Starter Rubber Cover Replacement

I got my starter out (fun), replaced the contacts and plunger. The rubber cover over the 12mm nut had dissolved into sticky gray goo (not the plastic cover that goes over the connection to the battery, I have that one).
How important was this thing and how do I get a new one? I did some searching but didn't find anything useful. Thanks!

 

I have seen people use silicone and make a nice covering. It just keeps the winter chemicals off the connection.
Some places that sell starter rebuild parts might have them I never looked real close.

 

RED + BLK Battery Alternator Starter Terminal Post Stud Boot Cover 1/0 (C) style | eBay

 

To answer the question have you hit up AutoZone, Napa or O'Reilly's? Anything universal is better than leaving it exposed.

That post is a direct connection to the battery, ground it out, at the very least it will fry wiring and potentially cause the battery to explode. I know of one soul who pulled over one night because his alternator light was on (that is the assumption by the police,) opened the hood to look and the battery blew, literally took the top of his head off. Never saw it coming.

Everyone is probably thinking "yeah, that's never going to happen" but it's what you don't expect that gets you . . .

<TL;DR>
I used to be big into squareback VW's, rebuilt 3 of them, one in the living room in winter (thereby hangs another tale LOL . . . ) I left the house one day, it was clear and sunny, then I noticed a fog, I'm like "huh, it was just sunny" then the smell of burning insulation hit me. I looked in the rear view, entire cabin was filled with smoke. Shut it down, jumped out and opened the engine cover, which is in the rear hatch. Through the billowing smoke I could see an array of glowing red wires over the entire engine. This was with the engine off.

Somehow I managed to flip up the back seat and pull the battery neg without it blowing up. In a WTF moment with the seat up, I looked over to the passenger side. The rear seat belt, chrome plated iron latch, had slid over the side of the seat on my last left turn and was shorted against the voltage regulator. I spent the entire weekend rewiring the engine harness and made it to work Monday.

You can bet I shielded the VR with a plastic sheet and fastened it securely in place.

Moral of the story, it's what you don't know, or could never guess would happen, that will blindside you. It makes a stupid $5-10 piece of rubber very valuable.

 

Your going to remove the starter again !
Just to take things all apart again!

 

It's a Prerunner, it's literally super easy.

Even on an auto 4x4 (the most difficult variant) it isn't hard. Just sucks getting to the top bolt but it's best to use a ton of extensions over the crossmember.

I'd use that boot mentioned.

 

...

 

I would have had that part along with the other solenoid parts.

 

This is when you're experienced and work on stuff often

 

i think that just sort of slipped up on me !!

Where did the last 40 years go?

 

The kids took it, along with everything in the fridge.

 

They went the same place the 20 years before them went

 

Thanks for the replies! I think I found the exact part here

$19 ManiacEM Starter Motor Terminal Boot Insulator, for Denso OSGR Starters - 92909033

https://www.amazon.com/ManiacEM-Starter-Terminal-Insulator-Starters/dp/B091TN4JDK
or at least close enough to work.

As for "literally super easy.." that's not what I'd call it, but I guess it's relative. At least I know how to do it now.

 

Some more notes if one has a V6 manual transmission engine...

- Find Timmy's video about replacing the starter motor, look at it a couple of times, and follow his instructions exactly.

-Be sure that you remove the small bolts that hold the brake line bracket to the engine block so you can move the bracket an inch or so out of the way (don't just bend the brake lines).

- Use 3 feet of ratchet extensions to remove and reinstall that top bolt.

- I removed the motor from above by bending over the fender and lifting it out. Had to turn the motor around so the back of it faced the front of the truck and then point the front of the motor up (or was it the back of the motor??) before I was able to lift the motor out. PITA anyway.

- When I reinstalled the motor I used a drift pin through the top bolt holes of the motor to those on the engine. That let me hang the motor on the engine while I oinked the bottom bolt through the mounting holes.

 

Brake line bracket applies to the auto as well

The auto 4x4 configuration is much harder than any other combination, but even then it's not difficult at all

Just about knowing which way to twist and turn the starter upon removal

But agree on that top bolt; I used multiple extensions as I went over the crossmember

 

The only thing I removed was the 2nd piece of the skid plate. The starter came out through the bottom. Top bolt was easy with a long extension, bottom was much more annoying because there was some bracket in the way and my u-joint didn't want to stay put. Also less room to maneuver up towards the front. This is a V6 auto PreRunner.