Deby

I have a 1992 SC400 (with 130k miles) and I believe the starter is
going out. My Dad (who is a retired mechanic) and I have exhausted
all other possibilities and are attempting this project ourselves.
It's either the starter or solenoid, which I assume is internal. We
just discovered that the starter is located under the Intake Manifold!
We don't currently have a shop manual and I'm looking for any and all
information you all might have on the subject of getting to the
starter, etc. i.e., exploded views on the subject. I'm not your average
woman Lexus owner...I'm poor, but have rich tastes and am very mechanically minded.
I always change my own oil and rotate my own tires
and I also own a couple of antique cars inwhich I work on myself.
So any help I can get with the 400 will be extremely appreciated.
Thanks Deby

awj

Yep. Under the intake manifold. Never worked on the FE. So I don't know how to go about it. But your Dad, having been a mechanic, should be able to handle the job just fine. Try this link. They have manuals available. If you e-mail them, they may be willing to help you out.

Good luck.

jdm to english manuals - complete and thorough

VVT-i

Hi..Deby
The starter is under the intake manifold. You will have to remove the top part of the intake, open the gas cap to release the tank pressure because you have to unbolt the cold start injector. Then remove the intake manifold and disconnect all the injector wires and all another wires. It will be hard to do it, but you have to figure it out.
Then you have to drop the exhaust hangers and the transmission mount to lower the trransmission down in order to get to the starter bolts. You will need a 36" long extension and 14mm socket to get to the starter bolts. It's a lot of work and a pain in the butt to do it, that's why the shop charge you 5 hrs labor. I hope this help and good luck.

SCV8

Uhhgg,my starter has been sticking on when cold,guess it's time to do the deed.
If you can find a Shrader valve(like on tubes/tires) on the fuel rail,that's how the fuel pressure(40 psi,or so) is actually released from that part of the system.

Deby

Wow! This does sound like a lot of work, but I really appreciate the information. I can't wait to see the look on my Dad's face when I lay this bit of news on him! Thanks for the quick reply. Deby

slowtan

How hard is it to replace the starter on a 97 SC300? I am getting hard starts and I think that is it . Since I did a full tune up with plugs , wires , caps , rotors , replaced the battery, and flushed all fluids.. Car drives like a champ but takes forever to start.

Stephen

PS I now have 80k on my SC300 if that matters

awj

The sc300 starter is not as hard to get out. It took me a few hours the first time. I did some experimenting the contacts in the solenoid. That is where the problem is. Well the first time my little experiment didn't work. So I had to pull it again. Took me ten minutes once I knew where everything was. There is a post about it here - somewhere, just do a search. I took the starter and had it rebuilt for real cheap. Stuck it back in. Wound up having to replace the battery too after that because all those hard starts wore it out. I think there was a bad ground on that car too but never got to find it - long story there. So, in short, it is not hard to pull it. If you've never done it before just take your time. You will need a long offset box wrench - i think it was a 14mm, but I could be wrong on that. Just get a set. That or a swivel socket, the top bolt is a major pita - but you can access it from the top of the engine bay by reaching around the block and finding the mounting point at the fly wheel housing. You will need skinny arms for that - so if you are bigger build, forget it, you'll have to jack up the front and go from underneath. Oh and getting starter out is a treat too. You can remove some brackets and arm members from the driver side underneath or remove the intake manifold. The master cylinder and intake manifold are in the way if you try to go from the top. I wound up just getting creative and twisting and angling the starter until I found a low resistance tight spot and pulled it out of the bay in frustration. It scratched the driver side inside fender a little but nothing noticeable. The second time I was more careful and wedged it out smoothly but the best way would be to take the time to remove items in the way either from the top side or the bottom side. The choice is yours.

Good luck.

SCV8

Well,after 2-3 hours it's all taken apart:what a mess.
Now I know why one of the better independant Toyota mechanics I know of just refuses to work on these V8s,it reminds me of a helicopter motor.
The intake runners are larger than I expected ,however,very nice.
The starter R&R is listed as 5.9 hours in one flat-rate book.
There's $400 the local dealer just isn't going to be recieving.