Starter / Replacement Contacts

[SVH]

Thanks for the positive reinforcement Mustang! Well, the saga continues. Toyota ordered the wrong contacts because the parts guy was in such a hurry (there are 3 or 4 options apparently). My truck has been out of order for almost a week. This time I had them order every possible contact, so that should do the trick...I will post when it's all done god willing...

[SVH]

Well, here I am...a week later. Been getting rides to work with friends and just having an awesome time without my truck. Finally get the right contacts from Toyota...had to wait out the storm last night and throw a tarp over my propped open hood. Now, finally, I think I am going to finish the project...tonight is the night! But no. I just tried bench testing the starter with the new contacts and nothing happens. How did I f*%k this up? It is possible that my battery is not happy...I am reading 12v off of it...but not sure if that is all that matters. The wife has the other car now...she'll be back in an hour or so. So I'll wait till she gets home. If her car can't light this starter up...then I am S.O.L. Tonight will likely be a late night. Wahh Waaaahhhhh....

[SVH]

Well, I took the starter to Kragen yesterday to have them do a bench test. I think my battery may have gotten drained because I had a towel on top of the battery to act as padding for the intake manifold while it sat there...when it rained, some of the water got in there and soaked the towel. There are crazy looking yellow marks on the towel with a burn mark where it touched the contact. No big deal tho. Kragen tested my starter and it passed the test, though it was acting a little funny. The bench tester charges it for like 3 seconds, and for the first 1.5 seconds it was plunging and retracting in fast succession. The second half, it stayed plunged and looked good. I am hoping that this is just due to the contacts getting broken in...or getting leveled or something. I got almost everything back in last night...tonight I'll make the final connections and try to fire her up (may need a jump tho). Keep your fingers crossed! I know I am...

[SVH]

It all worked out! I got it all together (minus one lost 12mm bolt that holds the wire harness to the starter (I decided that this will not cause any harm)) and she fired right up. No more pause between the turn of the key and the starter plunge...just instant starting power! Thanks for this forum and those that provided all of the necessary info!

ps...the CEL engine light came on the day I got it all back together...I was a little scared, hoping it didn't have to do with the intake...its a code P0135 which I have found is the front driver-side O2 sensor. The CEL light has come on a few times in the past, but before I could plug in the code reader, it would dissapear. I think that this is probably that phantom code.

[Columbia,SC]

I did it,I did it, I did it! I have been scared and too poor to 'pay for it' but I got a starter yesterday for a early B day present and with all of the great help/pictures I found on here I DID IT! After a year of hitting the starter with a hammer and a 24" socket extention, did I mention I DID IT! I was scared to death looking at that starter buried under all of the 'stuff'! I was almost in tears beating the old one yesterday morning trying to get the kids to school. Mom and Dad called and asked me if I wanted a new printer for my puter and had already paid for it. I told them I need a new starter more than I want a printer. So I got a new starter for my B-day!
I called a buddy of mine (23 years Toyo cert. mech and he offered most of the same help I got here,, He told me he can do it in 1 1/2 hours. I did it in 2 1/2 hours! It would have been done faster but I had to make an extension with a magnent glued on a 3/8th's inch wood dowel rod (McGiver style) to retreve my 12mm (I think) socket from under the manifold. That extention came in very handy replacing those intake bolts as well!
My body is feeling the stretch and reaching I had to do but it is a great feeling knowing that it is replaced and everything is tip top once again! Thanks for the help, couldn't have done it without ya!
I took some pics but they are in the first stages, after I got into it I forgot about the camera. I did it alone and was in the zone~!
Sorry about the spelling here and there, I am better with a hammer and wrenches than I am with spelling! I should have had my 10 y/o proof read this post for me.
God Bless America and Tundra Solutions.
Columbia,SC
P.S. looking down in the heads, after 156,000 miles the valves and what I could see was pretty/real clean! I Love this truck!

[Columbia,SC]

I forgot to mention that it is a 2000 TRD V-8 4.7 4WD