1500D starter motor

Hi Guys,

my '78 1500 GLD is still running well with virtually no maintenance, although the ruty bits aren't getting less rusty.
The latest bit that needs work is the starter motor, which I will need to dismantle and rebuild as soon as I get the time, as it has lost touch somewhere along the line. It's totally dead, with nothing happening either at the solenoid or at the motor when it is wired direct to the battery.

The quick question is, what starter can I fit for a quick fix? There is a remarkable lack of mk1 diesels in the local scrappy, and I can't find a new part on the web easily. Will a mk2 or mk3 diesel starter fit? I heard something about a mk4 tdi starter being a good idea?

Any thoughts?

Robin

The issue is the 1.5 diesel starter is very Heavy Duty.
A non-Diesel starter will not last for long. I thought the newer versions didn't use a Starter bushing that yours does, or any MK1 manual generally.

I would imagine that the solenoid is bad.  But then again a Iffy ground wire can wreck havoc as well.

I would take a set of battery jumpers and jumper the Negative post to the Frame and then from Post to engine, to Validate it isn't a ground issue.

Over here in the States we have Automotive Electric shops that can rebuild them as good as new in a day or less.  

Another thing to do is to wire a HEAT soak relay as that Jump starts the Starter, and then it takes high current off the ignition switch.  Do a search on HEAT soak RELAY and you will get a ton of hits.  www.cabby-info.com, and or the vwvortex.com cabriolet… yes it is for Automatics, but works great on manual transmissions.

Hi,

I had a look through my boxes, found an old srater, a new set of brushes and a new solenoid, and she's back on the road. I'd still like to know which starter is the best to look out for. In catalogues they are listed as anything from 0.7 to 2.0kw…

Robin