How do you change the starter on a 1974 Super Beetle?

Answer 1

With jackstands and wrenches.

1. Unhook the battery.

2. Open the hood, reach behind the engine on the right-hand side and find the 17mm nut. Remove this. That holds the top bolt in place.

3. Crawl under and remove the bendix wire, the starter wire, and the bottom bolt.

4. Use both hands to pull the starter back, then out of the car.

5. Installation is the reverse of removal.

A word of caution - please!

1. I removed my starter exactly as answered. My replacement starter came with a small brass bushing attached and instructions that stated "I must relplace the old bushing with this new one"

2. Upon more research I found some "yes you have to's" and some "not always"

3. I decided upon prudence and removed the old bushing. This is done by getting a tap of the right size (forgot size at the moment) and tapping out the hole, which makes the old bushing ride up the tap.

4. I was proud since I was almost done, I thought.

5. Instructions indicated that the new bushing needs to be tapped into the now empty hole. Tap-tap-tap...it would not go in now matter how I tried. Compared sizes and discover the old and new bushings were identical.

6. Tip number 1: if the old bushing is identical in size and it's in good shape, don't try to replace it.

7. I continued to fiddle with the bushing when it slipped out my slightly greasy hands and fell. Where did it fall? Well, there is an opening in the flywheel bell housing directly beneath the bushing hole. This opening is very small and the bell housing is very deep and dark and greasy.

8. My heart sank. I tried everything to retrieve the new bushing -- no success. Being brass, no magnet I had would server as bait, and gum and other sticky globs failed to find and grab the missing bushing.

9. I was afraid to just leave it in there so I called around and my best and favorite mechanic finally gave me the bad news. "Gotta drop the engine so we can take the housing apart to remove the bushing."

10. So there. I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. In hindsight, it would have been trivial to cover the offending opening before beginning the bushing operation. That's what I'll do if I ever have to replace a starter again.