I live in Houlton, Maine where winter temperatures are frequently -20�
Fahrenheit with wind chills of -50� or colder.  Neither my '84 automatic
nor my '85 4 speed have ever failed to start in the winter.  Both have
Bosch starters.

The starter in the '84 is the same one that was in it when I got it in
'91, and is probably the original.  But to be fair, I've only lived in
Maine for 6 years.  Before that I was in Hawaii.  The starter in the '85
was in it when I got it, 3 years ago, and, if one can go by appearances,
it could be original to the van.

Mike

The Bus Depot wrote:
>>This is a great bit of information here but you are missing
>>two important benefits of the IMI unit. First, this is a
>>fully self supported starter eliminating the need for the
>>bushing in the transmission. Two, it draws considerably less
>>current, (~1/2) of the standard starter allowing for improved
>>cold weather starts. The solenoid is more reliable than the
>>Bosch units also.
>
>
>
> Point well taken, of course.  Although in my experience, the Bosch design
> works sufficiently even in cold weather. My Vanagons have always started
> reliably down to the single digits, which is about as cold as it gets around
> here. (Then again, maybe those who live in sub-zero climates would report a
> different experience, a factor which I admittedly have not considered.)
>
> I can't argue with you about a gear reduction starter's thoeretical
> advantages. But I'm less convinced about cost/benefit. If a gear reduction
> starter were the same price it would be a no-brainer; there's no downside.
> But it's almost double the price. For that price difference (for those who
> consider such things), the bottom line is, does its theoretical advantage
> translate into a demonstrable "real world" benefit?  Either a starter starts
> the vehicle when you need it to, or it doesn't. If it does, then from a
> "real world" standpoint it's as good as a starter that's ten times the
> price.  If it doesn't, then it's worthless.  We sell a reasonable number of
> starters, but I wouldn't call them a high-failure item compared to many
> other Vanagon parts. As a rule, the original Bosch Vanagon starters seem to
> do their job and last relatively long. When they don't, it's often due to
> other factors (most commonly a poor quality rebuild) rather than due to the
> inherent inadequacy of the design itself. (I've spoken to people whose
> original Bosch lasted 10 years or longer, and then went through three
> discount-store generic rebuilds in quick succession. That's not a design
> flaw, it's a lousy rebuild.) For people who have had good luck with the
> Bosch design until now, I'd think that a near doubling in price would seem
> hard to justify. But for those Vanagon owners for whom the stock design has
> proved inadequate (I was thinking high-compression engines, but I suppose
> sub-zero temps could be another), it makes sense.
>
> - Ron Salmon
>   The Bus Depot, Inc.
>   www.busdepot.com
>   (215)  234-VWVW
>
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