My 1996 Tacoma is having problems with the starter, I think. Occasionally, when I try to start it, it will just click, and then will start. Today the starter would turn over a time or two, and then bog down. On a re-try, it started. Is it time for a new starter? How difficult is it to replace? Thanks for any advice!
You don't mention what motor you have in it, or how many miles, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's time for a new one. I have a '94 4cyl. pickup and it's on its third or fourth starter in just over 200k miles. The symptoms each time I had to replace it started out sounding like yours. It's not *that* hard to do yourself, if you have the 4cyl. and a good asst. of different sized ratchets/wrenches. You just have to jack up the front end (or at least the right side), put it on a jackstand and remove the right front tire so you can get back to it. You might have to remove some of the sprayskirting inside the wheelwell. It's been a while and I can't quite remember.
All that being said, you might want to check the free and simple things like your battery's voltage and the terminals on the battery cables. Sometimes they get gunked up and have so much corrosion in there that they don't get a nice, strong current stream to the starter.
The two parts that have failed most frequently with my truck, though, have been the starter and the tstat, fwiw.
Good luck.
As mentioned, check the connections for cleanliness. If that does not help, time to replace the starter contacts. See:
No progress......couldn't get to one of the bolts that holds the starter. Either I didn't have the right kind of wrench, or my arm just wouldn't bend in 3 different places to get to that bolt. Paid $75 to have mechanic put a new one on.
I've been known to do that myself. Sometimes it just isn't worth the time, crawling around under the truck, trying to get to a bolt. A mechanic should have the correct tools for the job.
I like to do my own work, but know when to farm it out to an expert...
It's time for your to buy an American vehicle, then you will have not have starter problems. My neighbor has had the problem with a the same Toyota truck and now drives a Chevrolet truck and could not be any happier,
hahaaaa. that's the funniest thing I've read all damned week. :D
My Ford goes through a starter every two years. Although I had starter problems on both of my 4runners, both were easily fixed with $12 contacts. BTW, both failures were after 200,000 miles on the starters. Chances are that neither a Ford or Chevy would make it that far without requiring major repairs.
I currently own 3 Toyotas, and have found it is cheaper to replace starters than replace engines and transmissions. American autos don't have the longevity that all my Toyotas have provided me. Anyway, thanks for your comments/advice, but I'm gonna pass on buying ANY GM/Ford/Chrysler products.......
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