From lynx.unm.edu!umn.edu!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!fnnews.fnal.gov!unixhub!mccmac2.slac.stanford.edu!user Sun May 8 21:56:14 PDT 1994 Article: 31805 of rec.autos.vw Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw Path: lynx.unm.edu!umn.edu!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!fnnews.fnal.gov!unixhub!mccmac2.slac.stanford.edu!user From: JAH@SLC.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (Josh Hadler) Subject: [W] Starter motor replacement A2 Message-ID: Followup-To: rec.autos.vw Sender: news@unixhub.SLAC.Stanford.EDU Organization: SLAC Date: Sun, 8 May 1994 12:49:36 GMT Lines: 119 A2 Starter Motor Replacement Well, after about four months of putting it off, I finally got around to replacing the starter motor on my '86 GTI. Although the starter is not a common unit to fail, there are a few gotchas that I felt should be mentioned. So they will be included in this post. This should hopefully find it's way to the VW archive... Jan or Blake? The whole story: a few months ago, the starter solenoid began to fail intermittently.The starter would spin, but not engage the flywheel. This was kind of annoying, requiring repeated attempts to start (two or three) before the solenoid would catch. Then recently, it started to only partially engage the starter, resulting in a harsh grinding noise from the flywheel. So I said "time to replace the starter!". The starter looks to be very accessible in the engine bay and duped me into thinking this was a simple part swap. Basically, it is simple, but has two important gotcha's. The starter bushing and the motor mount. I'm writing this, because the Bentley manual says nothing about this. And sooner or later somebody else might find this helpful Tools needed: 8 mm hex 17 mm socket 10 mm crescent floor jack & stands/ramps 12 x 8 tap (1) long 12 x 8 bolt vise grip or slip joint pliers needle nose pliers big standard screwdriver hammer or mallet small piece of wood or drift New or rebuilt starter motor ($129 from local Bosch dealer) DON'T buy it from the dealer unless you have no choice, The dealerships are usually an extra $100 a little motor oil and some shop towels Optional (helpful): Engine support frame Spare starter motor bolts (I forget the part number) liquid wrench or some other agent anti-seize compound Time: 1.5 hours if you're well prepared and take your time. Difficulty (10:clutch-change, 1:replacing headlight bulb): 4 1 Raise car. remember kids- never get under a car unless it's on jack stands or ramps, a floor jack is not safe 2 disconnect Ground wire (negative) from battery (10mm crescent) 3 disconnect wires and harness from starter motor, mark them if you' re not sure you'll remember where they go. 4 relieve weight off of the motor mount. I didn't expect this because on the A1 cars, the front motor mount bears no weight, the A2's do. Either use the engine support, or use the floor jack. The engine will sag only a few inches, so it won't squish you if the floor jack fails. 5 remove the three bolts that hold the starter on. They are all on the left side of the motor mount, and happen also to be the three bolts that connect the engine to the motor mount. There are two 8 mm hex bolts, and one 17 mm bolt. The two 8mm are above and below the starter, and the 17mm is below and forward of the starter. If these bolts are frozen, which they most likely will be, use the liquid wrench or WD40. the starter is mounted on the left side and forward of the tranny case for those who don't know. 6 remove starter 7 remove the starter bushing from the case. This is a gotcha if you' re not prepared, and could really be aggravating if you don't have the right tools. Use the 12x8 tap, and tap into the brass bushing about 4 or 5 threads deep. Note: make sure to have a small towel under the bushing to catch metal flakes from the brass. Thread in the 12x8 bolt to finger tight. Grab the bolt with vise grips, or slip-joint pliers, and pull the bolt STRAIGHT out. This SHOULD pull the bushing free. In my case, the bushing only pulled half free, then broke. I used the needle nose pliers to extract the rest of the bushing. 8 This is optional, but a good idea anyway. If the car is on jack stands, take the time examine the teeth on the flywheel. Put the car in gear, and spin the wheels while looking at the flywheel teeth, look for unusual wear, or broken teeth. If it looks o.k. good, if not, you've got a big job somewhere in the future. 9 Install the new bushing (this will come with a rebuilt bosch starter). Coat the bushing with oil first (motor oil is fine) and set in place by hand. Tap the bushing into place with the mallet and a small piece of wood as a drift. 10 Put the new starter into place and thread the bolts through. If the engine has sagged, it will look like the motor mount is crooked, it isn't. Use a jack under the tranny case (as far forward as you can) to lift the engine until the starter bolts can thread through easily. You may need to use a screwdriver as a pry bar to fine align the motor-mount/engine setup. tighten bolts and reconnect the wires to the starter. Note: it's usually a good idea to use anti- seize, to aid in the removal of these bolts at a later time. 11 reconnect the battery ground and start the car. -presto- 12 Go for a drive... Joshua Hadler Accelerator Operations Stanford Linear Accelerator Center jah@slc.slac.stanford.edu