Dismantleing a VW Starter motor

23rd Feb 2012

My starter motor had been sourced from Volkszone and seemed to be taking some considerable time to reach me due in some part to the snow and late posting.

I decided that I would remove the old starter and see if the damage was repairable . The starter motor is fastened by only two bolts top and bottom the top goes right through the engine casing whist the bottom is a short stud. It is very important not to loose the top bolt as it has an unusual D shape end.


The starter motor can be took part very easily. The end cover is secured by two small screws . This covers the main shaft which is held in place by a U shape washer and several shims. The Shims are very important as they set the amount of float on the starter motor. Once these have been removed the two larger bolts can be removed allowing the outer casing to be withdrawn from the main shaft. The four carbon brushes could then be inspected in the starter motor cover. Mine was in very good shape and I knew this could not be the problem . I turned my attention to the main shaft and the copper windings and the contact areas on the commutator . It is noticeable on my copper windings that one of the copper windings is broken and does not make contact with the starter motor. I had found the reason for the motor failure. Several days past before my replacement starter motor eventually turned up . The package was split open and the delivery agent for Parcel Force stated it was not suitably wrapped. However the item had not suffered any damage and power up from a battery and starter cables quite successfully.


The starter motor was painted but appeared to be rusting underneath the paint. I decided to clean the starter motor down with and electric Wire brush. The paint and rust stripped back quite easily leaving a smooth bare metal appearance . I painted the Starter motor and refitted my old solenoid to the side as I knew my solenoid was newer. I tested the starter motor again and it all functioned correctly.

My starter motor windings had failed and I knew I should replace the starter bush before replacing the starter on the car.