TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:01 am

Hey there,

My 66 Type 3 squareback has been off the road for a few years, but I have slowly been dicking around with it the past few weeks to get it back on the road this spring.

I replaced the starter with a rebuilt one, because the old one looked to be original and no longer functioned. The car is still 6v. I went to replace the starter bushing, but found that my transmission does not accept bushings.....the hole for the shaft on the starter is machined to a size not to accept a bushing. This is really going to be a problem, since it appears that the hole is also screwed up. The I.D seems fine, but there is some sharp/raised material on the edge, facing the starter. I installed the new starter 4 times now, sometimes it will crank, but when it does, it is SUPER slow and sounds like its binding. Sometimes i just get a solenoid "click." I can turn the engine over by hand with the generator belt with very little effort, so I know the bearings are fine. Also, all wiring seems fine as well.

My battery is litterally 2 days old, so that is not a problem. It tested out fine. Is it possible that the hole where the starter shaft seats is binding up everything? What would you suggest doing, reaming out the hole if possible?

Thanks!

-Austin

here is a picture of her from about 4 years ago now....I miss driving it :(

Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:13 pm

Sounds like someone has been running the starter in the trans case without a bushing, or the trans is a 12V with one of the special bushings that shows up now and then. They are a very thin bushing.
You may have to pull your engine to get this all straightened out.

Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:36 pm

damn, that is horrible news. I would like to take a picture of it to give everyone a better idea of what i'm working with, but its very hard to get a look in there, let alone a camera.

anything else I can look at to tell if this tranny is a 12v? casting numbers?

I would have assumed it was original since the car only has about 60,000 miles on it, but who knows!

Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:09 pm

There is a transmission serial number on the right side.
This one is a 12V T-3 trans.

Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:53 pm

thanks, i'll take a look next time i'm under there. I found an extra 12v starter and bushing laying around, it has one of those thinner bushings that I think you were talking about.

It does make sense when I compare them, it seems like if someone swapped in a 12v trans and used a 6v starter, the hole is very close to the 6v shaft size so they went without the bushing.

What would be the best plan of attack in this case? I'll pull the motor out tomrrow maybe, if not tomorrow then the only time i have is friday. Is there a good method of drilling the case out to accept the 6v bushing while keeping it pretty centered?

Sun Mar 14, 2010 2:40 pm

If your car was 12V, I would say to just go with an automatic starter. It does not use that bushing.
My guess at this point, would be to get the engine out, where you an really see what you have, and then do a plan of attack from there.

Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:07 pm

Yeah it is still 6v and I don't really want to convert it at this point. I guess i'll just yank the motor and have a look. regardless of what starter I end up using, that hole will need to be worked anyway.