[Matt_tobey]

My FJ is a 2007 6mt. I recently got it a couple of weeks ago and have since gone through doing some maintenance and modifications etc. A few days ago I took it out on the trails, pushed it pretty tough for what I assume was it’s first real outing off of pavement. The previous owner has had it since ‘07 and never really took it on any trails. Anyways, I did some rock crawling, mud holes, river crossings etc and the rig handled it like a champ throughout the day. The following day I cleaned it up to make sure everything was still in working order and now I’m getting a strange issue when starting and a whining sound when driving. When I start it and turn the key, all the lights come on but it take almost 3 seconds before it will even crank but then it will start up seemingly normal with no struggles. When I first did this I thought the battery was dead because of how long it took to crank. After it starts up, there’s now a very noticeable whining sound at idle that gets louder and louder under acceleration.
From what I’ve gathered I believe it might be the alternator, but I’ve heard people suggest a few other things like the idler pulley etc so I thought I’d get some second opinions by coming here.

 

[Matt_tobey]

Here’s an update. Thanks for the information @FJtest it was in fact the starter that was the issue. My vehicle was running the original starter from ‘07 so I figured it was time for a new one. The starter install wasn’t really difficult at all and I managed it in my driveway with minimal tools. As for the whining sound, I ended up just going ahead and replaced the alternator as well as the pulleys and serpentine belt. That install was also easy, and the sound has since stopped.