I needed to change my starter this week so I was searching for some detailed instrucions in the forums and found tons of useful info but no details.

Here is what I would like to have known before I started that would have made the job even easier:

The 2 starter mounting bolts are 14mm and the pos contact is a 12mm. Tools I needed included a box end 14mm wrench, 10 inch and 6 inch socket extensions and a 14mm u-joint socket, and a 12mm socket. Its pretty tight between the mounting bolts and the floor pan, the top one is hard to even see. It took me about 2 hrs once I had the right tools. The only trick is getting that top bolt off and its nearly impossible w/o the right tools.

I have an auto transmission, but some people with 5-speeds have posted problems with removing the starter once it's unbolted. I had no problems at all. There is lots of room for the starter and it was easy to slide out.

Dont forget to disconnect the battery like I did or you'll see sparks.

It was great to fire it up again today.

 

I had a hard time getting the starter out. I had to take it apart in the engine bay to get it out, putting it back in wasn't nearly as hard though. I saw a fireworks show when i was reconnecting the contact wire, scared the crap out of me, haha. Good job on replacing/fixing the starter.

 

It's good to know that the SC300 starter is not as hard to replace as the SC400. I understand the SC400 starter is quite difficult to get to which is unfortunate since every car I've kept longer than 100K miles needed a new starter. One advantage that I have is that with a manual transmission, I can push the car off a couple of times until I can replace the failed starter. I got quite adept at that with my Nissan. I would pick parking spaces based upon the slope of the road.

 

OMG! ha ha ha, I thought I was the only one doing that with my 240sx! ha ha hahaha, glad to know I'm not the only one to use this innovative technique for the financially challenged! Good one

 

Thanks for the insight indelible. There is apprently much more space to pull the starter in an auto trans vs. a manual. I would have thought the opposite. I guess that clutch can take up space.

Did you have much trouble getting out that the top mounting bolt on your manual's starter too? Until I had the right tools ($30 Craftsman) it looked like it might be easier to go under the hood at it from above.

I had issues with the starter last fall so I bought the part, but when I went to install it I saw how inacessable that top bolt was so I just cleaned the corrosion off the contacts and returned the part to the store. That lasted me another 8 flawless months til it suddenly was not starting at all. Thats when I did the deed and finally changed it out. Got a Bosche re-man for $115 locally. Buy local whenever possible.

 

Yeah, it took me forever to get the stupid bolts off, they were on so tight. It took me like 2 hours (or more), i think, to get each bolt off. I got both bolts off from under the car. I just repaired the contacts on mine for $20, the car starts really well now.

 

I wanted to just replace the contacts too, since I know that was the main problem, but the Lex dealer didn't have anything but the whole starter for like $380! (whatever) I figure for $115 this Boche re-man should be good for another 100K or more and I was totally willing to do a complete change-out and be done with it for good. The Bosche part even has beveled teeth on the gear to engage smoother than the stock starter and reduce flywheel teeth wear. Sounds just like stock too.

I am pleased.

 

I hated changing the starter in my old ls400. complete PITA!! luckily my sc400 has no issues.

 

I'm going to change my 1998 Lexus SC400, this is my 2nd time doing this, last one is back in 2010. Just a heads up to those who are planning to do this. It's good to change all the fuel injector, but if you are not doing this at least have an extra fuel injector just in case you accidentally cracked one while pulling out the injector rail. I also advice to renew at least the injector seal to prevent engine fire. Last time I purchase intake manifod gasket but did not install it because the original one are in good condition but this time I will swap swap it with the new one because of the age. Buy those gasket sealant with a gun to have a good sealant application to prevent any leak, look like I did good on that last time as I never see any oil leak until now. Vacuum the injector port area to get rid of the gel if you use low octane gasoline, we probably all do when the gas hit $5 / gal. I noticed a power difference after doing this. It's also good to change the spark plug if you have not change it for a while or planning to change it soon. The most important, buy a good remanufactured starter like Denso brand, I wish a brand new one are available for sale. Forget fixing the old starter, the bolt is hard to get it out. Give that to the Pro, I believe they use special tools to do it and the parts cost is almost 1/3 of the remanufactured starter.