My Toro failed to start with a no crank problem. There was no click from the starter either.

The symptom was very clear, everything seemed to work OK (good battery etc. etc.) but on turning the ignition key to crank I was greeted with silence. After a wait (5 mins was worst), the car started. When first developing it seemed that the car did not start to crank as soon as the key was in the crank position, I though at first I had not turned the key far enough, but as the weeks went by it started to take longer and longer until it didn't start at all. Always this happened when the car had been run recently. (And in those embarrassing places where you only stop for a minute...!)

A key diagnosis of the symptom was that the Instrument Panel Gages all dropped to zero during the no crank problem (as is normal when cranking). The signal that causes the gages to switch off comes from the starter, i.e. the signal _must_ have made it through the various relays and switches necessary. The car must be in park/neutral or you wouldn't get that far.

If the gages fail to drop to zero, the fault is elsewhere in the crank circuit, almost certainly it is not the starter. Are you in park/neutral?. If yes then it is one of three things, the starter switch, the anti-theft relay or the transmission park/neutral switch. Of course it could be other things, like the battery is dead etc. etc. but I am assuming you have already discounted those.

The fault is solved with a new starter.

The problem was that the engagement mechanism had too much wear. Including the wear in the bendix (helix) and the yoke, the solonoid was simply unable to get the mechanism working. Changing the solonoid did not solve the problem (as it wasn't really a solonoid defect, it was a wear problem). Truely the only solution was a new (refurbished) starter.

Replacing the starter is easy. I did not disconnect the battery either, though I was very, very careful. You need to remove the trim cover under the front of the car (3x10mm bolts). Then remove the smaller plastic cover. The rear one can stay in place. (More 10mm bolts, 2 or 3, I don't recall). Unclip the oil level sensor lead to keep it from damage. Undo the 2 bolts that hold the starter to the car. Very carefully ease the starter out of the mounting and drop it nose down onto a pile of wooden blocks about 6-8 inches high (I had the car raised too). The starter is now hanging vertically down. Don't let the battery lead touch anything! (Nor the wrench used to undo the nut!) You can now undo the control wire and then the main current wire. I had the new starter right next to me and attached the main battery wire stright onto the new starter to stop it from touching anything. Reconnect the control wire and very, very carefully lift the starter back into position. What ever you don't let the battery wire touch anything!

Put the two bolts back and torque them up (32 lb ft - 43 Nm). Put the oil level connector back on and replace the two covers.

I didn't disconnect the battery cos I didn't want to lose the settings yet again. If you have any doubt about doing this live don't. Disconnect the battery ground at the battery. I think I put some plastic insulating tape on the metalwork where that big fat lead could touch and on the nut too.