Intermittent starting problem - bad starter?

I have been having some intermittent starting issues beginning last summer. 2006 Prerunner AC 2.7l 5spd with 65k. I have searched the forums and read quite a few threads. At this point I think I must have a bad starter or maybe just need to replace the starter solenoid contacts. I would welcome some advice though. Here is some background:
Some months ago, my truck wouldn't start. It did not click, or try to turnover. I turned the key to start, and all of the gauges lit up, just nothing happened. I popped the hood and saw that my pos and neg battery terminals were extremely corroded. I cleaned them up, and my truck started right up. A month later, the same thing happend, and my terminals were very corroded again. I cleaned them up, applied some spray that prevents corrosion and went and had the battery tested. It tested okay. A few weeks later, I had the same starting problem, but the battery terminals were not that corroded. After reading some posts, I talked myself into believing that the battery had a bad cell but was still testing okay. I bought the truck used 1.5 years ago, and have no idea how old the battery was, so I figured I would replace it. Had it tested at Firestone, and they tested the battery, starter, and charging system and everything checked out fine. Frustrated, I drove over to autozone and bought a new battery. That seemed to work for a couple days then I started having the no start problem again. I could turn the key to start and the engine wouldn't turn over and there would be no clicking noises. If I kept trying it would eventually crank and start fine. Then I noticed that if I turned the key to "on" and waited 2-3 seconds for the gauges to light up, the truck would always start and never give me any problems. I figured that was weird, but have been operating that way since late October.
Yesterday, after driving about 80 miles home I parked at my house and unloaded some stuff out of my truck, and then went to restart it after it had been off for about 10 minutes. It would click once and not start. I tried about 5 times to no avail. Waited 5 minutes, and tried another 5 or 6 times and then the engine turned over fine and started right up. After reading some posts it sounds like it could be that the starter solenoid contacts need replacing. Anybody agree?
Thanks for reading this (sorry for the length), I appreciate the help.

Oh, back in late October, the results from the tests Firestone ran were:

Battery Results (since replaced): Voltage 12.65v Measured 681 cca, rated 700 cca.

Starter Test: Cranking Normal. Voltage 11.28v Time: 1 second

Charging System: No Problems. No Load 13.57 volts Loaded 13.46 volts.

-Zdeech

 

Sometimes you have to take the battery cable end apart completely to remove the corrosion in between the top of the cable end and the wire itself. The toyota manual doesn't show replaceable components for the solenoid part of the starter, but the box looks the same as the gen 1 tacomas. Ebay sells all the contacts and the plunger separate from the starter. I would try replacing the contacts and the plunger in the starter after thoroughly cleaning the cable ends and the wires. I guess I would check toyota to see if they can pull up part numbers for the contacts before I ordered cheapie no-name stuff from ebay.

 

You could try this cleaning method too.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/technical-chat/200964-how-rebuild-tacoma-starter-motor.html

 

Thanks for the replies. The connections are really clean and tight. I cleaned the heck out of them last time, and since I replaced the battery I haven't had any corrosion problems.

Today when I went to start my truck this morning it didn't turn over or click on the first 3 attempts, and then it cranked right up on the fourth attempt. Coming home from work it started just fine on the first attempt, and same for a second stop at the bank.

I may bight the bullet and take it into a shop.

 

Zach, if you are hearing a click when you are trying to start, then I believe the most probable cause is the starter solenoid contacts are burned or pitted and need to be replaced. They are easy to replace and the last set I purchased cost about ten bucks. If the starter has been used a lot, then you might want to check the starter brushes. Regarding your battery terminal corrosion, please see Section 3.3 in the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on www.batteryfaq.org.

 

I ended up having the spiral cable recall done at a local dealer and had them troubleshoot the starting problem while it was in. It turned out to be the starter, so I had them install a remanufactured starter. Its starts nice and strong now.
Thanks for the help everyone.

 

Thanks for the update. Dealers will often opt to replace the starter instead of the contacts to cover their butt. Glad it worked out for you though.