I have a 1982 Vanagon with automatic transmission.  I drove it into work last week and everything seemed fine.  I went to start it and the starter would spin, but the motor would not turn.  I thought that the bendix was not extending, so I tried to hit the solenoid with a hammer to get it to work.  No luck.

I just put a rebuild starter into the van, and have the same problem.  You can hear the starter motor turn, but the engine does not turn.

Questions:
How does the torque converter attache to the motor, could this have broke loose?  (I would imagine if this happened I would not have been able to drive it to work.)

Could Low transmission fluid cause this problem?  (I have not checked this yet)

What else could cause this type of problem?

Thanks,

Tony
Observations:
When I installed the starter, I did check to make sure that none of the teeth on the ring gear were missing.  Everything looked fine.