# starter solenoid rebuild kit



## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

I need help buying a solenoid rebuild kit. The car is 2009 toyota rav4 4 cyl. I got some advises from toyota forum but I'm picking brains here as well.
Problem is these kits are not specified by make date and such. Esp ebay sellers specify a kit that covers all kinds of brands. And I'd like to buy real brands, not the possible fakes. Are there really starter repair specialists online, or what are these shops called?


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Usually motor rebuilders do starters also. Just wondering, Rock Auto has the entire starter unit for about $85, so is the gain worth the pain of rebuilding the solenoid?


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

I think that is becoming a thing of the past.
Now-a-days everything seems to be use-and-throw-away.

Try getting a TV. repair..................

I did find this if your interested.
I didn't put an address, you would need to put yours.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/c3/starters/15663


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

There are shops here that only do auto electric repairs, you would look in the phone BOOK.

All auto parts dealers (NAPA, AUTOZONE, CHAMPION, MANY OTHERS), carry quality parts, and some e-bay sellers , not all SOME , have quality too.

Starters are some of the simpler things to repair, if you know how, a lost skill in the modern " parts swapping" world.

I'm assuming ( a mistake) , that you have the solenoid attached to the starter style.

ED


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Why rebuild just the solenoid if you have to remove the starter anyway? Yes, I believe/presume (never assume) that the solenoid is attached to the starter on a Toyota.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

I thought a bench test first and if the motor spins, I'd try the cheaper contacts first. Youtube has several instructions and it is definitely diy, only if I can find the part. Forum's also full of people who had successes, but they got their parts from ebay or local shops. Ebay worries me because some of them brag that their contacts are not copper coated junk! So who do I believe? Could be coated aluminum. Some are selling denso but shipped from china. Those, probably are fakes, although quality can be all over the place.
These days, I make a scratch test on copper items.:smile:
I still read, but this is something like going to the library without a title in mind. I guess spoiled by google but this is one case that beats the giant. Solenoids are under $100 but this is one of the few things I think I can do on a car and fun as well.
Looks like I have to walk again.:smile:


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

I've rebuilt one or two starters over the years but that was long before ebay & google. I've done more alternators. Either one can be just a matter of replacing 2 brushes & a couple of contacts.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

I pick and choose parts on e-bay carefully, there are new old stock (N O S), parts there, you might have to look hard at the offers, but you can get genuine factory parts there.


ED


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## polychrome (Oct 4, 2013)

Find a catalog that's intended for alternator and starter rebuilders. Rebuilding used to support a cottage industry local to an area, and probably still does, the parts are dirt cheap. 
A particular solenoid design isn't unique just one model of starter, and its common for a starter motor design to appear on many makes and models. Its to everyone's advantage to take advantage of economies of scale from using a good part that's in volume production. 
That said, high volume parts attract aftermarket production of low quality components. There are vanity brands (of vehicles) that customize absolutely everything to make every part unique in order to keep monopoly control of their repair parts market. It does have the side effect of keeping low quality parts out of the market, but they do it to mark the parts up by 4x or more, not for consumer protection.
Yes, you can rebuild just the parts of a starter that suit your fancy. Rebuilders often don't replace parts that don't show any wear and will outlive the brushes. They will turn a commutator and only replace the segments if they're work too thin or damaged. they won't swap bearings that run smoothly and have grease, etc.
Yes, the parts will fit multiple starter models, and a lot of different vehicles. The world only really needs a few starter motors and nothing has really changed about a brushed DC electric motor since nylon magnet wire insulation 70+ years ago. That said, if you're taking it apart, cleaning it, replacing the brushes, turning the commutator, replacing the gear, replacing the bearings, are all easy to do once its out and apart.
FWIW consider that the bearings, as an industrial part number like 6003RS, will fit an endless list of things, and no one thinking clearly would even consider designing a custom bearing for an automotive starter motor.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

Resolved. 09 rav4 solenoid can't be rebuilt. It has permanent magnet reduction gear and only the whole solenoid is sold. But since brush may be also worn down and other uncertainties are adding up such as being careful not to move the pinion gear, I got the whole thing. Ignorance is bliss.
98 camry can be rebuilt and going to try on that one as prevention. Although low miles, it'll be good to know one thing less to do in my life time.:smile:


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

It appears there is no more lifetime warranties.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

> It appears there is no more lifetime warranties.


Au contraire ! The alternator on my Cummins 5.9 went out so I bought a new one from Auto Zone. About two years later it went out again. I went to the store to buy a new one. He asked for my phone number, handed me a new alternator and $45 in cash. Puzzled, I asked why. He said it had a lifetime warranty and the price I paid for the original versus the new one was more, thus the rebate. Still haven't figured that one out.

Fast forward 3 more years. Alternator went out again. No questions asked. New alternator. They seem to stand behind their warranties pretty well.


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

All the items that I have searched, as-in-the-now have only shown limited lifetime warranties.


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## Glassit (Jan 30, 2016)

carpdad said:


> permanent magnet reduction gear


That's a new one for me. Just about to rebuild the starter on my GS400 (Lexus badged Toyota) tomorrow...I hope. For your future reference, you're often better off going though an online OEM parts dealer for things like this. Looks like the solenoid is $80 on Olathe(?) Toyota and probably cheaper elsewhere. I could've gotten a generic kit on Amazon for $30something but for less than $10 more I got two new contacts and a plunger from a Lexus dealer online. You can cross reference parts using toyodiy.com . You can't beat Toyota/Aisin/Denso/Koyo parts, you might save a few bucks elsewhere but you'll be pulling that part every other year for the rest of the time you own it. Auto parts stores and Ebay sell garbage parts. Been there myself. Case in point...



chandler48 said:


> Au contraire ! The alternator on my Cummins 5.9 went out so I bought a new one from Auto Zone. About two years later it went out again.
> ...
> Fast forward 3 more years. Alternator went out again.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

> Case in point...


Not necessarily garbage parts. Duralast parts have performed well for me in the past. I attribute most of it to the vibrations set up naturally by the Cummins engine. My point was not the longevity of the parts, but the willingness of the parts house to cover it under warranty. Buy from a dealer if you want, but I choose not to be ripped off. 

I have had OEM parts fail at intervals that I thought they should not, so any of them can fall into that category.


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## Glassit (Jan 30, 2016)

It's all relative I suppose. The difference between Denso anything and the parts store house brand is generally pretty striking in my experience, and the OP was discussing Toyota parts. I do own a Dodge 2500 for work as well, 6something liter gas and probably wouldn't go out of my way for OEM on that. Can usually get reman OEM parts for less than house brand at the parts store on Rockauto, partsgeek, etc, just have to wait a couple days for it.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

I found a denso advertisement site that shows what's inside the starter parts and I don't know where 09 belongs, but I don't see plunger and contacts in the solenoid. Maybe I can't call them solenoid anymore. All I know is solenoids meant moving parts that make contact.
09 rav4 solenoids are sold for replacement, but uncertainties were adding up. Maybe brushes, maybe gears, maybe the lengths of plungers, maybe the shape and thicknesses of contacts, maybe the pure copper vs. coated copper contacts.
Reman, Olathe, was above $300. I trust Olathe from past buys and forum discussions, but decided this time that amazon would make it easier for me to return if there's something wrong with it. Hard to beat amazon these days when I can take it to wholefoods return box 10 minutes away. For 98 camry, I plan to go back to olathe.

These transactions have become easier but don't know if that makes life longer or shorter.:smile:


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## Glassit (Jan 30, 2016)

There's also "cold spec" to contend with, some starters and other Toyota parts were different depending on which region of the country they shipped to, at least in the olden days. I got conflicting info on whether my GS was, even using the VIN, so went with cold spec to err on the side of beefier contacts. Good luck


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