Which starter, "cold weather" or normal?

Learned I could buy a "cold weather" starter. About the same price, like $2. Same maker, same lifetime warranty etc. Physically a little different. The beefier one has a little bit longer body.

'04 PreRunner DoubleCab. So, it's a 3.4L auto.

Being 2WD, my understanding is that the OEM starter won't be a bear to remove, and that either should fit.

Your thoughts?

My assumption is that the "cold weather" starter requires less battery power to run, or otherwise performs better in cold weather since, in cold weather, you need more battery reserve. But I don't know and I'd like to get your thoughts about it.

 

Having the 3.4 5 speed 4x4 all I know is after trying the Cold weather starter I bought a Rebuilt Regular Starter from Toyota which is much shorter .

When I have some extra time I might fool with the Cold weather option again

It just has more Cranking Power for those cool nights if anything more of a draw

 

You can rebuild your OEM starter (contacts and plunger) for under $10. Denso starters are nearly indestructible otherwise.

 

From my research, if you have an automatic transmission, you have the higher output starter which is the 1.8 kilowatt one. If you have a manual transmission, you have the 1.4 kilowatt starter unless your vehicle was bought with the "cold weather" package and then you would also have the 1.8 kilowatt starter.

But, what was said right above is the best choice. Do Not, I repeat, Do Not give up your high quality Denso starter for some aftermarket piece of crap. There is a VERY good chance all your starter needs is some fresh contacts and plunger inside the solenoid and you'll be starter problem free for another 100,000+ miles.

Here's a video you can follow for the repair. Since you have a 2wd, you'll probably be able to drop the starter down below instead of coming out the passenger side wheel well. In the video description, I provide a link to an Ebay seller that sells the contacts and plunger for a very affordable price.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WV1t5-wcoOI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

@Timmah! rocks!

 

Thanks Timmah! but for my symptoms, I don't see how that kit will make any difference.

My solenoid works great and the starter always gets full power. The starter just doesn't rotate very well sometimes. There's no reason for me to presume my plunger is bad when it always works. I appreciate the insight. I would have mentioned the irregularity aspect originally, if I'd known about it.

The first time I noticed it was on a cold engine. Next day, starter was perfect that morning but was schizophrenic when out running errands. I stopped driving it when I fearing ruining a new battery.

I'll remove it today and get started on this project.

 

Maybe the nose cone bushing is worn out. Not real common but it does happen.

 

Battery cable at starter, starter wire, and upper half of the auto trans dipstick tube are taken care of.

But I can't yet see which bolts secure the starter. Every bolt nearby looks like one that secures the transmission's bell housing to the engine block. My valve cover gaskets are bad; everything is covered in oil underneath, making it harder to see what's what.

So I know I'm looking for two 14mm bolts to take out from the "backside," not the front of truck. Presumably the trans bell housing bolts are bigger. Hopefully I won't drop the transmission on me today.

Saw a few how-to's where an exhaust bracket was removed to reach the bolts. And more than said that's necessary. One video showed the bolts sorta kinda "straddle the exhaust 3-bolt bracket in question.

No internet where the truck is, so now I'll sign off and go back to it and try again. I have a good head-mounted flashlight but if you don't know exactly where to look, it doesn't much matter how much light is under there.

 

Got it off. I stared at the two bolts for a long time before taking a leap of faith that they were the right ones. I just couldn't see the spatial relationship about their location without seeing the other side of the starter where the mounting "flange" on it is. I've never experienced that before, but this is the first starter I've worked on that bolts on from the "back side," not the starter side.

My truck has no 3-bolt bracket that secures the exhaust to the engine. Maybe that's a 4Runner thing.