Thanks for the tips as always, Scott!

Given that this is an auto trans Vanagon and that I use it primarily for
camping, bringing along a spare starter (and ignition switch) only makes
sense. Glad to hear swapping one out ain't very difficult.

Someone else suggested that I just do it here once on my driveway to see
how it goes. Great idea!

Differential oil. Tranaxle was rebuilt by German Transaxle last fall, no
sign of leakage.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
Bend, Ore.
1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company in
San Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.

Sent from my kitchen.

On 08/30/2011 08:50 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
> I know ..I saw that later..
> that it followed right after 'alternator' .
> just giving you a hard time a little.
> no harm intended.
>
> re
> "saw a lot of brown, gray, and dark black heavy metal things" ....lol !
> yes...there are such things under there.
> Speaking of..........I'm sure you or someone has checked your
> differential oil ..?
>
> No the starter is not that difficult to get out at all.
> Don't remember off the top of my head if it requires an 8mm allen wrench
> like the manual trans one does ..
> and ...you can see it pretty well looking from inside the engine
> compartment through the space between bell housing area and fire wall.
>
> put it this way ..
> as starter R & R's go in the automotive world..
> it's about and nice and sweet as it gets, swapping out the starter on
> your van.
> There is no ...............#@**% about it ..
> it's essentially the main batt cable, the trigger wire to pull off,
> and two mounting bolts.
> doesn't get much nicer than that..
>
> btw...always keep in mind the starter trigger signal goes throgh the
> switch in the shift console ..
> those fail to conduct starter trigger signal solidly sometimes.
> In a camp emergency ..you can just take the two wires that go through
> the contacts and connect them..bypassing the swithc.
> of course it'll start in gear...
> don't tell anyone ..I actually like tha sometimes, like on purpose.
> not for 'your regular consumer monkey' though.
>
> what fun !
> a starter is a bit heavier than an alternator, and not quite as large in
> diameter..
> but it is longer.
> scott
> turbovans.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rocket J Squirrel"
> <camping.elliott@gmail.com>
> To: "Scott Daniel - Turbovans" <scottdaniel@turbovans.com>
> Cc: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 5:41 PM
> Subject: Re: Minimum spares kit. Was: Alternator Brushes Wore Out Pretty
> Darn Quick
>
>
>>
>> On 08/30/2011 03:07 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
>>> "how much heavier is a starter ? ...
>>> like how much heavier than what.. ...say a spark plug ?
>>> Quite a bit heavier than a spark plug.
>>>
>>> just teasing you.
>>> I am very litteral. A bit asburgery.
>>
>> All right, Asperger Boy, context, context!
>>
>> I wrote,
>>
>> "Just got a spare alternator to pack. How much heavier is a starter?"
>>
>> Parse that sucker. It's an open book test.
>>
>>> Starter isn't that hard to change on an auto trans vanagon.
>>> I also get the impression..
>>> and pretty sure this is accurate..
>>> you almost never get under your van ..
>>> or almost never have it off the ground...
>>> given you don't have a safe spot to do that.
>>
>> It's true, but I do have ramps and was under the van this morning
>> hooking up a temp sensor to read the ATF temp on one of the hoses that
>> feed the external GoWesty ATF cooler thingy. Looked around a bit, saw
>> a lot of brown, gray, and dark black heavy metal things. Some of which
>> I recognized, some of which are just mysterious part of suspension and
>> other subassemblies.
>>
>> So here I am with an auto trans Vanagon and if the starter ever craps
>> out the van is welded to the ground for eternity. My question is: If
>> one is broken down in camp, is R&R'ing the starter difficult?
>>
>> Scott says, "Starter isn't that hard to change on an auto trans
>> vanagon." But Scott takes vehicles apart for a living, and I am pretty
>> proud to have done a voltage regulator/brush pack swap in the field a
>> couple weeks ago (Mrs Squirrel is still bragging to her friends how
>> smart I am), so I suspect there is a difference in skill level here .
>> . . so is it /really/ not particularly hard to do?
>>
>> And does anyone know offhand what tools are needed to make a field swap?
>>
>>
>> -- RJS
>