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I fought with a starter problem on my Speedster for years. I installed probably 6 rebuilt VW starters and 3 or 4 new batteries in 3 years trying to get this thing to start consistently. I would get about 25 starts out of a rebuilt starter before it would only grind over ssllooowwwllllyyyy and then die completely. I was really pulling my hair out.
I had concluded that the rebuilds were defective so I bought a NEW Bosch VW starter. I was installing it when I noticed the solenoid was touching the body (under the rear seat) before I'd tightened the bolts all the way. I took the starter back out and looked at the car with a strong light and sure enough, there was a shiny spot worn in the steel of the body where the previous solenoid had been rubbing. All the previous starters had all been "bent" when the mounting bolts were tightened causing the bushings to bind. I compared my new Bosch VW starter with an old original Bosch Porsche starter and realized the solenoid is mounted on VWs at about the 1 o'clock position (looking at it from the engine end) and the one on the Porsche starter is mounted at about 2 o'clock. I had always thought Porsche and VW starters were identical. I took a large drift and "adjusted" the body by about 1/4 inch and haven't had a starter problem in 10 years.
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