thinking of doing the unthinkable

TacoRunner13

New member
so today exactly 1 hour ago i had to get my 87 4R 22R-TE towed home. my started wouldn't activate and couldn't start my truck. unfortunately its a auto trans and so i couldn't jump start it like i can in my 97 Tacoma. anyways so my starter wouldn't even do the clicking noise when the battery is drained. mind you i just bought a new battery 2 months ago and my starter cant be older than 6 months . so i know it has to do with my ignition. Ive read about this a lot from other owners in the first gen class having the same issue. so far my 4R is becoming a money pit. i understand its a classic and its 26 years old but my rig isn't in too bad of shape. Im reaching my limit and am considering selling and buying another later on down the road . any thoughts on how i can resolve this problem ?
 
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I'd take it off your hands for you! :bigok:

Does your battery have enough volts to start when it doesn't click?
 
I'd take it off your hands for you! :bigok:

Does your battery have enough volts to start when it doesn't click?[/ i haven't tested the volts yet but my battery is rated for my make and model . i don't have anything extra to take up juice. fully rebuild motor with everything else factory. my odometer only ready 114373 so for its year it really hasn't been used.
 
Test the battery voltage and see if it has been drained. If that's the case you need to isolate why there is a draw on the battery when the key is in the off position. Might be time to break out the multimeter and play doctor and start probing areas.
 
If you're going to drive a twenty year old truck, you've got to be ready for things to go wrong. It's the name of the game.

Here's a simple test. Make sure the truck still won't start normally, then turn your key to "on" (not "start") and run a piece of thick gauge wire between the positive battery stud and the solenoid connector on the starter. If that starts the truck, then you know that your battery and starter are good, and you can blame your ignition wiring or starter relay. There's a couple different threads in the stickies up top about how to fix that.

If that doesn't start your truck, then you know your wiring is good and it's got to be a bad battery or bad starter. Pull the battery and get it tested, and if it tests good it's time to pull and rebuild the starter. Not a hard job, especially on an automatic. I recommend against replacing it with a reman, it's almost always better to rebuild the one you've got.
 
he said automatic transmission guys, 5 to 1 its the neutral safety switch if the battery is new and the starter was replaced 6 moths ago. I had the same problem . I asked the tech at work when it happend to me and what he said was 90% of the time with the automatic that is the cause, so he bypassed the switch and I have`nt had a problem since but now the truck will start in any gear as well, but that is the price I pay for not wanting to spend 395.00 on a switch
 
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One battery and one starter is NOT a money pit. My 1991 VW Jetta was a money pit.

Everything on these trucks is dirt cheap. Hell, my damn motor could go and i could get another in, quickly, for well under $1000.

Quick decisions with your Toyota will leave you a regretful man later.

These trucks are so old that every single problem has detailed fix-it information on the web. When that fails, forums like here can work well. Try Kid's fix.
 
thanks

thanks fellas . i definitely have some work ahead of me this weekend . im gonna test the starter which is still under warranty at O'reilys auto. the battery is also under warranty so no money out of my pocket there. i feel there is something taking juice from my batt as my digital dash lights flicker once in a while and sometimes stay off while im driving . i swear some one died in my truck and its spirit lives in my 4R. all in all its a great truck and am trying hard to stick with it. all the info really does help as it lets me know what i need to get into.
 
One battery and one starter is NOT a money pit. My 1991 VW Jetta was a money pit.

Everything on these trucks is dirt cheap. Hell, my damn motor could go and i could get another in, quickly, for well under $1000.

Quick decisions with your Toyota will leave you a regretful man later.

These trucks are so old that every single problem has detailed fix-it information on the web. When that fails, forums like here can work well. Try Kid's fix.

Man I wish parts were cheap in the NW. They just about go for the price of gold.
 
Mind games

So today i went to start my truck and verooom! Started right up. I swear this truck is playing games with me lol. I forgot to mention the day it wouldn't start that it was a cold moist night. Which leads me to think something got wet and wouldn't activate the starter. I also tried jump starting it and nothing. So im in the process of adjusting and checking the neutral start switch. From there im gonna check the wiring. Once i take care of this problem i need to swap out my transfer case which has a bad rear bearing and to reweld my cat which would be the second time. The saying "you get what you pay for " is so true . The guy i bought my 4r from had to smog it before he sold it to me, so he bought a cheap cat because it didnt have one. 3 weeks ago it broke completely from the inlet. I rewelded it and not it broke in the same area but completely took the whole inlet off. Sorry off subject.
 
No way. 3rd members go for at least $150 for stock. A W56 is at least $200 w/o a t-case.

Around here you could probably get $200 for a W-56 if supply was short and the person was desperate. $150 for a stock third is a bit silly, unless it's 4.88 i guess. Bought a 4.10 diff for a buddy earlier this year for $40
 
100

Around here you could probably get $200 for a W-56 if supply was short and the person was desperate. $150 for a stock third is a bit silly, unless it's 4.88 i guess. Bought a 4.10 diff for a buddy earlier this year for $40

i got my w-56 with transfer case for $100 ON CRAIGSLIST . THE GUY JUST WANTED IT OUT OF HIS YARD.
 

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