Maybe I should add that I replaced the starter in my 91 22re 5 times in 8 years (sorry, got corrected), and about 5000-8000 miles each year average.
One day, it didn't start. Put a brand new starter in and it wouldn't start.
Jumped from the battery to the starter "start" terminal and it cranked over fine.
Put a relay in to take the load off the ignition switch and it's been starting fine for nearly 2 years.

 

I have some belts from duralast that frankly just suck.... I put proper tension on them but they squeal and lose grip. The one belt is a Gator back and I have had no issues....

I'm using their Cmax pads up front. So far I have no complaints....

I also have their top of the line battery and it has lasted very well... engine cranks over in about a second or so...

 

The problems with the one i mentioned included it wouldn't start unless tapped with another object.

It got old jumping out of a truck on 42"s a bunch of times on wheeling trips to tap the starter.

 

Yes, everytime I replaced the starter it worked fine after that and this time I replaced the starter with a toyota oem and it works even better.

The others sounded like crap but this one is top notch!

 

i cant believe that they gave you your money back... thats awesome though. glad ya got it all figured out. And there were a couple posts earlier about NAPA stuff... and thats where its at. i replaced as much suspension and steering stuff as i could on my old truck with napa lifetime warranty stuff and i never had a problem with anything, even after pounding on it

 

So the OEM is working better than the others? It's lasted longer than the others?

 

Well it is working better. I'm sure it will last longer but we'll see.

 

I use as many Denso parts as i can on my 4Runner, it just better quality and ive never hard a problem with any of there replacement parts. If i can`t find a Denso part that i need then i use Napa parts, they also seem to be high quality and ive never had any problems with any of there parts either.

 

I went through 3 duralast alternators that were junk from the start. I mean they were barely pushing.
I was ripping my hair out because of it. I had to remove the master cylinder to get to the goshdam thing (rather than the axle by the book), so it was a major PITA every time. After the first 2, I figured I was missing something, so I had the car towed to a honda guy nearby. He tells me the alternator is bad, and charges me $25.
So I chock it up to bad luck and get another duralast POS. Same deal.

I finally just said "screw it" and paid the extra $$ for a NAPA one.

What really REALLY pizzed me off was that when I demanded a refund from autozone after the 3rd bum alternator, the guy says, "So what are you gonna do about an alternator then?"
I said "I went to NAPA and the car runs great now, in fact it's parked outside"
He replies "Well, you know you paid too much."

I had all I could do to keep from going ballistic on his ass.

Now I need a starter. That's how I found this thread.
Can you guess where I'm NOT going to get it?

 

I just replaced my alternator from carquest. Previous part was a carquest and lasted 4 years. Carquest one is good for now, so I'd trust carquest or NAPA, just by juding from the stories here.

 

A rebuilt starter from toyota is about a hundred bucks. Maybe a little more. They include all brand new parts inside so I recommend going with that.

 

Man X2 on that!

 

you should have reached across the counter, grabbed him up by his dumb looking polo shirt with the checkered collar, and said "yea i kno, and thats why your going to give me my money!" hahaha i hate little punks at parts stores that think they know it all, but dont know .

 

There must be some kind of bad karma attached to this thread. I just went out to go to lunch and got the *click* from my starter. It's from Napa and has only been in there for a little while.

So guess who's checking a bunch of connections and stuff this week?

On and on an odd note if I put the truck in Nuetral and roll it forward and then drop it in gear and let out on the clutch just enough to get the motor to move a little then it'll fire right up via the starter. Strange......

 

Just looking through this old thread and thought I would post an update. OEM starter is still working great and it's been about 6 years. If you are in the market for a new starter, then stick with an OEM one from Toyota. It may be a little more but worth it so you don't have issues in the future.

 

Noted good Sir.
Thanks for the update!

 

Mine just bit the dust after one year of light duty use. It was the one with a smaller motor that is ~ 2 7/8" center to center on the long thin bolts. The original starter is ~ 3 1/4" center to center. Also the depth of the exposed part of the starter is ~2" compared to the original starter's ~ 2 3/4". There is a new option now, pn 99600...This is advertised as a 100 percent new starter with improved reliability and durability. The motor on this one is 3 1/4" center to center on the bolts and it is 2" deep. I'm giving this new one a shot. While I was returning the old one to Advance for a refund, they showed me a full size rebuilt starter that they had in stock...too bad they didn't have it last year.

 

I am brutal on the starting and charging systems.

When things wear and they will I just get the parts from Toyota and refresh them.

When ever the starter comes out if it has been some time the solenoid contacts get looked at.

Buying poor quality rebuilds gets old.

 

I replace the starter contacts on the Denso and other then that have yet to have one to fail. Usually it is something else like Starter Relay or wiring. I do RAD4Runners starting system upgrade and no more clicking issues. Starting issues are a thing of the past for me.

 

^ Ditto on the starter contacts, that's about the only part that wears out, is cheap, and not too difficult to replace.