Harold wrote: "....I attempted to start the car up again, but with the same
result. Nothing.  Lights and all accessories (like there are many on a
Vanagon) come on, but no starter action.  Cables were all clean. The starter
is only two years old.  Before I start tearing things apart, is there some
common sense idea you folks might have as to what might be wrong with my
precious jewel?"
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Hey Harold,

Sounds like a bad starter.

Do you have a test light or a voltmeter?  You will need this to diagnose.
There are two wires going to the starter, a big one and a little one.  The
big wire should have battery voltage (~12.0 volts) all the time, even with
the keys in your pocket.  The small wire should get juice only when the key
is in the spring-loaded start position (all the way clockwise).  You don't
need to disconnect the big wire for the test, just make contact with the
terminal.  I would disconnect the small wire for the test, attach your test
light or voltmeter between that wire and metal on the tranny, and have
someone turn the key all the way.  If you have juice at the small wire when
you try to crank it, you need a starter.

You said the starter was two years old.  Is it a two year old rebuilt
starter?  Is it some Pep Boys/Autozone, paint-it-black-and-put-it-back POS?
Or is it a real Bosch starter?  Personally, as you can probably guess, I
would only put a Bosch starter (or alternator, for that matter), in my Westy.
 It's a reliability/fix-it-once-correctly thing with me.

Have Fun.....
Joe in CO
84 Westy
77 Targa