Starter On 90 Ls400

[k_tieu]

hey guys im brand new here

i need to do my starter on my 90 LS400

can u guys give me some diagrams and guide me through it

also how much would it be if i brought it to a dealer i live in vancouver bc

i also hav the starter in hand so how much would labour be

[steve2006]

Welcome to the LOC.

This topic has been covered many times and a search will provide you with the information required but as you are a new member follow the link below, the job is not easy and will take around 6 hours with all the correct tools and parts.

http://www.lextreme.com/starter.html

[VBdenny]

Check with a Toyota dealer as they do it a lot cheaper than Lexus. If the Toyota dealer also owns a Lexus dealer, they won't do it so keep that in mind. Hey, I've been to Vancouver, nice city.

[k_tieu]

yea ? swweeet thanks guys :D really appreciate the help

yea man vancouvers night life is awesome

[VBdenny]

K, glad you decided to hang with LOC. I have learned a lot of stuff and met many people who share Lexus knowledge freely. We drank some beer in Vancover, LeBatt Blue if I remember correctly.

[k_tieu]

having real difficulties doing this starter

its a hard job all my small hoeses r on so tight the EGR ones

anyone got pictures of theirs? lik pictures froom start to finish cuz im reading of something i printed off alldata

[VBdenny]

try

http://www.lexls.com/

very good and well organized.

[steve2006]

Picture above is my own LS when I did the starter motor,I still have to remove the rear coolant bridge before finally getting the motor out,I then rebuilt the old motor with new contacts and plunger before refitting.

Be careful not to damage the 2 knock sensors or the wiring which are just below the starter motor when you do the job.

[k_tieu]

HOLY cows thanks dude!!!! :D

[k_tieu]

hey so i did the starter now im wondering y does this starter fail

i mean toyota obviously desigend it so that the starter would never fail thats y its in a difficult position

and i did the starter wit out taking the rear water bypass joint out

[curiousB]

Most common failure is the relay or contactor as its properly known. This is a electromagentic coil that moves a plate that completes a circuit to the starter motor windings. Each start and each release of the starter causes an arc on this plate. The arc is essentiallty a weld so over time and thousands of starts the plate and the contact points get quite worn. Given the buried location of this starter I wonder why Toyota didn't separate the contactor from the motor and put it in a easier to access location. I'm sure cost was a factor and perhaps available space under the hood.

Other failure modes are wear out of the drive gear and motor bearing failure.

[landar]

i mean toyota obviously desigend it so that the starter would never fail thats y its in a difficult position

It is in a "difficult" position probably for compromise reasons. Conventional engine design typically puts the starter on the bottom/side of the bellhousing where it is easier to access. I do not believe that Lexus engineers were terribly concerned about how difficult it would be to repair. And I do not believe that they made the starter any more robust than other designs. It was just a design tradeoff decision. It might make for smoother and quieter starting when cradled in the block valley. Every little bit helps in a luxury model.

Maybe you were just being facetious?

[steve2006]

This is one of my contacts from the starter I replaced

and the other

and the plunger that makes contact with the two bits above and provides power to the motor

[k_tieu]

yea well the was i see is

all toyota cars that i hav worked on are pretty simple and i thought lexus would be the same but still in general the LS is pretty easy to work on

that is once super warn out contacts