The mechanic's hat

Last week I experienced a setback with my 1997 Toyota 4Runner.

For several weeks now, I have had a nagging little issue with my truck. Once every now and then, I would get in, turn the key, and be greeted with a 'click' and no starting of the engine. The first time it did it, my first step in the diagnostic process was the battery. Hark! The first thing I checked was the positive battery terminal, and what did I find? A loose cable end. I wiggled the cable (tightening it up a bit), and tried again. VROOM! Started up right off of the bat. Note to self.....I need to replace that terminal end. It won't 'tighten' down more due to metal corroding away. It is 11 years old, I can deal with that. Off I would go, and completely forget to stop somewhere and pick up the needed parts to make the repair. Out of sight, out of mind; until, of course, the next time it did it. I have repeated this cycle about every week or so; no start, wiggle battery connection, start, go, and forget; for SEVERAL weeks now.....until last week.

Last week, the problem reared it's little head. I got out to wiggle the cable, mutturing to myself over forgetting once again to aquire the needed parts for repair. Jumped back in the truck expecting to turn the key and go...when it happened. It didn't start! I tried again, no luck. I fooled with the battery and connection for about 15 minutes, to no avail. That's it, I had to replace it this time. I took off in Katie's truck to do whatever it was I needed to do. That evening, I made my way out to the local Advance Auto parts for repair parts.

Rather than replace the connector, I found a battery post 'shim' that slips over the post; thus closing the gap between post and cable connector. I bought it, installed the part, and had the cable back on the battery inside of 10 minutes. The cable was now tight...no wiggling! I jumped in the truck to fire it up....'click'. CRAP!!!!

So now I start to think through this. I know I have a connectivity issue. That is what I have had all along. Now I have repaired it, but I still have the symptom. After using a bit of logic, I decide that if I had a connectivity issue while I was out running, it stands to reason that the alternator would not have charged the battery. That, in turn, would explain why I could not start after the connectivity repair. Cool! Again, this is an easy fix! I again call on Katie's 4Runner, pull it up with hood open, and jump start my truck. With battery cables in place, I jump in mine to fire it up. 'Click'.

Now, I am confused. Logic dictated that the battery being dead should have been a worse case scenario. I had addressed that, yet the symptom remains. I understand that there are no such things as contradictory facts, so it is obvious that I am missing something.

The next link in the 'electrical' chain is the possitive cable itself. It runs directly from the battery to the starter. While it is possible that a cable can 'fail' it is very unlikely. All the same, it is the next thing to check. I look the cable over, and I see no damage. I couldn't see the connection to the starter. I would have to be under the truck for that. I immediately begin to suspect the starter.

Now, to set the rest of this story up, I need to back up about 3 or 4 years ago. Along about that time, the original factory starter did go out. I am knowledgable enough to change a starter, but it is a pain in the butt, and frankly, I didn't have the time to fool with it. When it failed then, I took it to the mechanic that I used to handle the things that were over my head, or I didn't have time to fool with. That repair cost just over $600. Expensive, yes; but it got me back on the road with the truck at a time when I just didn't have time to fool with it. The adage is true, if you don't have time, you better have money. If you don't have money, you better spend the time. When I took the truck in, I had noted that the owner of the shop was not there. Inquiries yielded that he had sought other pastures and sold the shop to this guy. The mechanics were the same...new management was all I noted. I had used them before, and had implicit trust in them, and saw no reason to withdraw that trust now. A few months after that, I went in to have a check engine light diagnosed, and found that the shop had sold out to a 'national chain' outfit who shall remain nameless. A few months after that, I noted that the shop was closed altogether. Now we can move back to the present with out story.

So, here I am. I suspect the starter that I JUST replaced a few years ago is bad, I don't have a mechanic that I use and trust. I don't really have the funds in place for a $600+ repair even if I did have a trustworthy mechanic, and the truck is dead right there in my driveway.

On top of all of that, I still can't wrap my mind around the starter all of a sudden going out at the exact moment I had fixed my connectivity problem. Logic dictates that other connectivity issues lurk at the starter connection, but I can't get under the truck to get a look at it.

So today was the day. I borrowed some shop ramps from Greg next door (thanks Greg...cold beer coming up!), and Greg and Bob pushed the truck while I held the wheels steady and prepared to brake. We couldn't get it all the way up the ramps, but just far enough for me to squeeze under the truck.

I began by removing the skid plate. With that out of the way, I could see and touch the bottom of the starter. I snapped the protective cover off of the the starter terminal and wiggled the wire. Nope. That one is pretty tight. Rule that out. Just for giggles, I wanted to try to start it after having tried to wiggle the connection. 'Click'. On my way back down under the truck, I disconnected the battery, and headed for my personal version of hell.

The shop manual says replacing s starter is a pretty straightforward process:

1) Disconnect battery
2) Disconect possitive cable from starter, and unplug starter controller
3) Remove two mounting bolts holding starter in place. Mounting bolts are just to the rear of the transmission bell housing.
4) Remove starter
5) Reverse order to re-install

Easy huh?

Steps 1 & 2 are easy. Step 3 is where the problems started. I could see the mounting bolts. I could even get a socket on them. Between the firewall and the exhaust pipe, I had no room to move the ratchet. I employed the services of multiple extensions to get the ratchet handle away from the confined space. Then I was up against the back of the firewall. A new tool was called for.

A quick trip to Advance, and I had a 3/8" drive universal joint adapter to add to my tool arsenal. With this tool, and a lot of torque, the bolts broke free. Now, one would expect the war was over at that point, hmmmm? One would be wrong! It took another 10 minutes to snake the starter down past the tranny fluid dip stick tube, brake lines, and the lower control arm.

At long last, the culprit was in my hand! As I looked over my prey, I noted that is sure looked like an OEM part. That shouldn't have been, if my starter had been replaced previously as I had paid for it to be done. Something was amiss.

Back to Advance Auto with starter in hand. There I hooked up with Tim V. (shout out). He too had a Toyota truck and had recently had to replace a starter laying down in his driveway. He hooked it up to the test stand. The starter should pull a max of 150 amps. When he applied load, it pulled 250 amps! The lights in the store dimmed when he bumped it! Confirmed: starter bad!

I was talking to Tim, and I relayed the connectivity issues I had been having, and while it was clear that the starter was bad, I still couldn't fathom the sheer coincidence of the timing of the two failures. Tim said it made perfect sense. The starter had, most likely, been in various stages of failure for several weeks now. What I percieved as a connectivity failure, was actually a connectivity 'weakness'. With a good starter, I probably would never have found the connectivity issue. With the lack of proper connectivity, the starter couldn't get the 200-250 amps the starter was requiring to turn the motor. It was like trying to start the car with a dead battery, except the battery was fine. The starter was requiring too much energy. Finally, the starter required more than the battery could supply, even with proper connectivity.

The replacement starter cost $110. I paid the man, and walked out with a renewed spring in my step! The reassembly process was not easy by any means, but I was comforted by the certainty that the problem was now corrected, and the truck is back in commission!

Now, here is where I would normally go on the tirade about being cheated on the first starter replacement. They pulled the original starter out, and likely sanded down the armature, and put it back together. That would have been fine, except I paid for a starter replacement. I suppose it suffices that the shop was out of business shortly after its change in management.