Question About Starters

[mrkolesari]

Hello,
I have been having some trouble with my Corolla starting. Eight times out of ten, it starts fine. A few times recently, I have turned the ignition and absolutely nothing has happened. I checked the battery connection and charging system and they are fine. I am assuming it might need a new starter. I don't know a lot about cars, but I can fix simple problems. Are starters easy to replace on a Corolla or should I take this to a mechanic? Is there another area that might need to be fixed?

Thanks,
Dan

[rollatuner110]

It's not easy. Take it to a mechanic.

[gezebo]

Originally Posted by rollatuner110

It's not easy. Take it to a mechanic.

I'm not a mechanic, Just swapped a starter for my bros 99 rola. not too bad if you ask me. On a 10 scale. 1 being easiest, say.. changing oil. I'd say starters on 99 rola is about 4.5.

If you are comfortable wrenching under the hood, I'd agree with rollatuner.

Disconnecting the old starter from your engine is very easy. two bolts one nut and one connector. The harder part is getting it out of the engine bay. It's very tight, and you would either have to remove the intake manifold, or the radiator fan to make enough room to pull out the old starter.

[GTChink]

I changed my wife's 98 corolla's starter.. it was making a loud ratchety noise in the mornings when the engine is cold. Yes, there's a few bolts..one that's a really long one..and you better have long extensions and deep sockets. Last I remember, you had to remove the battery to access that bolt. Other than that, you had to remove the splash shield under the passenger side and wiggle the starter out from there. I did have to unplug a couple of switches in order to make room.

[cheesep]

Are you sure you checked the battery connections and the connection at the starter very thoroughly? This happened to me just last week. I went to start the car and there was nothing. It was dead. I was not at home and didn't have any tools with me. I grabbed the positive battery cable over the post with my hand and physically twisted it on the post. The car started right away. This could also happen with the negative post or at the starter end of the battery cable. You can actually reach in under the intake manifold and reach that end too. Needless to say I removed the cable when I got home and found there was corrosion buildup on the post and inside of the cable clamp that was not visible from the outside. I cleaned everything up and it hasn't been a problem since.

Also, a couple months ago I removed my starter to replace the sticking contacts. The only part I removed to get at it was the splash shield underneath. I was able to wiggle the starter out the bottom by forcing it past the lower rad hose with some deformation but no damage. You can get at the driver's side bolt without removing the battery if you have an assortment of wobbly socket extensions.

[timkedz]

I had the very same problem with my car and like the previous posters, it was in the battery terminal connections, in particular, the negative battery cable connection to the ground of the car. It caused an intermittent no start problem. I replaced the cable and I haven't had any further problems with it.

[manufan]

I believe the problem with the starter is that the contacts inside the starter are worn. The dealer has them. #28226-22050 and #28226-74070. $8.95 and $12.63. Getting the starter out of the car is tough. But, it does go out the bottom.

[manufan]

What? I don't need to take the starter out. I was answering the original thread which was re-started.