'97 Lx 450 Starter W/cold Climate Packge?

[diesel2k]

I'm having trouble with my starter. I'll try and check to see if the connectors are dirty as described by some of the other members in this forum, rather than buying a new starter. But, if I do need to replace it, the guy at an Auto Zone store asked me if I had the starter with the cold climate package or the one without a cold climate package. Does anyone know what he's talking about? I own a 97 LX450. Any input would help. thanks guys

[dougjohn]

If you're gonna tackle the starter rebuild, make sure you read up on this first:

http://www.sleeoffroad.com/technical/tz_starter_rebuild.htm

That said, there were 2 starters sold for all 80 series Land Cruises (1993-1997), which includes the LX450 (1996-1997). The smaller starter was installed on trucks sent to warmer weather locations and the larger starter was sent to colder locations -- not quite sure how they determined what/where was warm vs. cold.

The cold climate starter is the 2.0 kW starter. The other is the 1.4kW starter. Prior to my owning my current LX 450, I owned a 1994 LC with a cold climate starter -- that thing cranked up instantly. My LX 450 has the warm weather starter which takes full second or two before it turns over.

If you're replacing the entire starter, go with the larger (cold climate) starter.

If you're not sure, you could check the starter itself, you should be able to see the 1.4kW or 2.0kW on it somewhere.

[diesel2k]

thanks for the info doug john!

[Rookie]

There seems to be a pretty common problem with the contacts on these things. You definitely should try replacing these first.

Cheers,

Rookie