How do you change the starter in a 1999 VW Cabrio?

Answer 1

I replaced the starter in our '99 Cabrio yesterday. Getting the starter off was fairly simple. It took me about 3.5 hours to complete the job, which is about 2.5 hours longer than I expected. The reason was that I had a hard time aligning the brackets up to the mounting bolts when I installed the new starter. I'll explain more below.

Manuals say that you should disconnect the negative terminal from the battery before you start.

There are three bolts that hold the starter to the engine and 2 electrical connections. The electrical connections need to be removed first and can be accessed from the top.

The first electrical connector to remove is the black connector. It has a spring clip that needs to be taken off before you can remove it. Once you do, it will slide off easily. I suggest you reattach the spring clip after you remove the connector so it will be ready to reinstall later. The second are two cables are held by a nut (one of thee is from the battery).

Then you can remove the three bolts that hold the starter to the engine. One bolt on the top and one on the bottom have secondary nuts that hold brackets for other components that will need to be removed first. Two of the bolts that hold the starter are very long (about 6") and are connected to brackets on the back side. (Note: for some reason I had a hard time getting these brackets to line up after I put in the new starter.) When the three bolts have been removed, the starter can be pulled out.

Put the starter in place and reinstall the three mounting bolts. Make sure the threads on each are all started but do not tighten at this time. (Note: This is where I had a hard time. For some reason the brackets shifted and would not align. I had to put a jack under the engine and lift it slightly to get the brackets to line up.) Once all three bolts are started you can tighten then evenly until the starter is tight to the block (no gaps). Then the brackets can be remounted to the top and one of the bottom bolts.

Lastly, you can reconnect the electrical. The two cables needs to be reattached first. Then the black connector. When these are complete, reconnect the battery.

Note: the VW dealer price for a replacement starter was $260. I bought a rebuilt one from Advanced Auto parts for $120 that came with a lifetime warranty. There is a core charge that is reimbursed when you return your defective starter.