How do I replace the starter on a 1974 Volkswagen van?

Answer 1

Acquire starter

disconnect battery

crawl underneath and locate starter, it's on the passenger side of the engine near the transmission.

Remove and mark wires

remove starter,

Replace starter by reversing procedure. If it will still not turn over Google a starter relay kit for VWs , install kit to fix problem.

The first thing you need to do, before you go through all that, is to figure out if you really NEED a starter. To do so you'll need a set of jumper cables, a foot of wire with push-ons crimped onto both ends of it and a set of wheelchocks.

Start by putting the car in neutral and chocking the wheels so you don't get run over. Next, remove the center wire from the distributor so the car won't start.

Look at the starter. You'll see where the wires go into it. There are two--a fat one that bolts on (the battery is at the other end of this wire) and a thin one with a push-on on it (the ignition switch is at the other end of this one). Unhook the ignition switch wire and replace it with the foot of wire. Hook a jumper cable between the positive pole on your battery and the bolted-on wire--make sure to not let the clamp touch anything else under there because that would cause unbelievable problems. Then touch the free end of the foot of wire to the side of the jumper clamp. If the starter cranks the engine, it's good.

You next need to narrow down which of the two wires is your problem. You do this by unhooking the jumper cable and touching the free end of the wire going to the bendix prong to the bolt you took the jumper cable clamp off. If the engine cranks, it's the bendix wire. It usually IS the bendix wire, because it has to run all the way from the back of the car to the front, then back to the back, and your car is wired with 34-year-old wire. Wire goes bad, especially when it's in a high-heat condition like...oh, right next to the transmission.

You can fix the wire the right way or the easy way, and both work. The right way is to buy 50 feet of wire and pull two new wires to the front of the car. (This is a heck of a lot easier than it is on a Bug.) The easy way is to stick a foglight relay in there.