I'd say the fundamental issue is poor system of attachment
trans-to-adapter-to-engine in the case of tiico.

it's considerably weaker than VW's diesel vanagon design for essentially
the same thing ..inline four in a vanagon..
maybe only half as strong.
There has never been a diesel VW engine ..even 1.9 TD's and TDI's bolted
to a diesel vanagon bell housing in a syncro that broke any bolts or the
bell housing, unless someone put it together sloppily. VW's design is
rock solid that way.  That I have heard of.

tdi in a syncro with an apdapter to stock wbxr bell housing in a syncro
...yup, those crack bell housings sometimes.
those bolts should be checked like 3 times a year in any synco with an
adapter system.
Not at all like you can assemble it carefully and not think about it for
10 years like you can a stock factory arrangement.

and sure ..
banging around on bumps and all that.

any adapter system is not as solid as a pure engine to bellhousing
design, ever.

Large Subaru SVX engines in Syncro's were ripping their adapter studs
out easily ..
even in 3,000 miles in a syncro about 7 yrs ago or so.

there are a lot of forces going on ..
movement over bumps,.....the twisting torque of engine to trans through
adapter..
the mass of the engine itself hanging on the studs .
the too-agressive or inept driver factor, etc.

Scott

On 12/7/2013 1:03 PM, Derek Drew wrote:
> This is a very good guess for what happened to me..... that the
> starter hit the gas tank..... I did not think of that.
>
> The only thing in my case is I think it would have happened driving
> in Vermont in very rough country with not adequate skid plate
> protection on this trip:
>
> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4OPDsQ6cAI>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4OPDsQ6cAI
>
>
>
> Now that I think of it, I would not be surprised if one of the bumps
> we had on the ground smashed the starter into the gas tank, as you say.
>
> At 02:32 PM 12/7/2013, you wrote:
>> So is the crack caused by the starter bumping up against the fuel tank
>> while cranking engine?  (movement in drivetrain?) Or is a higher
>> compression engine causing the starter to torque (my term, kinda
>> fishing here)  up against the housing thus causing the crack over
>> time?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Neil.
>>
>> On 12/7/13, Robert Stevens <mtbiker62@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > On Dec 7, 2013, at 11:32 AM, Derek Drew <derekdrew@DEREKMAIL.COM>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Eventually it took on a dead or dying battery symptom because
>> > the housing was so broken the starter was binding way off 90 degrees
>> > and the engine wouldn't start at all.
>> >
>> > A shop I took it to just replaced the battery, not noticing that
>> made no
>> > difference
>> > at all. Of course, never have returned to that shop. Had the van
>> towed to
>> > another
>> > shop that diagnosed the cracked bellhousing immediately and have
>> used them
>> > periodically since.....and got rid of the TIICO in '05.
>> >
>> > Bob
>>
>>
>> --
>> Neil n
>>
>> Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca
>>
>> '88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p
>>
>> '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"  http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>>
>> Vanagon VAG *Gas* inline-VR Engine Swap Group:
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/d7gd5ej
>
> _______________________________________________
> Derek Drew
> Washington DC / New York
> derekdrew@derekmail.com
> Email is best normally but...
> PHONE: 202-966-7907 (Call the number at left normally)
> (alt/cell for diligent calling only): 703-408-1532
>