Problems starting up

[oneidadan]

Hello, i'm having a strange problem with my surf starting. I've put this in mechanical although I did a search and the problem could be electrical so I wasn't sure which section to put it in.
When i try and start the truck i'll turn the key and it doesn't turn over, there's just kind of a clunk from the engine and nothing happens. When you click the ignition back and then try again it will usually start. Sometimes it tries to turn over but it's a bit half-assed and doesn't start, but again usually if you turn the key back and try again it starts fine.
I'm fairly certain it's not the batteries going flat. I thought it could be the starter motor seizing up or something but when it does start it starts straight away without any problems.
Someone metioned in a previous post that a bad earth on a brake light or a bad connection to a bulb could stop it from starting? could that be the case here?
Thanks for everyones help in previous posts, hopefully someon will be able to hlp me with this. I think it might be time for me to pay my membership fees

[charvell]

hello mate, how do you know its not the batteries? If you have two fitted it only takes one of them to be bad and it will drain the other, i would get them checked out first. It may be the starter motor contacts, you can get a kit to replace them from roughtrax or milner off road. try the batteries first.

[steved]

More then likely the contacts in the starter solenoid are playing up it fairly common most Toyota dealers can get hold of the solenoid contact kit.

[oneidadan]

thanks for the replies. If it were the starter motor, would there be just one click when trying to start it or would it click lots? Hopefully it is the starter.

[davemaxx]

if its the batterys the headlights and horn will be dim first thing after leaving it several hours, then when the engin is running they would brighten up a bit.

[KERRSURF]

I had the one click thing happening, a starter refurb kit from roughtrax sorted it.

[davemaxx]

hello mate, how do you know its not the batteries? try the batteries first.

might even be something really bad like hydraulic-lock-up.
are you loosing any water? like about a tea cupfull a week.

its the clunk from the engin that you describe that worries me, rather than an electrical click.

[oneidadan]

might even be something really bad like hydraulic-lock-up.
are you loosing any water? like about a tea cupfull a week.

its the clunk from the engin that you describe that worries me, rather than an electrical click.

eek don't scare me I was all happy that it was going to be the starter. It does lose a little water, but there is signs tha it's leaking from the rad cap so hopefully it's that.

I would say tha the noise is a little like a relay clicking but louder, I was thinking it was some thing in the starter motor turning but not doing anything. If my camera phone was better i'd take a short video and put it on youtube for people to see.

I'll start with the starter motor first and cross my fingers it's just that. I was going to order the one from Roughtrax but on another thread someone mentioned the dealer could be cheaper. Will the main dealer have the parts in stock or have to order them? if I have to order i'll go with the roughtrax ones as i've not had a good time with ordering things from my local toyota.
Hopefully i'll be able to find a garage that can do it pretty sharpish

[davemaxx]

you could put your hand on the starter and get someone els to turn it over, you might feel it clicking or clunk through the outer shell

[oneidadan]

well the surf has been in the garage for the last week. I took it in for them to have a look at the starter and I thought it would be a good idea to get the cambelt done at the same time.
Unfortunately the radiator has decided to die at the same time so i've had to get another one of those fitted. On the good side though the starter motor has decided to work flawlessly while its been there so that's been OK. But then again i'm not sure what the problem was now.

[davemaxx]

i'll keep my fingers crossed for you mate!
hopefully it was just a dogey connection,

[oneidadan]

well I picked it up today and there's no sign of the dreaded click when starting it. In fact it seems quite eager to start, hardly turns over at all. The garage bloke said he's tightened up the battery connectors and checked the earths so perhaps it could be that? Will let you know how it goes on.
The cambelt is changed now though so that's all done now, and there's a nice new radiator at the front. Also got the spare wheel changed to one that's the same radius as the wheels already on the truck. The spare was quite alot smaller than the 31x10.5x15 that are on the wheels.
Cost £500 in total, not sure if that's a good price or not!

[davemaxx]

'super duper' what size was the spare?
just wondering if there is a significant differance between the 31" and the
265's

[nero279]

'super duper' what size was the spare?
just wondering if there is a significant differance between the 31" and the
265's

265/70/15s are a touch smaller

265/75/15s are pretty damn close to a 31x10.50x15

[oneidadan]

I shall check what size the rear wheel is. I do know that the spare wheel cover has had to be tiewrapped together as the wheel is now too big for the cover to go round properly. And it's an adjustable cover for different wheel sizes. Also the spare wheel carrier feels alot heavier when opening and closing it.
I suppose the smaller wheel might have been alright for short distances and in 2wd but knowing my luck i'd get a flat when I need 4wd and flibble up my transmission