A good day's work, but the starter on an OM616 is much easier to change.
Curt Raymond via Mercedes <mailto:mercedes@okiebenz.com>
June 12, 2016 at 3:52 PMvia Postbox
<https://www.postbox-inc.com/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=sumlink&utm_campaign=reach>
Back last month before I went on vacation I took my '98 Jetta TDI to
work, at lunch it wouldn't start, the solenoid would click but the
starter wouldn't spin. My class gave me a running start and I got it
home and there its sat for about 4 weeks.
So today I set out to pull the starter which according to the
interwebs probably has a dirty connection since its only a couple
years old. As usual on this car the thing is buried so job one is pull
the battery and battery tray. I knew this was going to suck because
the PS pump reservoir is bolted to the tray and the allen head of that
bolt is stripped. I stopped and bought a stuck bolt remover thingus
that grabs the head of the bolt but it won't work on this application
because the OD of the grabber is too big. I try to drill it out and
drilling off the head of the bolt doesn't get the reservoir off, I
start cutting the shaft of the bolt with my dremel but thats going to
take all day so I try the angle grinder, unfortunately the bolt is in
a recessed spot and I just knick the reservoir and now it leaks... So
pull the hose connections and pull the reservoir out. I'd wanted to
avoid this since the Pentosin ps fluid is $20/liter but now I've got
no real choice. Make a big mess and chuck the battery tray with the
reservoir to the side for now.
Get the starter out, the connection from the solenoid to the starter
looks nasty. Test starter, it spins but not real enthusiastically.
Clean the nasty connection and now it spins with authority. Goop some
axle grease over the connection to keep it clean.
Reinstalling the starter is a BASTARD. The starter bolts are also 2 of
3 motor mount bolts. I finally had to jack up the engine and loosen
the last motor mount bolt so I could shift the mount around to get the
bottom bolt in. With all 3 bolts loose it was easy but that last one
was TIGHT.
With everything buttoned back together the car starts. So I took some
time to clean and repaint the battery tray. I used JB Weld on the
reservoir, the hole is teeny, maybe 1/32" diameter, I think this will
be fine. Went out and bought some stainless bolts to replace the one I
cut.
Still have to source some Pentosin, $23 at Autozone, $20 on Amazon,
I'll call the dealer tomorrow and check my local Advance (formerly Car
Quest).
Feeling rested up enough now to go back out and put the battery tray
and ps reservoir back in...
Finally while I was there I pulled the horn which hasn't worked for a
couple months. Its dead, fixmyvw.com has an OE replacement for the
same price as the generic at Autozone. I got a new rear seat release
for Angie's Golf while I was at it. I've been waiting on that to find
something else I needed...
-Curt
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