replacing the starter

[itzz kolby]

Hello,

i have a 89 need to replace the starter but i dont want to take off anything unnecessary so what all do i have to take off?

[Bill UK]

Disconnect the battery first, you will need to pull the engine with the gearbox, drop the prop and exhaust and remove all the wheels and petrol tank. Pull off the small wire going to the starter which is a spade connector having a brown plastic cover, remove the main thicker cable to the starter which is bolted on. Crawl underneath and remove one of the two fixing nuts, the other nut can be accessed from the engine bay. Ignore the instructions in blue, on the other hand you’ll properly had wished you had pulled the engine out by the time you had finished. Why are you removing the starter may I ask.?

[itzz kolby]

Because the car doesn't start. It was off and on starting and would start if roll started sometimes. then it just stopped all together.

[supramacist]

The starter really sucks. But once you get it down it's a 45 minute gig on a bad day.

14mm and an arseload of extentions. You'll be fine.
Use a small 3/8ths wratchet on the top bolt.

However I do remove the large part of the air intake when I do mine but I keep those seals on hand.

[mrnickleye]

Bill UK.......

In the photo, why oh why, didn't you clean the trans to a beatiful shiny aluminum ???????

[batmmannn]

Exactly which angle did you come in to get that top bolt and what did you use and how did you get the damn wrench on it? I can't do Squat with this I can barely get my arm in from the top and touch the head of that damn bolt with a finger. I need help here! Is there a step by step guide somewhere this SUCKS!

[batmmannn]

Well here it is some 2 years later and I did finally manage to replace my starter, and I bareky drove the car. It sat for a year and a half because of tree falling on it twice in two years and HELLO the starter does nothing again. WTF? What's with the starters on these cars? Going through the testing again and again replacing yet another rear hatch after the last time when a tree crushed the hatch and crunched the roof. I think my Supra is CURSED! I am pretty disappointed that no one came on to help me after I asked for help in changing the starter.

[yale]

Well this a very late posting to the original request, but I have recently gotten very good at swapping the starter on my 86.5. Been through 4 in the last two years. Yeah, they are life warranty from Autozone but that doesn't help me when it needs to be towed home.
Start with the battery disconnect. I disconnect negative and positive.
Remove the brace from the middle of the intake going down to the engine mount. 12mm or 13 mm, top and bottom.
Remove the one 12mm bolt holding the vacuum canister to it's bracket (located under the intake, just in front of the starter). Lift it up slightly against the bottom of the intake and you'll find two 12mm bolts holding that bracket. No way to get the canister out with the bracket in place - and you can't see the second one, closest to the starter. Once those are out, lose the 2nd bolt as you don't need it and don't want to try to put it back in. Bracket and canister should come out. I leave the canister hooked up and just set it against the frame.
All of that gives you room to reach the top bolt of the starter. Need a 3/8" ratchet, 10" extension, and 14mm socket (I use a deep socket here). Make sure it is set to loosen. Dislocate your shoulder and slide the extension/socket across the back/top of the starter to the bolt/nut. With a directional light you can just see it and aim the socket. Attach the ratchet and it should hold there, resting on the top of the starter.
Now collect your tools (sockets (12mm, 13mm, 14mm), ratchet, 2 x 14mm wrenches, u-joint connector, and at least 2.5' of extensions). I use 3/8" tools as they fit better in the tight spots.
Disconnect the big hot line from the battery (13mm nut).
Disconnect the brown electrical lead from the ignition.
Using 12mm remove the bolt holding the transmission dipstick and pull it out of the way.
Now for the real fun.
Find the lower starter bolt and run your fingers up around the bellhousing to the top bolt.
Guide the 14mm socket/u-joint/2.5' of extensions up beside the transmission to that bolt.
Now attach the ratchet and loosen it. If you did everything correctly from the engine bay that ratchet will hold and you can simply back that nut off from under the car.
I don't recall which way the top bolt/nut sits. Mine has the bolt coming from the front with the nut on the backside (rear of the car). Makes it easier on reassembly that way (as there is no way to reach behind the starter under the intake to start a nut).
Once the top one is loose, I use the two 14mm wrenches to take off the lower bolt/nut combo.
If you left the top bolt in place the starter will just hang there while you get ready to drop it. It will take some encouragement and (proper words) to guide down through the frame and suspension components, but it does fit.
Installation is essentially the reverse of the above.
Put in the lower bolt first and get it snug to hold the starter in place.
Head topside to put that bolt in. Again, I insert the top bolt going towards the rear. I can just reach that top hole to put in the bolt and using two fingers get the nut started from underneath (without pushing the bolt out of the hole).
Whole process is about an hour, but I've done it a LOT lately.
Hope this helps folks. First time took me about 2 hours to get it out and then another hour to go back in.
Key is that top bolt and getting the ratchet to sit there while you are under the car. If you have someone to hold it for you then you're golden.

[Bru]

I'm going to throw in my $0.02, since we are grave digging here. Absolutely disconnect the battery first. The starter can be removed without taking any thing off that's above it like the intake manifold. etc. You'll have to snake it out from below though. You may have to remove the cross member under the transmission front and the engine vibration damper shock absorber thing. One thing to be careful of is on a Turbo car there are 2 knock sensors and I have broken the rear one with a socket extension in the past. Unplug it but be aware of where it is and use a U joint adapter to swing the angle out away from it. Warm engine cranking problems can sometimes be traced to the fuel pump relay going bad. It's located in the fuse box behind the battery. It's a common relay used in other Toyota cars for various things.

[batmmannn]

I just got back on this and did the job without removing anything. I could reach the top bolt with two fingers after taking the heater hose from the firewall. I used electrical tape to attach the nut to my index finger to attach the top bolt nut to the top bolt. I slipped a wrench on it then tightened with 30" of extensions from back along the driver's side of trans. Im just now getting this car back on the road.