1990 FE starting issues

[walt113]

I tried posting this a couple of minutes ago but something screwed up. For the last couple of weeks I have had an occasional single click when trying to start. Today was a little worse than usual. My battery is fairly new, the posts are cleaned up and it is reading 12+V so I don't think that is an issue. My Toyota manual says to remove the air cleaner assembly to access the starter and I did that the other day but could not see how it would help. I am hoping to get a reply from someone who has replaced one with some specifics on how best to proceed. Is the access better from underneath?? Thanks for any suggestions.

[SCT]

Yes, accessing the starter from the top is a lot easier. To remove it, you will have to go underneath for one of the two mounting bolts AND the cables connected to the starter.

It does sound like a starter going bad if everything else is good. The starter may be on its last leg. I had a faulty starter months ago that would do the same.

[90 GP]

The typical toy starter solenoid issue. Remove starter and contacts and head to toy parts dept for a replacement set. Fairly inexpensive and alot more reliable than the rebuilds out there.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/Starter.shtml

[tashirosgt]

walt113,

I've never been able to access the starter from the top on my 1990 Corolla with AT and I've changed the darn thing at least 4 times. Some details of how I change the starter are in a post in a thread on another forum: http://www.corolland.com/forums/inde...arter-mystery/

I agree with the others that you have the typical symptoms of a failed starter. The usual problem with a bad starter is the copper contacts in the magnetic switch have failed. Sometimes you find them corroded. Sometimes they have been pounded into little slivers by repeated use of the starter. You can buy new contacts and replace them. There is info about this on the web. My local Toyota dealer sold me some contacts. I had to enlarge the hole in them a little to get them to fit on my starter, but they worked.

I wasn't trying to save money by the repair. I just wanted the experience. In fact I've purchased several rebuilt Bosch starters from auto parts stores and tried them. I've encountered 2 types of problems. One is that the gasket on the magnetic switch is sometimes inadequate to seal out water and the inside of the switch corrodes. I also had a Bosch starter where inside the magnetic switch one of the wires was rubbing against the piston and would sometimes catch it and keep it from moving. So if you put on a "new" starter take notes on what you do. You might be doing it again in about a year!

[tashirosgt]

I see that that thread covered installation but not removal. I prefer to disconnect both battery terminals since there is a "hot" wire from the positive battery terminal that connects to the starter. To remove the starter, you have to remove one bolt from the top of the engine compartment. All I remember about that at the moment is that it's back under stuff and there's a similar looking bolt near it to confuse you. I think you will have to remove the whole air filter box to get to it.

To get the other bolt out, I jack the car up and put a jackstand under the passengers front side and remove the passengers front tire. (Removing the tire might not be necessary but it makes things easier for me.) Then I use a socket wrench with a very long extension to reach all the way from the wheel well across to the other bolt on the starter. When the starter is loose and resting on the bottom of the engine compartment, you can remove the cables from it, but you can't get it out without sliding it it toward the passengers side and out near the wheel well.

[walt113]

WOOHOO - got it done today - a little time consuming and very dirty but with the research I did and some other preliminary stuff it only took 3 hours. Many thanks for your two posts - especially to the link that referred to the counterbalance cable through the top mounting hole. I used an 8lb barbell weight. I thought the most difficult part would be lining up the holes for the bolts to mount the new part but with your tip it was not a problem at all. I did take off the complete air filter box and there was another small bracket that held part of the main wiring harness that had to come out to access the top bolt. After that came out it was a straight shot to the bolt head. The lower bolt and wires were easy after jacking up the front end - I did not have to remove the passenger tire but I wish I would have taken off the shroud. I did get a rebuilt from Oreilly instead of working on the contacts. I had originally looked at one from Auto Zone but it did not have a similar hookup for one of the two electrical wires. Thanks again - I am toasting you with a cold one!!!