Reading the recent thread about the cables and such reminded me. I pulled
the wires off the starter and cleaned them up really well and pulled the
starter and did the same. This was all related to an occasional starting
problem I was having. Every so often I was getting in and turning the key
and nothing or turning the key holding and after 5-10 seconds she would
crank. When I pulled the starter I found some narly looking teeth on the
gear. Still funtional but definately not your ordinary wear and tear.
Looking into the bellhousing from the starter hole I found 2 small ball
bearings about 1/4" each. They were sitting just inside the lip where the
starter goes. I tested the starter outside of the Van and all seemed well. I
reinstalled everything and have had no problems since. But I am still
wondering about the ball bearings I found. I can't help thinking that maybe
they came from the catostophic destruction of the throwout bearing that the
PO told me about. He said it was in pieces when he pulled the engine. Just a
thought.

Michael Knight
'77 Westy Deluxe, "el Verde"
'85 Vanagon GL, nameless
http://photos.yahoo.com/electrictrain@sbcglobal.net