Here's a tip...you don't need to actually pull the starter out of the truck. While the starter is still wedged in there, just pull the cover off, remove the plunger, replace the contacts, and bolt it back in.

 

does it have to be removed? i got my heat shield off. 1 nut stripped. the top one closest to the front, dremel'ed the nut and she came off with grips. the threads are still good. goin back at er.

 

Great write up! I wish I would've had those pics when I did mine. The hardest part was gettin the bolts out. After that its smooth sailin.

 

removal went ok. i used my impact on the top bolt to save my shoulder. i had two or three wobble extensions plus a real swivel on the socket. i noticed that the top bolt needs a particular angle and a deep socket to line up just right. the part that gave me the hardest time was the electric connector. mine had to use two hands at once to get it off. one to push the clip in and one to pull the connector. once i took the cover off the solenoid vol-aha ha ha... the classic worn contacts. cuz it's raining i will install tomorrow. i'd say the step by step here were exactly what it takes to git er done. i'll post the results tomorrow.
thanks to all for the information.

 

i went step by step and it went smoothly. install took about 45-60 min including clean up. i had the usual 1 something went bad(stripped heat shield bolt) got over it and she's done. this 98 4 runner is my first yoda (chevy man) and this was my first serious repair. saved enough dough to get a few more tools.thanks to this board and its members for all the great information. i look forward to more. joe

 

can you show pics and or explain in more detail??

 

Easy....follow this guy's directions right up until he says to orient it a certain way to get it out of the truck. It's a pain to wiggle it out of the truck, so just leave it there. Unbolt the cover on the solenoid, remove the plunger, and you will see this:

http://home.4x4wire.com/adamf/88/images/starter7.jpg


Swap out your contacts, reassemble the starter, and bolt it back to the motor.


This was a tip emailed to me by a reader on 4x4wire who read my starter repair article http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/starter/

 

I just did this today. It was a a bit of a pain in the butt - getting to the bolts and getting the starter to a place to even think about pulling it out of the truck was a a bit of a process. If you have an automatic transimssion yuo need to unbolt the dipstick and remove the top portion to get the starter out. I didn't unbolt anything on the exhaust as mentioned in this thread - didn't seem necessary to me. Unbolting the brake lines is a must aswell as turning the wheels drivers side give yuo more room to reach up ther - a little point I didn't figure out for awhile. Just a lot of long extensions gets to the bottom bolt (with help of a cheater bar) and the top bolt is reachable with the swivel head rachet and a small exetension either through the area above the frame or through a nook from below. In all it took me about 4.5 hours - and alot of that is meassing with stupid little things - like getting the transmission tube bolt back in. All and all - Worth it to save $$$.

John

 

Nice writeup and info! I added it (#7) to the "search thread"... https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/4runner-starter-remove-removing-removal-replace-replacing-contacts-tips-how-89042/

 

Thanks All, for giving me the confidence to tackle this project on my own. I am not a mechanic or a 4Runner owner (little 4cyl '90 p/u, carb/man-tran, 200K mi., no lift), but thought my feedback might help others reading this who are considering it. My no-start/"click" symptom had been getting progressively worse for about 2 weeks (up to 5 tries before cranking over). I spoke to the service writer at the Toyo dealership and he said they could not do anything for me except install a whole new starter (AAA told me the same thing). He then told me they can't even GET the contacts, anyway. Knowing he was lying, I walked right across the service aisle to Parts, and purchased the dang starter kits (about $36)!! Then I went back to the service writer and said, "Now that we have them, can you fix my truck?". He still said no, but even if he "could", he would have to charge me 1.5 hours to R&I the starter, then add another 1.0 to switch out the contacts (that part took me 9 minutes), so I would be much happier, he said, just getting a new/rebuilt starter. Having read this entire thread before hand, I knew that was going to happen, but it still burned me up that the dealer wouldn't overhaul the darn thing for me.
So, not being so mechanically inclined, I still got the job done in about 4 hours(and if I had to do it again tomorrow, could do it in under 2). My bottom bolt (= the right bolt hole as you are looking at the open solenoid pic above) was easy to see and reach and didn't need a ratchet extension, but the top one (left bolt hole as you view the open solenoid) wasn't a bolt, it was a nut and VERY difficult to get ahold of. Both unscrewed forward toward the front of the truck. For the top nut, a 6" extension plus 1" socket gave the perfect clearance over the top of the solenoid housing to allow the wrench to drape over so I could turn it. But I did need a universal joint and two 3" extensions to get it back in tight because there was a slight angle. My top nut was visible looking down from above with a flashlight, but I had to work it off from the side. I got the bottom bolt easily from below. Other differences were mine does not have an access panel to remove, so a tight squeeze to get my arms in there from the side. No other obstructions as described above (stabilizer bar, skid plate, exhaust manifold, etc). Also, my contacts weren't smashed as flat as the one in the pic above. Both were about "half gone", but my contacts and solenoid plunger were very dirty which must have been contributing to the problem, so I used my Dremmel w/ steel brush to get it nice and shiny again. Slapped it all back in and it started right up!
Sorry to be long-winded, but I'm happy for saving a LOT of money today, and a big thanks to you guys and the links you've added, too.

 

Hey Guys,

I don't post much here, but have been lurking and I alway use the search feature. Works great!!

I would like too add to this post. I did my starter contact repair today on my 3rd gen 3.4 Auto. Was pretty easy actually. It took me 2 Hrs, 4 beers and some sweat. I followed the write up untill undoing the brake line bolts.

What I did, and not sure if anybody else has figured it out? I unbolted the ATF fill tube, not sure if I evan had to? I then unscrewed the power steering line on the Ps rack (On the starter Side) I then moved it out of the way very carefully. Get a pan too catch the ATF fluid that comes out of the line. My starter then came out from below. Tool like 3 minutes. It comes right out no problem. After you get your new contacts in put it in in reverse order. Then screw back in your power steering line. Bolt your starter back up (this was the most time here for me) . Fill your PS Bottle back up with recommended fluid.

Alot easier I think.

Here are some pics of the line I removed
The Ps Line I removed too slide starter out from underneath


My new contacts


Old ones @ 113,000 Miles. Was able too start most days. Some days took about 6 7 tries.


Worked for me, but might not for you.

Good luck and have patience doing this repair.

Later

 

thanks for the writeup with the pictures man helped out a lot! Started the project about 3:15 and got done around 7:45. Haven't had a problem with the truck starting since!! Again thanks for the write up

 

Just did my '97 Taco. Seemed a little easier than the 4runner write up, maybe I just got lucky. Works like a champ. If it wasn't for the tips posted here I probably would have just replaced the starter (and probably paid someone to do it.) Thanks to all who posted.

 

just did mine. 99 4runner limited. it is the hardest one of the 3rd gens
because of the dang ATF tube, skid plates, and on mine, california
emissions (cat in the way of dropping the starter past the pipe).

note: there is an ebay seller clickerfixer who sells
kits with the plunger for 20 bucks. and the 2nd contact is bigger. it has all new
nuts and plastic. all you keep are o rings and washers. I think the key is a new plunger.

ok so here is what took me half the day

didn't touch my antisway bar bolts


my method I copied from NHS above...
unbolted 2 power steering tubes. I think this is the way to go, because
they are easy to get to, vs trying to separate the ATF tube and possibly
break it. this was just some fluid. the nuts are right in your face ...so easy

expert level tetris moves brought it down past my antisway bar


TIP: what helped me most was a 14mm swivel socket, 12mm swivel socket, a 3 inch-10 inch-3 inch extension,
3/8 ratchet

on my vehicle there is no exhaust bracket.

removal order was:

1)
atf tube top clamp unbolted, car not jacked up yet

I left the atf fill tube connected, just loose so I could move it. in fact
I wanted to remove it but it was stubborn and ended up leaving it alone,
just wiggled it aside when needed.

disconnected battery. loosen lug nuts

2)
jack car up, set up jack stands

3)
front tire off, lower onto jack stands. now it is safe

4)
skid plates, off. only need to do this if you are dropping the starter
past the power steering. otherwise the skids plates do not interfere

5)
rubber fender cover (get 5 clips from dealer in advance...9 bucks)

6)
brake line bolts 12mm

7)
power cable to starter, 12mm deep socket with 16 inch extension from cv joint

8)
starter bolts, 14mm swivel socket from under car above the cat, use a breaker bar

9)
move starter around, get at the plastic power clip on starter with flat blade through wheel well

10)
unbolt 2 power steering lines, bend them down and away, let drain into waste container, or plug them

11)
tetris the starter down around and finally out past those lines and antisway bar. I got up
several times and walked around while it fought me and I fought back. then it just
came out like butter. if only I had done that move first....

12)
fix starter contacts,

then the reverse. torque the starter bolts to 29 or 30 ft lbs

pb blaster was useless on the starter bolts,
it has locktite in them anyway. let it soak and no blaster was anywhere near the threads
just have to crank on 'em. they are only put on with 29 foot lbs, so they are not impossible to get out.

it's all the rest of the stuff that takes a while

definitely use goggles

oh yeah then I filled up power steering fluid and ran the motor until
the pump stopped whining. stopped, let the power steering foam die down, filled back
up and now power steering is all set

 

pulling the solenoid cover off and changing the contacts while still inside
the fender...i thought about this one, and am glad I just kept working until
I could get the starter all the way out

there is a ball bearing under the plunger. if you lose that, you are done.
or if it falls into the starter, you are done. plus, cranking down the new contacts, you have to get the tight then drive them with a punch to make sure they are flat. I did this on a bench and it was hard enough. all the while you are tring to keep the starter vent tubes from breaking and whatnot....anyhow. with my truck there was no room to do this easily...but the tiny 8mm nuts on the solenoid cover were cake to take off. it is doable but risky is all I am saying...

 

Damn... Wish I found this a few weeks ago, I think this deserves a sticky or something as it seems to be VERY common these days.

 

after surfing around it figures that between 130,000 and 180,000 miles your starter will need contacts and a plunger

and a lot of people have installed new or reman starters, when all that was needed was likely the contacts


a starter repair shop sez 99.7 percent of all repairs are simple contacts

 

changed my contacts today. i did them in a garage on a lift, i didnt remove the exhaust bracket, but all i can say is the more socket extensions and different elbows you have sure does make getting to the bolts way easier!!!! I did remove the transimssion dip stick tube and removed the bolts holding down the brake line to get them out the way.

I am very thankful for finding this post and not just buying a brand new starter. By the way this is the first time my OEM starter has been removed and i had 160,000 miles on it.... I wonder how much longer it will last this time?

 

I just did the contacts on my 2000 4runner yesterday. The worst part was getting the starter back in place. Pay close attention to the removal path as you take it out. I didn't and spent to much time getting it back in place. All in all the job took me 2 hours. I didn't need to remove AT dip stick tube or brake lines as some of the links suggest. Thanks for the great post and pics.

 

Does someone know if someone has this problem, how long can a person go before absolutely having to fix it?
I'm planning a road trip this weekend and wondering if I should be nervous that it'll leave me stranded. It's only been working up for a couple of weeks and some days doesn't give me any problems. Other days 1 or 2 starts out of 10 will act up. I don't have time to fix before the weekend, should I risk it?