Since I parked across the street from my garage I had to figure out a way to pull the car up my driveway which has a slight incline and then push it the rest of the way into the garage. I went to the towing section in Home Depot and considered my options. I ended up buying chain and First off let me state that this is not a how-to tutorial. There is a pretty comprehensive 5 part video that I used that shows you everything you need to do as well as a pdf document that simplifies the process even more. I also followed a how-to for replacing the alternator. You don’t actually need to remove the alternator you just need to unbolt it and move it to the side. These are all the instructions you should need to complete the job.



These are videos. I highly recommend taking the time to watch these videos before attempting this job.


Edit: Those videos are no longer available.





This is the thread where you can download the pdf. As I learned it was not as simple as everyone who uses those instructions makes it out to be. It is a good baseline and if all the stars line up just right you might be able to complete the job just using the pdf. They don’t remove the alternator and this is where I ran into my first issue when using those instructions which I will talk about later. The pdf is in post #22.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...starter-2.html



Even though the video shows how to remove the alternator here is a backup source with clear instructions. Some ppl have changed the starter without removing it but if I had it to do all over again I would remove the alternator. I spent a lot of time trying to get that last exhaust manifold bolt out that is right behind it before I just decide to remove it.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...moval-diy.html



Now that we have all that out of the way lets get to my thoughts and observations about the process and difficulty of replacing the starter on my 2007 RWD LS 460L at 149,310 miles. Part of me would rather change the starter on the LS 400 than on the 460 since I’ve been there done that already. On the face it seems like a simpler job if your doing this in your driveway or somewhere on the street. Doing the 460 starter you are basically on your back for most of the job and the 400 your just leaning over into the engine bay since the starter is under the intake manifold. The most difficult part of doing the 400 starter is there is no room to turn the 2 bolts in back of the starter so it takes a long time to get the bolts out. A crowfoot socket wrench adapter is your new best friend for this job. The RWD 460 starter replacement can be a very doable job if



1.You have ALL the tools your going to need on hand. It’s real really time consuming and demoralizing to have to keep going to the store to get another tool. Not to mention tiring for an already tired mind.

2.You have no rusty/frozen/welded together exhaust bolts. I would recommend you take a very close look at the exhaust manifold flange bolts to make sure that you will be able to remove them before you start this job. If you can’t get them off with your air gun/electric gun/socket/breaker bar and are not willing to go to the next step which is Hackzall/Sawzall/ Reciprocating saw then get the car towed to your preferred mechanic. Most ppl don’t have an oxygen/acetylene torch at home that will make quick work of the bolts. I was seriously considering buying one before I gave my M12 Sawzall a try. I literally saw an exhaust shop melt the flange bolts out of my 400 when I was having the Y-pipe installed.



Anyway, Now I know after the fact that my starter was starting to go bad for a couple of weeks. The first time I came out to go to work a couple of weeks and the car would not start. I tried to give it a boost and got nothing so I checked the battery with my multi-meter and it looked good. Just as I was about to call out the car started. At this point I was suspecting the battery since a Lexus battery was installed 3 years ago when I bought the car. I bought me one of those small hand held battery boosters to keep in the car just in case. There were no more incidents after that but since I was on alert I did start to notice that the car did sound funny when starting but I chalked it up to my paranoia since I had already indicted the battery. Fast forward to Columbus day. I go out to start the car and I get nothing so I pull out the booster and that does not work, next I pull out the jumper cables and that does not work. At this point I know what it is and I pull out the meter again just to confirm to myself that the battery is good and culprit has been the starter all along.



Sometimes starters go out with no warning but mine was showing signs which I promptly ignored. That same day I went online to rockauto and ordered a Denso Reman starter. $207 with a $68 core charge included. Came to about $139 after I returned the old starter.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...ter+motor,4152


Since I parked across the street from my garage I had to figure out a way to pull my car across the street and up the slight incline of my driveway, then push it the rest of the way into the garage. I went to the towing section in Home Depot and bought some heavy duty chain and had them cut it in half as well as some heavy duty hooks. The wife used the 400 to pull it up into the drive around 11 then night when we could be pretty sure we could get a least 10 minutes with traffic coming through the street. Trust me I’m making it sound easy but it was a stressful situation.

 

The starter was supposed to arrive the next day 10/13 before 9pm so I got up in the morning and started taking the car apart so when it arrived I could just pop the starter in and button everything back up Boy was I in for a surprise. I pulled all the top and bottom engine covers off and lined up all the tools that I would need for the job. I also removed both front tires, calipers and rotors since I had already planned to change the front rotors and pads due to them being warped. I addressed that issue in another thread so I won’t go into here unless someone asks. Then I removed the sway and both links because I had new links since last October when I did the front lower control arms.





​​​​​​These are the actual codes that were generated when the car would not start.

 

Next I removed the front suspension member and oil dipstick then proceeded to remove the engine mount and bracket. The top mount nut was surprisingly easy to break loose as well as the bottom nut. I then started to get the bracket bolts out when I ran into my first head scratcher. I was using the pdf mainly at this time and removed the first 5 bolts but could not comfortably get to that last bolt that’s right behind the alternator. I tried all kinds of angles and the closest I could get to it was going over the alternator which was starting to feel like too much work for 1 bolt. By this time I was worn out from getting up then down, twisting all over the place and not having much success. I could get the socket on it but for some reason it just would not turn much. Later after I removed the alternator and the bolt still would not come out I realized that I had jacked the transmission and engine up slightly in anticipation of removing the mount. This caused the engine and mount bracket to be off center and producing a lot of resistance. Once I leveled everything up the bolt came out but was slightly bent at the tip. This little mistake caused me to lose the rest of the first day and part of the second morning. So you probably don’t need to remove the alternator but if you do it just creates so much more space and visibility.

 

I strongly believe, Lexus engineers sat down one evening and had a brainstorming session on how to make removal the starter in LS460 as hard as possible. And then they actually included it in the production model.

Good work, thank you for sharing!

 

Next I removed the exhaust manifold heat shield. The top 2 bolts were a no problem but the bottom bolt was so rusted that it no longer held it’s 10mm shape. Cutting is a last resort for me since I want everything to go back on the way it came off. I sprayed plenty of PB blaster and tried all sort of socket and wrench combinations but I did not have enough room in there to get a good grip on the bolt. I ended up slicing through the heat shield as close to the bolt as possible and pulling it up over the bolt. I would later cut off the bolt head and unscrew the remainder out from the backside. When reinstalling I just used another bolt with a washer to clamp down on the shield. Now it was time to remove the exhaust manifold and this is where removing the alternator really helps. It gives you access to visually see the bolts at the top of the manifold as well as being able hold it with both hands when reinstalling it. The thing can get heavy when your on your back trying to wiggle it back up in there.

 

After getting the manifold bolts out the REAL issue roared it’s head. The flange bolts were rusted and the nuts had welded themselves onto the bolt. I lost a 1 ½ days before I finally cut them off. I had been soaking them down for 2 days already plus EVERYTIME I got on my back I sprayed them again throughout the whole process. I was able to break the bolt loose but the nut would not budge. The next day I broke out broke out my MAP gas torch, I just bypassed to propane altogether and played with the ideal that it might work but I knew better. After a couple hours I started to look for affordable Oxygen/Acetylene torch but could not find any that I could get ASAP plus I never used one before and did not know what kind of learning curve I was going to need. This is when I picked up my M12 Sawzall and went to work. Surprisingly it started to cut the bolt head with the crappy blade that comes with it. That’s when I knew I would definitely be able to finish the job. I went to HD and picked up some Diablo blades as well as a bigger Milwaukee reciprocating saw just in case. Needless to say I got those bolts off and learned a lot in the process.

 

This job is actually doable if your exhaust bolts are not jacked up like most early models are sure to be. I really believe that the LS 400 starter might be slightly easier to change though.

 

finally........






I'm wondering if these marks on the flywheel present a problem or are just a part of the manufacturing process.

 

I have a 2007 LS460 with 125,000 mils and my starter needed replacing

my trusted indy mechanic did not want the job so I had it towed to the dealer

$1300 later the job was done and I was happy

I do not have the tools, desire or ability to do anything other change the engine and cabin filters

 

No shame in that, I was a little over $300 to complete the job since I had most tools on hand already.

 

Excellent write up and a job well done!

(Are you sure it wasn't just a weak battery? )

 

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My 2008 LS460 starter was dead at only 95,126 miles. I replaced it with the same Denso 280-0370 starter from RockAuto. Fortunately, I'm in California and there was no rust underneath the car. In fact, everything on the car still looked new. I was able to remove all the screws and bolts without an issue. It took me about six hours to complete the job on my driveway with jacks and jack stands. Looking back, the only regret I have is that I should have replaced the engine mount. However, at the time, my engine mount looked new and no damage.
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I'm sure it wasn't the battery lol. I triple checked the battery multiple times plus I removed it and put it on a tender while waiting for parts. I also took the brand new battery out of my 400 and put it in the car just to make sure the battery was not the culprit. I bench tested the old starter and even though the gear would pop out it would not spin.

Well I'm in the North East I was not as lucky. There's really no rust under the car but most of the exhaust bolts are in the same condition.

 

Next up is the drivers side balljoint. I first noticed it last year when I did the lower control arms and I just had another look at it while changing the starter. I purchased the Powerbuilt 23 piece ball joint press kit.I might cut those bolts off the other exhaust flange while I'm over there.