L400 Starter Removal/Replacement and Fly Wheel Inspection

Foundmine

Foundmine

Member
I just spent the better part of three hours wrestling the starter out of my van (2.8L, 4M40). It required a lot of head scratching and an extra set of hands to help manipulate the motor from the top. To anyone struggling with the removal: it does fit, you need to spin it a bit, and it comes out the bottom of the vehicle gear side down.

Now I need to inspect the flywheel and ring gear because I'm worried my failing starter could have caused damage. Three questions:
  1. Will a simple visual inspection of the ring gear suffice? Or do I need to measure the depth of the teeth to check for wear?
  2. The batteries are out of the van but its in park. Does the Aisin/V4AW automatic transmission need 12V to shift or can I drop it from park into neutral with the batteries out? Do I need to shift the transfer case into neutral as well?
  3. Will the crank spin by hand with the radiator still installed?

Unfortunately, the starter looks like it was replaced at some point. I was really hoping it was an original, 26+ year old starter and that would explain the intermittent failure. Now I'm just hoping the ring gear isn't too damaged.
 
1. Visual inspection should be sufficient.
2. IDT the L400 has an electronic interlock... but even vehicles that do have a mechanical override/release.
3.Yes.
 
sk66 said:
1. Visual inspection should be sufficient.
2. IDT the L400 has an electronic interlock... but even vehicles that do have a mechanical override/release.
3.Yes.
Click to expand...
Excellent thanks. I was concerned about shifting the transmission without voltage and maybe messing something up, but with the live positive wire from the starter hanging out and attached to nothing, I didn't want to reinstall a battery. I will check today.

In related news, Rising Sun Auto was super helpful and confirmed my starter is an aftermarket product so I am hoping I have better luck with a refurbished OEM starter. Their travel package is on the way. Pics of mine below for the curious. Also, I assume the hose attached to the bottom of the starter is a breather, but it seems like it allow the body of the motor to fill with dust/water/debris. Should that hose be long and be routed somewhere safer?:

IMG_1323.JPG
 
Alright, everything takes forever, except for shipping from Canada Post. Parts from Rising Sun in hand, I inspected the fly wheel.

Below is a picture of the a section of what I think is minor damage to the flywheel. There are 3 other spots similar to this, where 3-5 teeth have some evidence of grinding. No large chips, no missing teeth. Any advice as to how bad this damage is?

Delica Flywheel Teeth - 2.jpg
 
sk66 said:
Minor...
Click to expand...
Ok, that’s what I thought as well.

The starter is back in, but now I have a mystery wire that I need to identify and re-install. Picture below. It’s a large black and yellow cable. I don’t recall it during disassembly.

EDIT: It is no the permanent live that attaches to the starter or the small ignition wire. Those are identified and are up top.

4BC8BB6C-37F7-4F8D-87D1-E8DBA72D8336.jpeg
 
Mystery solved. I got confirmation it is a ground that attaches to the lower starter bolt. I didn't recall taking it off and didn't want to reattach it in the wrong spot.
 
Fired up the van today for the first time in weeks, only possible to all the help I had installing a new starter.

Many thanks to everyone that helped me with this very straight forward repair. Rising Sun sold me parts and made sure they were delivered quick, Coombs County Autos helped me track down the history of my van without impinging on the privacy of their past clients, and Nomadic Van fielded my frantic texts and emails. All three of these shops are great, and all three will continue to get my money. This forum is an unending and well organized library of experience and experiences. Muchas Gracias.

Notes for those worried about doing a starter on their van:
  • This is a decent video walkthrough: L400 4M40 Starter motor removal.
  • Buy a real, refurbished, OEM starter.
  • You don't need a great set of tools, but you will need some extensions for your socket set, and you may need to find a suitable breaker bar, like a piece of pipe or something.
  • The starter will come out, and it will go back in, even if you think it won't.
  • You're going to do much of this job completely blind if you don't have a lift. Trust the force, Luke/Leia/Jar Jar.
  • It's cheaper to do this now instead of waiting to do a starter and a ring gear later.
 
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UPDATE: We are maybe 2000 miles from install of the new OEM starter, and in the middle of a long trip, and the new starter has now failed to engage twice (two out of hundreds of starts). It engaged on the second attempt in both instances, which is similar to the original issues. I trust the starter, it was significantly different than the Amazon/discount starter that was in there.

I am considering what my options are and I’d like some advice. We are 10 miles from the Mexican border and two weeks into a seven month trip.
 
I would get a remote starter switch to have on-hand. That way if the issue is in the switch/relay/wiring to the solenoid it can be readily bypassed. If you eventually confirm that the issue is somewhere prior to the solenoid you could permanently/semi-permanently wire in a manual switch (and a hidden immobilizer switch).
 
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