Date: Wed, 20 Sep 95 10:06:55 +0200
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: darie@hasler.ascom.ch (Darie Duclos)
Subject: starter changed - thanks for help
Hello,
thanks to all who responded so quickly to my cry for
help. I found a "scrapyard" that had the correct starter for
about $60. I think that's good compared to the PartsPlace catalog
I received.
By the way, you ought to see scrapyards in Switzerland!
Walked into a *large* basement warehouse where hundreds of engines
and other motor parts were hanging from metal structures that ran the
whole length and width of the place (maybe 50m x 100m). They
were classified by type of car part, then by origin of manufacturer
(Germany, Japan, US), then by manufacturer, then by model, etc..
I asked for the starter I needed (apparently the WasserBoxer
is a Type 2 engine, they'd never heard of a type 3). The guy
walked off and came back 15 seconds later with a starter. From
it hung a tag describing the model of the vehicle it had come
from, its serial number, year and *colour*!! The mechanic stuck
the part in a vice and sent power through it faster than I could
notice how he did it, showing me that the starter was spinning.
Basically, I was out of there with a starter in 5 minutes flat. Gotta
say, I was impressed.
I was doubly thrilled when I found out that a pair of
hydraulic "hatch-holders" from an earlier model of VW bus fit onto
and held up my rear door just fine, despite the fact that the
inner and outer parts were reversed. I felt a lot better with the
new hydraulic things installed than standing under a door held up
by a vice-grip, threatening to break my legs if the vice-grip slipped.
The starter was pretty easy to change, except for an allan-key
hole that was filled with rust. I'm happy to say that my first repair
on the van was successful and Brian is happy that he no longer has
to push so we can go anywhere. Thanks again to:
Joel Walker
Tim Smith
brad
brian verbeek
Jack Reed
Martha
Jim Davis
J. A. McEachern
Darie
Westfalia '86
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