Karl,

As mentioned in my posting, I have the correct starter. With regards to the
starter bolt, I wrote: "The fellow who worked on the starter last time,
substituted a hex head for the upper bolt." I do not have a Wassserboxer in
this Doublecab but rather an inline-4 put together by David Marshall
(FastForward) which I bought used from Seth Hatfield (Mastercraft
Motors). Have no idea who replaced the upper starter bolt with a hex head
instead of the Allen. Lastly, I did not get any instructions or "tip sheet"
with the adaptor. I bought this from you on 7/15/09. On 4/30/11, you said
you would send me the tip sheet which you now include with all shipments.
Your email came through indicating there were attachments but they were not
included. I was looking at cutting the thick terminal end and trimming each
side as Brent had pointed out in his webpage.

Regards,

BenT

On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 9:23 AM, Karl Mullendore
<tdiguru@westyventures.com>wrote:

> Ben, using the wrong starter would definitely be a problem! :-)
> The original waterboxer upper starter/tranny bolt will fit into a recess of
> the adaptor, no clearance issue or special bolt needed.
>
> If you still have the tip sheet sent with the adaptor, it should clearly
> state that the wire end may need replacement. Quality crimp terminal will
> function just fine. Why VW used such a thick terminal end on the Vanagon
> charge wire is baffling. I usually swap in a 6-gauge replacement cable
> anyway, as the stock cable is too small for the additional alternator
> power-draw that most of us add.
>
> Karl
> www.westyventures.com
>
> On Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:29:47 -0700, BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
>
> >The incorrect starter identified above are for a 2004-later manual trans
> TDI. The correct one is from a 1996-2003 manual trans TDI.
> >
> >There is a slight difference in length. But the problem is the bolt
> patterns are not the same. As luck would have it, the  letter 'M' was badly
> scratched up on the starter I got. I am not sure about the significance of
> the 'R'. Without that 'M' and a vendor swearing it was for an '03 TDI, I
> spun my wheels trying to figure out why it would not fit. It's clear now.
> >
> >So we start bolting everything up today. Then [B00M!] another snag. The
> fellow who worked on the starter last time, substituted a hex head for the
> upper bolt. The head would not clear. Now I have to hunt down a hex head
> bolt longer than a cigar -- on Sunday!
> >
> >Also noted that the connector on the main harness on the Vanagon is
> designed for a very long stud on the original Vanagon starter. Guess this
> means some cutting and crimping will be in order. I dread replacing it with
> a less sturdy terminal end but cannot see any way to connect to the shorter
> TDI terminal stud.
> >
> >Foiled again. Getting back to this tomorrow or the next.:-(
>

--
BenT