Starter motor from Lexus is remanufactured

[LouC]

I have an OEM Mopar reman trans in my 1998 Jeep installed in 2007 & is still fine 100,000 miles later. Also have a Mopar reman alternator that I installed in my 07 Jeep after a big box Carquest alt failed after 6 months (had to get it done in one day). So yeah I prefer OEM reman to big box hit or miss stuff…

 

[Hall]

Denso reman only inspect and replace nothing that is still arguably serviceable inc bearings. Bosch on the other hand replaces a lot more.

At least they tell you what they do (or don't do).

 

[Exhaustgases]

Gotta pull the intake manifold, front timing belt covers, coolant bridge bs, ecu wiring harness, all the injectors, and the passenger side cat

On a Gen 1 1990, no cat removal needed.
And anyone not versed on LS400 starters, it is not easy at all. The hard part is the crusty electrical wires and connectors, hoses etc. and then comes the ultra nasty bolts holding it in. To keep your cool its at least a 2 day project.

 

[Tomioka]

Didn't like doing the early 90's 1UZ engines with the two piece intake manifolds. Late 90's 1UZ, 2UZ and 3UZ V8's went to the one-piece intake manifolds.

After removing the lower intake manifold:

Closer view of the valley:

Not bad for a high mileage engine:

It was harder to do it in a slightly lifted 4Runner:

 

[Exhaustgases]

Nice to not have the valley full of cracked nuts and tons of mouse nesting material, how did you luck out?
If I remember the starter bolts went in from the firewall side, is this the same? Maybe 1 inch clearance if that, and that rear coolant cross over manifold had to be loose. It was many years ago I did that job.

 

[LouC]

The question is WHY did they put the starter there? This reminds me of some inboard boats with really bad engine access & in some cases you have to pull the engine to change a starter. Especially bad on twin engine I/O installations. Some you can get by just removing the exhaust manifold on the side with the starter.
Then there’s a real easy one my old 98 Grand Cherokee 4.0 liter straight six where it’s about a half hr job.

 

[proveitwithdata]

The question is WHY did they put the starter there? This reminds me of some inboard boats with really bad engine access & in some cases you have to pull the engine to change a starter. Especially bad on twin engine I/O installations. Some you can get by just removing the exhaust manifold on the side with the starter.
Then there’s a real easy one my old 98 Grand Cherokee 4.0 liter straight six where it’s about a half hr job.

I think it was due to protection from the outdoors. The LS motor was designed and certified for aircraft use.

 

[LexusToyotanut]

I did the same job on my 2002 Sequoia... using a reman starter purchased from a Toyota dealer. I too was surprised it wasn't new, but the parts guy said the car was too old and reman is the only thing available. And yes, it is a big job, not as bad as yours apparently, but still took me 8 hours. Book is 5.3 hours. I could probably do it faster next time... but there won't be a next time. If it needs another starter I'm going to send it packing. Not doing that again!

I own a 2001 tundra 4.7 myself and the starter job on it seems a lot easier than my Lexus 4.0

 

[LexusToyotanut]

Just to change a starter???
Thank you Jesus I will never own a lexus.

Idc I’m paying a mechanic to do all the work. My 94 ls400 is in perfect shape with 120k miles on it, 90mph has never felt so smooth before. I am predicting my ownership of it (owned it for 4 months now) will be just like my ownership of my 2001 tundra that I bought 5 years ago, zero issues at all, well besides the starter being replaced right now. I will only drive pre 2005 toyota Lexus products. Long live the 2uzfe and 1uzfe

 

[LexusToyotanut]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Love threads like this

 

[Tomioka]

I own a 2001 tundra 4.7 myself and the starter job on it seems a lot easier than my Lexus 4.0

Yep also throw in a set of intake manifold gaskets with your starter too.

TB gasket too (optional) since I pull the throttle body to not disturb the coolant lines.

 

[LexusToyotanut]

My Indian mechanic finished the starter in less than a day I’m excited to have my Lexus back

 

[LexusToyotanut]

Mechanic said it took him and his Toyota master tech buddy 3.5 hours to remove the 2 bolts for the starter. They didn’t remove the coolant bridge as they didn’t have gaskets for it, somehow they got it out. He asked my why I even I bought this car because of how expensive it is to fix but idc I ain’t broke

 

[TheLastWord]

Idc I’m paying a mechanic to do all the work. My 94 ls400 is in perfect shape with 120k miles on it, 90mph has never felt so smooth before. I am predicting my ownership of it (owned it for 4 months now) will be just like my ownership of my 2001 tundra that I bought 5 years ago, zero issues at all, well besides the starter being replaced right now. I will only drive pre 2005 toyota Lexus products. Long live the 2uzfe and 1uzfe

FWIW - the original LS400 has 6 bolt mains! Not sure how long that lasted. One upmanship on MB, BMW, etc to establish their brand?

 

[paulo57509]

The 2.7L in the Legend has 4-bolt, cross bolt mains. Kind of overkill for a 160HP engine, IMO.

 

[SC Maintenance]

On a Gen 1 1990, no cat removal needed.
And anyone not versed on LS400 starters, it is not easy at all. The hard part is the crusty electrical wires and connectors, hoses etc. and then comes the ultra nasty bolts holding it in. To keep your cool its at least a 2 day project.

Everything I ever said about German engineering being overly complicated - I take it all back!

 

[LexusToyotanut]

Everything I ever said about German engineering being overly complicated - I take it all back!

The ls400 is not complicated, it’s just that the starter is hard to access

 

[LexusToyotanut]

FWIW - the original LS400 has 6 bolt mains! Not sure how long that lasted. One upmanship on MB, BMW, etc to establish their brand?

Yep. Back in the pre 2003 days before management changed at Toyota/Lexus before the cost cutting happened. Back when they peaked. Now they are garbage

 

[3783-KC1]

The 2.7L in the Legend has 4-bolt, cross bolt mains. Kind of overkill for a 160HP engine, IMO.

All C-Series engines have 6 bolt mains. The early Legends are no exception.

 

[Exhaustgases]

All C-Series engines have 6 bolt mains. The early Legends are no exception.View attachment 197122View attachment 197124

Yeah that is nuts. Goes to show you how well the manufacture trusts using cheap aluminum castings for an engine block.