already have the new starter in so I’ll clean up the old one as a back up.

 

So after stopping by the Toyota dealer, I got ANOTHER part number to share. lol. The gasket part number he said was right for my 2001 is in the pic below. It looks to be the same but it’s clear I’m having part number issues.

 

That's the right one. Did you get 2 of them?

 

Yes.

 

And oriented properly

 

Update: so I had a couple of hours this afternoon. I took the intake manifold completely out, separated it, and found that it was dirty, but not as bad as I was expecting. There is a decent little accumulation of motor oil in some little pockets that you can see in the pictures. I’m taking the portion of the intake manifold that doesn’t have the fuel injectors to work and using the big utility sink with blazing hot water to rinse it.
I did use some purple power degreaser on both halves and got some in the nozzle of the fuel injectors. Is that a problem? I wiped up as much as I could. I also used a razor blade and GENTLY knocked down a few rough carbon build up spots so they felt as smooth as the surrounding metal to my fingers.
The level of grime wasn’t that bad to me, considering the 282,000 miles on this engine that’s never been opened. How does it look to you more experienced folks?
I had a bit of panic set in when I saw all the bolts and nuts I have to reassemble. lol. It’s gonna take me a day or two to get this back together so I know what my weekend holds.

 

Do you happen to recall what the torque specs were or have a link to that? Thank you.

 

Coming up on 250,000 miles and have been wondering about rebuilding the starter (and alternator) at some point proactively. How long do the starters usually last for folks that go 500,000 or 1 million miles before needing rebuilt or replaced? Seems like the brushes will need swapped but could also refresh the plunger and bendix gear too.

Will be doing valve cover gaskets soon so seems like that might be the best time to also do this job. It seems this is quite a bit more work though pulling the manifold. However will be doing the 1st gen taco too and that truck requires pulling the manifold just to swap the VC gaskets. So sounds like the same work here if going after the starter proactively too on the Tundra.

How many hours total do you think you have in this job? And how many more than the VC job? And did you end up getting a new starter or just swapping in the consumables?

TIA

 

I'm at 332k on my original starter, and it's not showing any signs of slowing down. If you do want to PM the starter, doing the VC gaskets at the same time is perfectly doable. I can get the manifold off in about 30 minutes at this point, maybe less. I'm betting if you do both, take your time, take pics, it's probably about 6 hours, depending on how long the starter rebuild takes.