Starter Contacts Removal Thread (without removing the starter)
05-28-2010, 12:47 PM
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Starter Contacts Removal Thread (without removing the starter)
This is the non-mechanically inclined thread to replacing the contacts within the starter WITHOUT removing the starter from the engine bay! I'm not mechanically inclined, so if I can do this, so can you (with the right tools). I will note that these pictures were taken in reverse order (as I was putting everything back together). This was also done on a 3rd gen (1996 to be specific) Toyota 4Runner with the 3.4L V6 engine.
BEFORE STARTING THE BELOW STEPS, REMOVE THE NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL CABLE. Safety is important!
Step 1: Remove the FRONT PASSENGER side wheel and set your truck on jack stands; leaving it on a floor jack is unsafe! FYI, these are FJ Cruiser rims, not the stock T4R rims.
Step 2: Unclip the fastners that hold the rubber splashguard. I reached behind and used plyers to squeeze it together and then pushed through. I hear you can use a flathead screwdriver as well for this. I also only took out the top three fastners and let it hang. You can take them all out and remove it completely if you want to.
Step 3: Remove the bolts holding the brake line in place. It's not needed to completely remove the brake line, but it helps to move it out of the way sometimes. Note there are 2 bolts here, one on either side and they can be reached with a 12mm ratchet.
Step 4: There are 2 connections to the starter itself. The yellow arrow points to a plastic cover over one of them, and the blue arrow points to a kind-of clipped in connection. Remove the plastic cover and unclip the smaller black connector. Both of which might be easier to do coming from below the frame.
Step 5: Unscrew the bolt holding the first connection to the starter. I used a couple long ratchet extentions down past the skid plate to get this one off. Again, I did this from below.
Step 6: Remove the exhaust pipe bracket. There are 3 bolts total shown in the picture to remove. This allows us access to the bolts holding the starter in place against the transmission. I remove these and the starter bolts while below the truck and used a 14mm socket.
Step 7: Remove the two starter bolts holding it in place. I left them loose in the below picture to make it clear which two needed to come out. The top bolt is SHORTER than the bottom bolt. Make sure to not let it get banged up! I used a 14mm socket and socket wrench with an extension bar to remove these, but others have used a swivel as well.
Congratz! The starter is now free of its restraints and you can move it around within it's small area. I used a small block of wood to help hold the starter up for the next several steps. It was about 6 inches tall.
Step 8: With the starter sitting on it's side, we now have access to a plate that behind it contains the contacts. Remote the 3 bolts here that hold the plate on. These should be able to be removed with 7mm socket.
Step 9: Remove the plunger and long spring; put them aside somewhere they aren't going to get dirty (sorry, I forgot to include a picture). You should now be able to see the contacts inside on either side. They are held by bolts on the outside of the starter.
Step 10: Because the starter is loose and free, getting the bolts off to remove the contacts can be a little difficult. To help with leverage I used 2 wrenches, 13mm on the contact side and 14mm on the bolt side. I have a ratchet-type wrench here so it was a little easier than using a standard wrench.
Once you have the contact and bolt removed from the starter, you should have the following pieces pulled out in the below order:
Here's the difference between my old (on the left) and new (on the right) contact! I only replaced the one as the other looked fine.
Putting it back together took me about 1/4th of the time, but it's basically the exact opposite process as above. Once done, you're all set! I did the above just like I explained it and now have a 4Runner that starts up right away!
Thanks for taking the time to read my step-through! Another great resource that I found other than these forums was at the following website: HaveBlue's 3.4 V6 Starter Replacement
Have fun!
BEFORE STARTING THE BELOW STEPS, REMOVE THE NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL CABLE. Safety is important!
Step 1: Remove the FRONT PASSENGER side wheel and set your truck on jack stands; leaving it on a floor jack is unsafe! FYI, these are FJ Cruiser rims, not the stock T4R rims.
Step 2: Unclip the fastners that hold the rubber splashguard. I reached behind and used plyers to squeeze it together and then pushed through. I hear you can use a flathead screwdriver as well for this. I also only took out the top three fastners and let it hang. You can take them all out and remove it completely if you want to.
Step 3: Remove the bolts holding the brake line in place. It's not needed to completely remove the brake line, but it helps to move it out of the way sometimes. Note there are 2 bolts here, one on either side and they can be reached with a 12mm ratchet.
Step 4: There are 2 connections to the starter itself. The yellow arrow points to a plastic cover over one of them, and the blue arrow points to a kind-of clipped in connection. Remove the plastic cover and unclip the smaller black connector. Both of which might be easier to do coming from below the frame.
Step 5: Unscrew the bolt holding the first connection to the starter. I used a couple long ratchet extentions down past the skid plate to get this one off. Again, I did this from below.
Step 6: Remove the exhaust pipe bracket. There are 3 bolts total shown in the picture to remove. This allows us access to the bolts holding the starter in place against the transmission. I remove these and the starter bolts while below the truck and used a 14mm socket.
Step 7: Remove the two starter bolts holding it in place. I left them loose in the below picture to make it clear which two needed to come out. The top bolt is SHORTER than the bottom bolt. Make sure to not let it get banged up! I used a 14mm socket and socket wrench with an extension bar to remove these, but others have used a swivel as well.
Congratz! The starter is now free of its restraints and you can move it around within it's small area. I used a small block of wood to help hold the starter up for the next several steps. It was about 6 inches tall.
Step 8: With the starter sitting on it's side, we now have access to a plate that behind it contains the contacts. Remote the 3 bolts here that hold the plate on. These should be able to be removed with 7mm socket.
Step 9: Remove the plunger and long spring; put them aside somewhere they aren't going to get dirty (sorry, I forgot to include a picture). You should now be able to see the contacts inside on either side. They are held by bolts on the outside of the starter.
Step 10: Because the starter is loose and free, getting the bolts off to remove the contacts can be a little difficult. To help with leverage I used 2 wrenches, 13mm on the contact side and 14mm on the bolt side. I have a ratchet-type wrench here so it was a little easier than using a standard wrench.
Once you have the contact and bolt removed from the starter, you should have the following pieces pulled out in the below order:
Here's the difference between my old (on the left) and new (on the right) contact! I only replaced the one as the other looked fine.
Putting it back together took me about 1/4th of the time, but it's basically the exact opposite process as above. Once done, you're all set! I did the above just like I explained it and now have a 4Runner that starts up right away!
Thanks for taking the time to read my step-through! Another great resource that I found other than these forums was at the following website: HaveBlue's 3.4 V6 Starter Replacement
Have fun!
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