Pic of the starter motor

[greasefingers]

I got this from TundraSolutions.
This will be a fun driveway job

 

[ssmathis]

Interesting place to put it and expose it to a lot of heat.

Scott

 

[Koz]

There must be a good reason for that location, I'd like to know!

Koz

 

[bulldog-yota]

Due to the layout of the 90 degree V8 engine, the only other place to putit would be below the headers on the side of the block. There it will be exposed to the heat from the header, which can be worse then the current location. It will also be exposed to water and mud a lot more than it is now. Teh starter will sit lower than the altenator if it was on the side or be tucked very close to the header. So it is probably not a bad place to put it, only problem is that it is a PITA to get too.

 

[Koz]

I've never heard of anyone having to replace one.

Koz

 

[bulldog-yota]

On the Land Cruiser forums a few guys with between 120k and 180k miles had to replace the starter contacts. (Normally the 98/99 LC 100s, so 6/7 years and a lot of miles). The part itself was like $20, but the labor + manifold removal to install was a few hunderd $$. I think it is fine for a service life of more than 120k (actually a lot more) miles to have get to it. The starter itself is less than $300 last I saw.

 

[greasefingers]

I have not looked into it but I assume removing the Intake manifold is probably a very simple job. Nothing compared to replacing the timing belt. Unfortunately, the belt will come first.

 

[Atlanta_man]

I hear that the GM / Cadillac / Pontiac Northstar has the same or simiilar starter location.

 

[Koz]

On the Land Cruiser forums a few guys with between 120k and 180k miles had to replace the starter contacts. (Normally the 98/99 LC 100s, so 6/7 years and a lot of miles). The part itself was like $20, but the labor + manifold removal to install was a few hunderd $$. I think it is fine for a service life of more than 120k (actually a lot more) miles to have get to it. The starter itself is less than $300 last I saw.

So I guess when the timming belt is replaced the starter contacts should be put on the list of other parts to be replaced, to play it safe.

Koz

 

[Larry]

In fleet experience, starters are most often killed by dust, dirt and crud getting into them. Vehicles like the Tundra that we have a lot of miles on, appear to have fewer starter failures of any kind, on average. And they can be repaired and put back into service. So the location might be useful in extending the life of a starter. It just makes getting to it a bit of a job. Another thing that might screw up the analysis is the computer control on the starter. When you twist the key, the computer runs the starter and turns if off when it thinks the engine has started. That keeps the humans from over running the starter, which has to help, too.