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1970 Bus Starter Replacement
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HarryFD
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Joined: February 24, 2012
Posts: 746
Location: Portland, OR
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 10:37 pm    Post subject: 1970 Bus Starter Replacement Reply with quote

This weekend, I was on the road and went to start my 1970 Bus. The oil and generator light dimmed but the starter did not kick over. I took percussive action (hit the side of the starter with a big wrench several times) and it started.

I figured my starter was on the way out. Spoke with my VW guy and he told me to avoid the new Bosch units as he sees too many infant mortalities. His rebuilder is backed up and he did not have any replacements on the shelf.

I did a search here and found that some seem to like the rebuilt units you get from Autozone.

I went to the one near me and picked one up.

This evening, I installed the starter. Took me about 2 hours start to finish. Not hard, but getting the old bushing out of the transmission housing is where much of my time went.

After I disconnected the battery and electrical leads from the starter, I started to remove the starter.

Removal of the top bolt was not hard but since I could not see it I had to work totally by feel.

After removing the lower nut, I removed the old starter. Next, I needed to replace the bushing.

I noted that many suggested you use a 7/16" tap to grab the bushing and pull it out. My bushing was so worn, I needed to use a 1/2" one. I used a socket and ratchet with a long extension to insert the tap. I used vise grips to wiggle it out.

Unfortunately it came out in pieces, and I needed to repeat the tap, wiggle, pull cycle several times before I got all of the bushing out:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Once I got the old one out, I took the new one and used my Dremel to taper the leading end to ease insertion. I used a short wood dowel and a hammer to drive it in.

To reinstall the starter, I saw that the installation of the D bolt could be difficult as a one-person job since you need to hold the bolt in place while you tightened the nut. One post noted that you can use a bit of plumbers putty to hold the bolt while you threaded to nut on. I did this. I was able to get it started and pulled it gently to snug up the nut by hand. I then installed the lower nut and tightened everything up. Reconnected the electrical and battery.

Once installed, bus started right up and hopefully no more starter drama for a while.
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1970 Deluxe Sunroof Bay Brilliant Blue/Cloud White
1973.5 911 Targa
2009 MB C300
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Wildthings
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Joined: March 13, 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 12:25 am    Post subject: Re: 1970 Bus Starter Replacement Reply with quote

Next time buy an automatic starter. It doesn't require a separate bushing and puts out more ooph.
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HarryFD
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Joined: February 24, 2012
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Location: Portland, OR
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 5:40 pm    Post subject: Re: 1970 Bus Starter Replacement AGAIN! Reply with quote

My bus was experiencing an intermittent starting problem. I would click but no crank and then, later, it would decide to work again.

Today I took my starter to AutoZone for a warranty replacement. Since I decided to reuse the old bushing, the R&R was pretty straightforward and without incident until I went to start the Bus. I turned the key and No Bueno (nothing happened). I took the unit out and placed it on my bench. I used my jump pack to test the starter and discovered I had placed the solenoid signal lead on the wrong terminal. I reinstalled and Voila! a nice start.

Time will tell if this solved my issue.
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1970 Deluxe Sunroof Bay Brilliant Blue/Cloud White
1973.5 911 Targa
2009 MB C300
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Wildthings
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Joined: March 13, 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:21 pm    Post subject: Re: 1970 Bus Starter Replacement AGAIN! Reply with quote

HarryFD wrote:
My bus was experiencing an intermittent starting problem. I would click but no crank and then, later, it would decide to work again.

Today I took my starter to AutoZone for a warranty replacement. Since I decided to reuse the old bushing, the R&R was pretty straightforward and without incident until I went to start the Bus. I turned the key and No Bueno (nothing happened). I took the unit out and placed it on my bench. I used my jump pack to test the starter and discovered I had placed the solenoid signal lead on the wrong terminal. I reinstalled and Voila! a nice start.

Time will tell if this solved my issue.


You shouldn't be testing the manual starters on a bench unless you have the proper fixture to do so. Without a bushing supporting the end of the shaft the starter can be damaged.
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HarryFD
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Joined: February 24, 2012
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Location: Portland, OR
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2022 9:57 pm    Post subject: Re: 1970 Bus Starter Replacement AGAIN! Reply with quote

Wildthings wrote:
HarryFD wrote:
My bus was experiencing an intermittent starting problem. I would click but no crank and then, later, it would decide to work again.

Today I took my starter to AutoZone for a warranty replacement. Since I decided to reuse the old bushing, the R&R was pretty straightforward and without incident until I went to start the Bus. I turned the key and No Bueno (nothing happened). I took the unit out and placed it on my bench. I used my jump pack to test the starter and discovered I had placed the solenoid signal lead on the wrong terminal. I reinstalled and Voila! a nice start.

Time will tell if this solved my issue.


You shouldn't be testing the manual starters on a bench unless you have the proper fixture to do so. Without a bushing supporting the end of the shaft the starter can be damaged.


I figured one pop of the solenoid to verify connection would be safe but I hear you.
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1970 Deluxe Sunroof Bay Brilliant Blue/Cloud White
1973.5 911 Targa
2009 MB C300
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