Starter Motor R&R daunting task !! LS400

[MikeC4C5]

Hey guys, I am in the process of replacing a starter motor in a '99 LS400. I have read the "How To" on this task by Lextreme, and also got some great advice from a couple of other members on this forum.

After removing the TB ductwork and TB, I found myself staring at all the injector/coil wire harnesses and all the little parts and hoses and clamps that have to be removed just to get the intake off. I have pulled intakes and heads off later model Corvettes, but this LS400 takes the cake. There is stuff mounted all over the left and right side of the intake as well as on the rear intake near the firewall.

Anyway, I consider myself to be an above average DIY'er, but I am wondering if I should go ahead and pay the money to have this done by a Lexus professional ?? I am just afraid of busting little plasitc things or just getting plain ole' stuck somewhere in the teardown process.

I guess my question is, should I leave this job to someone has done it more than once ?? The quote I got for this job was $1,000 at Lexus service dept.

Here's where I am at so far(I also have the TB off the front but no pic yet)

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Thanks,
Mike

 

[Lextreme II]

Do it yourself and save $800. You can buy alot of beer with that amount of money. I would suggest u invite a friend over and throw something on the grill with few cases of beer. It would a nice one day project. It is pretty simple and remove the upper and lower intake with injectors (rails too) as one unit. That will save a lot of time. Just make sure you have some esential 14 mm spammers.

 

[MikeC4C5]

OK guys, I am deep into it now....no turning back!!!

I am at a point where I am close to lifting out the intake manifold. What worries me is that I don't think that I will have enough room to maneuver the manifold out of the way because of the 2 motor hooks and the fuel line, which runs UNDER the driver side wire harness. Although I have not removed any of the lower intake bolts yet, I have verified that I can get at all of them now that everything is out of the way.

Here is my question:
Can I disconnect the fuel line connection in order to route it UNDER the wire harness so that I can then lift the entire intake straight up, and out of the car ?? I could not find a shrader valve to relieve the pressure, so I was thinking of loosening the fuel connection slowly to relieve the pressure(with lots of rags underneath.
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Thanks in advance !!

 

[Lextreme II]

Open your gas cap will release the pressure. You are doing well.... more pictures and keep us updated.

 

[MikeC4C5]

Open your gas cap will release the pressure. You are doing well.... more pictures and keep us updated.

Will do and thanks for the quick reply. I am planning on removing the intake tomorrow. I have taken many pics of the process and would be happy to share with all. This LS400 is a monster compared to the usual engines I am used to working on..... ie Corvette LT1's and LT4's ....

I have a friend who is going to assist me in lifting the intake assembly out of the car.

 

[MikeC4C5]

update

OK, another 3 hours of work. Remove the 10 lower intake nuts and bolts, and a few extra things to enable the intake assembly to be lifted and moved forward to reveal the start motor.

Lex, you were correct in that the fuel line does NOT need to be disconnected. I was real happy about this, as I cannot stand the smell of gas !!!!

Tomorrow I will remove the rear water cross-over pipe.

I assume that the coolant cross-over gaskets must be replaced ???

Does anyone know if places like O'Reillys or Advance would carry these cross-over pipe gaskets ???

Thanks again Lex....

 

[MikeC4C5]

Note about fuel line to intake

Since I did not disconnect the fuel line from the intake, care must be taken not to move the intake too far forward. The flexible rubber portion of the fuel line is what allows you to move the intake to access starter motor. Of course the fuel line would have to be disconnected if you intend to remove the intake completely from car to clean it up.
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[Zuffen]

The intake gaskets can be reused as they are MLS.

 

[MikeC4C5]

Update: Old starter motor removed from car

OK gentlemen, I finally got the old starter out of the car. Here are a few pics and embeded notes :

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Now it's time to see if I can get this whole mess back together !!!!!

 

[MikeC4C5]

Making sure my rebuilt starter was identical to the old one

The first thing I did when I removed the old starter was to make certain that the rebuilt starter was identical is all respects(ie same electrical connector type, same thread sixes for attaching bolts, etc. etc. )

 

[MikeC4C5]

New Starter Motor Installed

Today was a busy day, I was able to remove the rear water cross-over bridge, remove the faulty starter, clean up all the nasty grunge that built up over the years under the intake, and finally install the new starter motor.

Tomorrow, I need to go to Lexus dealer and pick up 2 new gaskets for the water cross-over bridge. I am not going to take any chances of having a leak in this area by re-using the old ones. I can now understand why they charge $1,000 dollars for this job. It is VERY labor intensive.

 

[Lextreme II]

Awesome... no one said it was easy.... Normally it will take 6 hours. You are almost there. Make sure you test out the starter before putting it in. Otherwise it will be another 6 hours. Flexible 14 mm will do.

 

[Tonyd]

Removing the water bridge.........you're just trying to make it easy for yourself.

Starter motor removal, recondition and replacement cost £45 as I didn't break into the water system and just got the starter itself reconditioned.

True it was a complete pig of a job doing the bolts up necessitating bending an old 14mm ring spanner spanner in two dimensions, and I probably needed a chiropractor to sort ot my resultant back pain from bending over the engine for so long, but it can be done.

Just.

If you're a stubborn idiot.

Thankfully the bulkhead in the Cobra gives you plenty of room.

Cheers,

Tony

 

[MikeC4C5]

It Works !!!!!

Well guys, I got her all buttoned up today and she fired right up !!! I was REAL nervous, as I did not test the new starter out befor installing in the engine bay.

Many,many thanks to Lex and Zuffen for their guidance. as I could not have done it without the help from you two guys, period.

What a great Lexus Forum !!!!!

I probably spent an additional 2 hours re-insulating all the coil and FI wiring harness's. The original rubber insulation was all cracked and just fell off the wires.

Here is what the wire harness'es looked like before and after :

Best Regards,
Mike

 

[Lextreme II]

Congrats... Great work. It must made you feel really good and save bunch of money too.

 

[EyesofThunder]

I just did mine this weekend. Not NEAR as bad as everyone says, at least on a VVTi engine.

The only issues I have is the rear water crossover, the pipe came loose and is leaking. I removed it and pounded it back in, still leaked. My friend at Lexus dealer said to remove, sand it down and then use JBWeld to hold it in . With it being such an interference fit, not sure how that will work. I'm really puzzled how it is even leaking.

It only steams when the engine is fully hot, not any other time.

Anyone have fun with the rear water crossover pipe?

Oh, gaskets on Amazon were only $36 and change. But make sure you order the water crossover gaskets.

My friend at Lexus takes the intake and flips it upside down on the drivers side when he gets in there.

It took me 6 hours, but that included a LOT of down time for lunch, break, going to parts store and actually rebuilding the starter itself, having a problem with the screws in back of the motor that hold the brushes in were REALLY hard to get out, had to use an impact driver to get them loose. Soak in PB Blaster or torch it to get it hot and touch a candle to it, which is usually WAAAY better than PB Blaster.

Really wasn't that bad at all. Probably had the starter out in 30 min after I started.

 

[gloverman]

I agree. Starters on these engines aren't that bad to do. While I do prefer to do them before I install the motors when doing conversions I have done plenty in vehicles.

I've had a few of the rear cross over pipe coming out or leaking. I've used a loctite product to keep them in place and it's worked every time.

 

[exhaustgases]

For some people there is no savings diy. Unless you do your normal job for free as well.
If you make $30 per hour at the normal job and it takes 2 days to do the starter and TB then you maybe money ahead. If it takes more the $1000 at the dealer is a good deal.

 

[melvinmelvin]

May I throw in a question re starters here.

My 1UZ is probably a late 94 or early 95 model (Celsior).

Not so long ago I changed the starter. Put in a Toyota refurbished starter.
The flywheel is probably original.

If a week goes by without starting the engine I have to go through an exercise
with a big spanner and hammer knocking on the casing above the starter to get
it to engage.
If I start the mill every day it works OK.

Anybody experienced something similar?

Bloody annoying, since above the engive I have a long/wide 5 mm PVC sheet
to protect the engine from rain.
HAve to remove this sheet in order to go through the knock/hammer ecercise.

 

[exhaustgases]

Sounds like a sticking solenoid. If it engages the ring gear teeth the flywheel or flex plate teeth are likely okay. Do they sound good when the starter is turning the engine?