Need help fixing/swapping SC400 starter
03-01-09, 06:24 PM
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Need help fixing/swapping SC400 starter
Over the past few weeks my car has been doing the *CLICK* (nothing) startup attempt a few others have experienced here in the past. I had the battery checked and it was still running strong, and after reading Lextreme's "how to diagnose a bad starter" article, I'm pretty confident either the connectors are bad or the whole thing is bad (regardless, I have to take it out). I had a scare this AM and could not get it to start, but eventually got it working and made my way back to Austin from Houston; I need to take care of this ASAP before it prevents me from going to work.
That being said, I was wondering if there were any savvy individuals in the Austin, TX area that could either 1) do this for me (at a negotiated premium) or 2) do this and let me watch/help at a discounted premium. I've changed oil filters/brakes/rotors, replaced a bumper once, changed tail lights, replaced the antenna motor, an O2 sensor, and even the car's sparkplugs (biggest PITA out of the mix), but this task looks too daunting and I don't have a backup car nor a garage in case something goes wrong.
That being said, I don't know if this kind of request is allowed on CL, but if it is I just want to see if this is an option before I fork out an arm and a leg to some mechanic shop. Send me a PM if you can help.
Thanks!
That being said, I was wondering if there were any savvy individuals in the Austin, TX area that could either 1) do this for me (at a negotiated premium) or 2) do this and let me watch/help at a discounted premium. I've changed oil filters/brakes/rotors, replaced a bumper once, changed tail lights, replaced the antenna motor, an O2 sensor, and even the car's sparkplugs (biggest PITA out of the mix), but this task looks too daunting and I don't have a backup car nor a garage in case something goes wrong.
That being said, I don't know if this kind of request is allowed on CL, but if it is I just want to see if this is an option before I fork out an arm and a leg to some mechanic shop. Send me a PM if you can help.
Thanks!
03-03-09, 08:00 PM
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Thanks for the reply Steve. I didn't think I was going to get any replies in the timeframe I needed (currently don't have a way to get to work), so I ended up just hopping on Google Maps and found some traveling mechanic (mobilemechanicaustin.com). He's almost done, but a small piece of a plastic on the bottom of an injector broke off so we had to postpone until tomorrow AM.
03-04-09, 11:50 AM
#5
Cool man, I'm glad you gotten it taken care of. The starter is a PITA project. You'll need a few things, and some time. One of them being patience, and the second would be small hands, or a younger sibling with small hands. Ha ha, well either way, i'm glad you're getting it taken care of.
03-05-09, 09:30 PM
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I'm starting to regret my decision of not going with the dealership... I read good reviews about him on yelp.com and figured he was OK...
After some research he knew it was going to be a lengthy job. He quoted a flat fee of $400 for the labor + whatever for parts (claimed no up-charge, but I haven't yet seen the bill), so I figured the few hundy in savings was sufficient enough to go with him. The Lexus dealership wanted ~$950 for labor, parts (starter and intake manifold gaskets) and taxes.
He started working on this Monday, came out around 2PM, but after 5 or so hours he called me to come outside. I figured he was done, but instead he called me outside to show me the small piece of plastic on the bottom of one of the injectors broke off. I called the Lexus dealership, and they claimed they actually solid this small part so I ordered it. At this point he had finished putting in the new starter and was putting everything back together.
Yesterday morning the part came in, but to my dismay it was NOT the part we needed and was just the little o-ring at the bottom of the injector. Plan B--replace the injector for a cool $150. I specifically told them it was for cylinders 1-4 (FRONT), and they confirmed and ordered the part. He goes to the dealership today, picks up the part, brings it back and what do you know, it's the wrong injector (for the REAR cylinders). Same old song and dance so tomorrow he's going back to pick up the correct one since they had to order it.
Now, I don't know if it's his fault the piece of plastic broke, but he's claiming it broke because it's brittle. Either way, if I had brought it to the dealer I would have a loaner throughout this whole process instead of trying to get rides with people to and from work. Also, I have a feeling the dealership would have covered the cost on this injector, but who knows.
I've had a lot of bad luck with the repair, but I'm not sure how much of my frustration is caused by him vs. how much he deserves. Either way I'm generally angry at the whole process, but I can't really do anything about it at this point except hope he finishes up correctly tomorrow and there are no more road bumps...
After some research he knew it was going to be a lengthy job. He quoted a flat fee of $400 for the labor + whatever for parts (claimed no up-charge, but I haven't yet seen the bill), so I figured the few hundy in savings was sufficient enough to go with him. The Lexus dealership wanted ~$950 for labor, parts (starter and intake manifold gaskets) and taxes.
He started working on this Monday, came out around 2PM, but after 5 or so hours he called me to come outside. I figured he was done, but instead he called me outside to show me the small piece of plastic on the bottom of one of the injectors broke off. I called the Lexus dealership, and they claimed they actually solid this small part so I ordered it. At this point he had finished putting in the new starter and was putting everything back together.
Yesterday morning the part came in, but to my dismay it was NOT the part we needed and was just the little o-ring at the bottom of the injector. Plan B--replace the injector for a cool $150. I specifically told them it was for cylinders 1-4 (FRONT), and they confirmed and ordered the part. He goes to the dealership today, picks up the part, brings it back and what do you know, it's the wrong injector (for the REAR cylinders). Same old song and dance so tomorrow he's going back to pick up the correct one since they had to order it.
Now, I don't know if it's his fault the piece of plastic broke, but he's claiming it broke because it's brittle. Either way, if I had brought it to the dealer I would have a loaner throughout this whole process instead of trying to get rides with people to and from work. Also, I have a feeling the dealership would have covered the cost on this injector, but who knows.
I've had a lot of bad luck with the repair, but I'm not sure how much of my frustration is caused by him vs. how much he deserves. Either way I'm generally angry at the whole process, but I can't really do anything about it at this point except hope he finishes up correctly tomorrow and there are no more road bumps...
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03-06-09, 07:26 PM
#8
The part broke because it was brittle. You have no idea how many of my underhood plastic connectors have turned into crap when removing them. My coil pack and ignitor harnesses are zip-tied because the plastic connectors just crumble into pieces when i tried to replace them. Its a common thing on these older SCs
03-07-09, 12:56 PM
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yeah, I realize I had a lot of misdirected anger... After he reassembled everything with the new injector he realized another injector had a bad seal, so he's going to replace a bunch of o-rings and possibly another injector. Fun times!
03-09-09, 11:05 AM
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Well I guess he's going to get extra money some how or another. Sometimes it is better to go to the dealer even though it cost more. Like you said they would give you a rental. good luck hope he gets everything working
03-09-09, 12:13 PM
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When I took off my intake manifold to put my super charger on, I broke 3 insulators and a few O-Rings. I went ahead and bought all new Injector kits (4.50~ each) and called it a day. Peace of mind, I'd say.
03-09-09, 07:37 PM
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The injectors for cylinders 5-8 have some sort of extra sleeve on them (not sure why, and the mechanic even made a comment on how he wasn't sure what the sleeve was for).
The leak was pretty bad on Saturday--gas was practically raining out of the engine--but he came back out at no charge and fixed the bad seal with a few new o-rings, and my car is now running great.
Total bill was a bit over $800 but probably much cheaper than Lexus would have charged (since their base quote was $950 or so). Overall I'm pretty happy with the guy's work and was just frustrated at the problems themselves.
The leak was pretty bad on Saturday--gas was practically raining out of the engine--but he came back out at no charge and fixed the bad seal with a few new o-rings, and my car is now running great.
Total bill was a bit over $800 but probably much cheaper than Lexus would have charged (since their base quote was $950 or so). Overall I'm pretty happy with the guy's work and was just frustrated at the problems themselves.
03-10-09, 12:56 PM
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Im curious as to why he even too the injectors off in the first place.
The only thing i touched when I did my starter was the clips on the injectors and if you break that your an idiot. There should have been no removal of the injectors just leave the fuel rails on the mainfold and unbolt the gas line a the regulator
The only thing i touched when I did my starter was the clips on the injectors and if you break that your an idiot. There should have been no removal of the injectors just leave the fuel rails on the mainfold and unbolt the gas line a the regulator