Another starter thread

Bump because I am having this exact problem and was hoping to not pull my trans. Did you ever solve this?

Link to my thread
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/starter-explosion-woes.604813/#post-20386215

 

I ended up having to go through Toyota for a starter. Attempted to replace with 2 different starters from O’Reilly that were faulty. The new Toyota starter still caused some grinding so I did end up dropping the transmission and changing my flex plate. It was a pretty involved process in comparison to simply bolting in a new starter. I bought a cheap transmission jack from harbor freight. It was the first time I had ever pulled a transmission but it really wasn’t very difficult. There are several helpful videos online if you need some reference.

Hope you get your issues sorted out.

 

Hey man thanks. I’ve swapped many toyota transmissions and just being lazy and don’t wanna drop it hahah. I was just curious if your flex plate had obvious damage?

Looking through my inspection cover mine looks fine but could likely be bent. I’ve only tried one new Advance Auto starters and it sounded fine when I first swapped it then the noise slowly came back. Likely going to fail again soon.

You went OEM flex-plate and starter right?

All fixed? No noises? You’re the only person I can find who had this happen without the typical noises a broken flex-plate makes even at idle and throttle.

Thanks again! Yotas forever.

 

I did notice some damage on the flex plate after I got it off of the truck. Most of the damage was on the back side of it that I couldn’t see before taking it off. Still, there really wasn’t much damage but it was what was causing my issue. I went oem starter and parts house flex plate.

 

Yeah curious about oem because toyota wants $600 for the flexplate alone.....

Always ran parts house stuff and never had much of an issue. Low range has em for $350ish but not sure it’s necessary.

 

Just sacked up and ordered the OEM from Low Range. Pulling trans this weekend. Will update with photos. Gonna try and swap my starter for a new one with warranty.

Did you re use your flexplate bolts?

 

I did. I imagine that isn’t a popular decision... but oh well. Haha.

 

Finally dropped my trans. Even after doing it 3 previous times it never gets easier.

Flexplate teeth were totally destroyed. Maybe only 12 in all but clearly where the issue was originating.

Flexplate itself has zero cracks and seems in great condition. That’s good to see.

Conclusion I guess is that a bad starter slowly chipped the teeth and destroyed it? Can’t see anyway how anything but a shit starter would cause it.

New OEM Flexplate comes tomorrow. Bolts look fine but I’ll check with a gauge to make sure they didn’t stretch at all. Guy at IPT said that’s the only issue he’s ever seen reusing them. Starter and bindex gear look fine but if toyota has an oem in stock I’ll just pay the extra for peace of mind.

Not looking forward to stabbing this back in but it’ll be fixed!

 

The engine only stops in 3 places so any one of the 3 can cause your starter issues. It would be highly doubt full that a flex plate is bent.