alternator & starter not under warranty

[ferguson]

[quote=cruiserbent;607589]....also where did you buy it,normally you'll get better service where you bought the rig & it doesn't hurt to have some service other than warranty done there....QUOTE]


My FJ was purchased at Toyota of Tampa Bay. My 5k and 10k oil changes were done there. I did the 15k myself, the week before.

-John.

[yoda]

I had my pulleys and starter replaced last year under waranty . There is no reason for you to have to pay out of pocket. Why does everyone think they have to clean the mud of there rigs before it goes to the dealers. Is the fj not a 4x4 ? I guess we all should avoid driving in the rain for fear of having to drive in mud puddles and water holes.

[AF Chief]

I should have asked: did they give you trouble for surface mud, or mud they found after taking stuff off? Hate to think they would deny a claim because they put the rig on a lift and saw some mud. Pretty lame if so.

ferguson previously said:

Yes for the record, I should mention that I do clean my FJ after using it. I was a VW gearhead for years and know how to maintain equipement. It looks quite clean at the moment. The engine was washed with a pressure washer and detergent, but there were some spots that I missed in my driveway that were visible when on the shop's lift.

[FJ33]

I will play the devils advocate on this one. If I made an alternator and a customer brought it back for warranty repair, if I found mud inside the alternator (not that yours had mud in it) I would have to say get lost.

Just because you saw a ton of bricks get dropped into the back of a truck on a commercial, are you going to do the same when you buy the same truck. Then when you see all of the dents in the bed are you going to ask for the dealer to repair it? Just because it's in an advertisement it won't help you when you break yours.

I don't know why people think any vehicle should be able to handle a mud bath, mud is by far the worst thing to throw anything mechanical into.
Water is a different story, so the ads with water crossings are not going to help you out. Water even has it's limits so if anyone thinks a snorkel is going to allow them to cross anything deeper than a stock FJ, better start looking at all of the unsealed electrical components under that snorkel opening and say goodbye. I'm out!

here is a link for more info on water crossingsWater: Leisure and Emergengy

[ferguson]

Another follow-up:

Since there is no harm in voiding warranty, I figured I'd take the pulley system apart myself for a look.

Taking the belt off was much easier than it was in some older cars. Now that I know, I may make this a regular step in cleaning after rough use. I put an allen wrench into the pinhole to hold the tension pulley open. The little metal loop didn't stand up to the torque of removing the bolt though. Note: the tension pulley bolt is threaded backwards, the other three idlers are normal. All are 14mm.



At this point I spun the alternator pulley, and it feels fine! I doupt the technician ever took the belt off to feel it. I see no reason to replace the alternator at this point.

Two upper pulleys with red seals are the same, and had the most damage. The lower idler pulley has double bearings, and was the only one that felt fine, is spite of being the dirtiest. Perhaps Toyota shoud use this better pulley for all three idler pulleys. The tension pulley has a larger axle. Here's a close-up if anyone wants the part #'s






All the bearings are typical NSK sealed bearings, just like a skateboard.

I carefully popped out the front seal from the inner edge to clean them out. I assume the bearings are pressed into the wheel with much force, so I didn't attempt to pound them out and reach the back seal.



They were flushed and spun in my fingers with solvent, till they spun without any gritty resistance



Then I used a needle on a grease gun to repack them. This pick is posed, it's better to do this inverted so the grease can push any left-over solvent out.



So I put it all back together, switching idlers 1 & 2. It's much quieter now, with the only noise coming from futher away from the alternator. I'm still going to replace them soon, but now I have a little more peace of mind till then. It took longer to prepare this post than to do the job.

[ferguson]

One more follow-up:

Toyota just called back and agreed to a one-time-only replacement of my pulley assembly, YAY! That seems fair to me.

-John.

[PaulThePhotographer]

Nice write up on the self repair!

Was that Wesley Chapel that called you?

[AF Chief]

good deal, and nice write up

[ferguson]

PaulThePhotographer previously said:

Was that Wesley Chapel that called you?

Yes, Lucy Zullo at Wesley chapel contacted me, and told me to call Joe Schlueter, the service director at T.O.T.B. to schedule a new appointment. He was very accomidating.

-John

[ferguson]

Follow-up from T.O.T.B. service today...

Today they reimbursd me $1100 for all prepaid parts thay wanted me to buy on my inital visit. Thank goodness. Incidently, I found both an alternator and starter for over $100 less at partznet.com, not that I need them.

Under warranty, they replaced my whole tensioner pulley assembly. This included the tension arm and one of the wheels. The procedure is considered a 13 hour job in their books, since several components have to be removed to reach the tension arm. It took them 4 hours. I guess the dealership bills Toyota for all that labor. However, the tensioner kit did not include the two #2 idler wheels (#16604-0p010) that come off easily, the primary source of my squeaks. I thought they told me the assembly kit contained all four wheels the other day.

I'm not about to go back and ask for a claim on those two idlers, I'm done with that place. Their shop's retail price was $52 a piece. I ordered them for $9 less at Partznet.com today, using the dealship's own wifi. I'll pop them in when they come, and keep the old ones plus a belt in a spare parts kit.

The only thing I paid T.O.T.B. for today was an "engine detail wash" for $40, and wow it's sparkling clean under the hood now. I think I'll keep it that way, at least for a few weeks.

Off-topic, NTORA.com just listed me under "truck of the month". I was a bit surprised, since I'm mostly stock and others have some tricked-out rides. I guess it was for participation. There's some fun pics on their site.

-John.