Mine's an original with 240k miles on it. I had it apart once to clean/grease the solenoid. I put between 15-20k per year on Goldibox since I have had her.

Good luck,

Tj

"Greenamyer, William L" <william.l.greenamyer@BOEING.COM> wrote:
How long should a starter last before it starts freezing up when hot? Is there a way to protect against this (heat shield)? Seems I only get about 2-3 years out of a starter. Then again, I put about 60-80K on the van in that time too.

William

TJ Hannink
Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
1981 Bluebird Wanderlodge, FC-33
Winter Park, Florida
http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanderlodge
FAVOR website:  http://home.earthlink.net/~clubvanagon

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