I think the 5 speed has more room than the automatic. That's why you're able to bring it out through the bottom.

That may be, but I’m fairly certain I pulled the starter in my 99 auto the very same way. Was years ago though.
When I went to pull the starter this time I never thought to do anything but remove it how I did.
Just another reason to have a 5spd I guess.

What if your battery slowly dies while driving after the battery light comes on. Took to autozone but they said battery, spark plugs, and alternator are good

I did the starter on my 97 5-speed SR5 4WD a few weeks ago and didn't have to go thru the wheel well. It came out through the space above the steering rack - I had to flip it around first, and it was still pretty awkward, but seemed easier than squeezing it past the brake lines through the wheel well.

I was also able to get a socket wrench (and later, a torque wrench) right onto the starter bolts without any extensions.

A shitty aftermarket 1.4kw starter came out...a 1.8kw Denso went in. There's a pic of both if anyone is curious about the size difference between them. I was a bit concerned that the bigger one wouldn't fit - I couldn't figure out which size mine originally had. it's a manual, and it seems like those got the 1.4 at the factory, but mine was also sold in Canada and as far as I can tell had the cold weather package (meaning the 1.8kw starter). Either way, the one I took out was definitely not the original. I opened up the solenoid and the contacts were pretty worn down (I was getting the click-no-start thing happening).

I don't know if this was easier because I have a standard rather than an automatic, just wanted to share that it is possible this way!

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I was looking into this post and another one about Kilowatts before recently replacing my starter. I have a 2000 3RZ-FE 4 cylinder Base 2wd. I thought I would need to remove my sway bar as most people stated from removing from the bottom. No sway bar removal or even my skid plates(Which would have made it a little faster, I just hate putting these back on- Mine seem to be a pain).

Just unbolted two bolts like @LINY4Runner was saying. You have to turn and do a rotation with it, but it slides in and out. Also noticed similar situation as @DirtAlley with the different size starters. Mine looked original but the dealership only offered 1.4 kw or a 2.0 kw. I noticed several people on here were talking about automatics using 1.8kw and manuals 1.4kw.

Running solid on the new 2.0 k.w Starter and took about an hour to swap out. I did have to remove a Ground wire/bolt to get the starter in, nothing else was removed. Hope this saves some people time when deciding on how to remove the 2wd 4 cynlinder models.

2.4hp (1.8kw) to 2.68hp 2.0kw. Wonder if it’s worth the extra power…….


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Not sure if it's worth it or not. I don't seem to have any troubles with it, almost a year later. I just don't get why the 1.8 kw wasn't even an option. I'm in Florida but didn't think location would change much.

Forgive my ignorance, is this for the 3.4 or 2.7 or is it the same?

The OP hasn't logged in since 2014. So he probably isn't going to answer your question. Hopefully another forum member can. I only have 3.4 4x4 so I sadly can't answer whats the same and different on a 4 cylinder 2.7.





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Oh yeah ok I’m still learning how these forums work, hopefully as you say someone else knows

OP has a 2001 so he has a 5VZ (3.4L V6) engine.

The 3rd gen is the most popular and oldest section of the forum so it's pretty good practice to check post date first. The majority of car forums are like this really, you'll notice the overwhelming majority of them no matter the vehicle/brand were created in the early 00s or maybe even the late 90s, when car culture in the US was much greater than it is today. Makes the threads full of tinyurl or photobucket links super fun to get information from

I’ve had some luck using the way back time machine on older threads to see some pictures. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine

How do you get the dang transmission dipstick apart? Tried it all!! Is there another way to get the starter out? 2000 4wd automatic

Undo the nut and pull on it. Its two piece and disconnects right in front of the starter, held in place by an O-ring