How tough is it to install a new starter on a '89 Vanagon?

[jcwhiley]

Just wondering how diffcult of a job this is? Seems pretty straightforward but would like some guidance - am not inept but tend to be a chackbook mechanic due to time restraints....

Thanks

[Fulcrum]

I just replaced the starter on my '87 Vanagon, but that is an automatic transmision. If yours is manual, it may be different, or just the year difference might matter. But just in case its similar...

There were two attachment points. A short screw was relatively easy to get out with a socket or spanner. This was acessed from under the van. The second, however, was a long bolt with an allen head that went through the starter and a five inch (12cm) hole in the bell casing of the trans. The hexagonal nut for this could be accessed from up top, but I had to remove the air cleaner box and some other ir intake stuff to get at the nut with a torque wrench. I needed the extra leverage of that long handle. Furthermore, I had to steady the allen end of the bolt with a wrench that convieniently wedged against the bell casing. Had that not been possible, I might not have been able to remove that bolt. The wiring attachments are easily removed, just be sure you make a note of which wires go where.

I hope thatt helps. I don't know how different the mounting of a manual trans starter is. I'm really a newbie myself.

Good luck.