I bought a remfg denso starter for my 2000 toyota tacoma prerunner 3.4L V6. I spent hours without success trying to get the old starter out. Brought it to a shop and had the new one installed. When I do a cold start, there is a screech at the end when the engine catches that sounds exactly like starting a car that is already running. This happens on cold starts only. Warm starts work fine. Due to the fact that I bought this part separate, having to pay to have a new one installed again is annoying to say the least. I spent another 4 hours today trying to get it out without success. See YouTube link for video of the noise. It’s actually the quietest one yet. Any tips/tricks/advice? Thanks.
You might just try pulling it out and reseating it again. I had one that sounded really bad, pulled it, and thought I should get a video, reinstalled the motor and life was good. You might check if shims are needed.
This seems to be a defective replacement starter. Rebuilt products are certainly not very good these days. We try to get all new starters especially when the installation is difficult.
I assume that you’re looking for tips/tricks/advice in removal and replacement of the starter. This might come in handy:
I recall that screech from General Motors starters when they were installed with the shims putting too much pressure on the bendix/flywheel mesh. If the starter is mounted squarely and flush I would also condemn the starter. Some rebuilders use the “gudenuff” method and the customer does the testing.
The shop should warranty its work. Take it back and let them reinstall/reshim the starter. Let them fix it.
The OP bought the starter and paid to have it installed, @tsm. He will need to pay to have that starter removed and replaced.
I was thinking that the installation (ie shimming) might be the problem, but you made a good point. If the reman starter is bad, he’ll just have to eat another installation cost.
Do most starters have to be shimmed? When I replaced the starter in my car, there were no shims under the old one, and thankfully it has been working fine so far without having done so with the new one.
I finally got it off. I thought I was going to kill myself or break my truck, probably both.
I put in a remfg starter I picked up from autozone and first start-up sounded fine, but I’m not sure if it the engine was totally cold yet. the first replacement worked fine when warm. we will see. thanks for the replies.
I don’t know if “most” is accurate, but shimming is common. It allows the starter motor gear to properly engage and disengage with the ring gear.
I’ve done quite a few starters over the years, and I’ve never had to shim one. However, every time I have done this, I’ve been thankful - because I know that sometimes they need to be shimmed and I’d rather not have to mess with it. Bolt it on and go is always my preference!
The design of GM starters allows for shimming to adjust the bendix to flywheel mesh. No other manufacturer uses a design quite so forgiving of nominal deviations of specifications but I have used after market shims available for Ford and Jeep starter mounting to correct out of square conditions.
The old air cooled Volkswagons used a starter armature bushing machined into the block that worked well.
The audio of the OP’s starter was very much similar to the noise that a bendix makes when it is hanging in the flywheel due to the mesh being much too tight.
ok I tried it again after letting it sit all afternoon. it still makes the sound, though not quite as bad 
the only other thing I’ve done is replace the starter relay in the fuse box under the hood. I used one I found at autozone called Conduct Tite 4-Pin 30 Amp 12V relay.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Novita-4-pin-40-Amps-12-Volts-accessory-relay//N-2659?itemIdentifier=203873_0_0
Upon further review, it appears that even if this relay is not the problem, it’s definitely not the correct one for a starter application. will get it replaced asap.