I've had enough of my schrieking starter, I get funny looks and it sounds horrible!

Anyone got the part number for a new one, or a price?

Last time I checked (Jan) Skoda wanted £191.73 +vat for a new one, or £115 +vat if I gave them my old one in exchange.

Can I get an aftermarket one, from someone like GSF? I guess I need to give them a ring to check.

Also, when it comes to replacing it, can I do the job from above (after removing the battery), or will I need access from below? I don't currently have a jack, so I'd like to try the job without jacking it up.

Cheers:O

i have just replaced mine on my 04 vrs,it cost me £75+vat from andrew pages. i didnt remove my battery & found it easier to remove it from below.it took me 30 mins all inc.

The shrieking noise is only the pinion sticking due to dust/ rust. There is a guide somewhere on here that tell you how to clean it.

I cleaned mine a few months ago and its performed pefectly since ! disconnect the batt as there is a very large feed wire that would short the batt out ! I did mine from above after removing the batt and tray.

ahhar! so you can do it from above! excellent

think ill go the cleaning route....

I've done it finally!

Popped out the battery and plastic tub, which made it nice and easy. Plus I had the bumper and undertray off, so I took advantage and removed the lower bolt from under the car, but I didnt need too, as there is enough access from above. Why 18mm hex heads on the bolts though!! So awkward! Anyway, came off very easily.

I cleaned her with lots of WD40 and a toothbrush, and then greased her like a mother.

Works a treat now, ahhh how i've missed silent starting! Also saved myself some cash there.

As a note, GSF do sell the new starters for £67+vat. Alot less than main stealers....

Grease :eek::eek:

It will cake up again in no time.

Bodge sorry to resurrect an old thread but how did you get the SM off? I tried to get mine off at the weekend but it looked like the top bolt was hidden under a b**tard load of cables and wires and I couldn't get to it.

I ended up just loosening the two 8mm bolts to open the SM up and sprayed WD40 into it which has reduced the noise but not got rid of it completely.

From what I can remember....

You have to sort of manhandle the wiring out of the way a bit. The big connector sitting on top of the starter just clips into a plastic bracket, and can be easily unclipped to give you a bit more room.

The 2 bolts holding the starter are double ended! On the outer end you have a smaller nut (about 12mm I think), which holds so wiring bracket on at the upper bolt, and a bracket for some piping at the lower bolt. Once you have removed these smaller nuts and pushed the brackets/wiring out of the way, you can go to task on the main bolts (18mm heads). These bolts are really long, and go through the gearbox casing into the block, so you might not have enough room to remove them without removing the motor.

I can remember that wiring being a bit of a pain, and getting in the way, but you just have to be persistent and wobble it out of the way if you know what i mean!

It all seems to be easy once you've done it!

Oh and regarding someones opinion on me having greased the shaft and pinion..... Some LM grease smeared on the shaft (you have to pull it out by hand to grease it) and pinion gear works a treat. Mine is still silky smooth after ALOT of miles. The shaft sticks due to it getting dusty and dry. Go figure

Hope I've been of use mate. Feel free to ask me more. I think I have pics somewhere.

I'll give it another go this coming weekend, should be a lot quicker now I know how to take the battery and tray out.

I gave up in the end on Saturday as the light was fading and I was a bit worried about yanking all those cables in the plastic sleeve above the top bolt out of the way in case I broke anything

I got some blue mobil bearing grease from a motor parts shop so will give the shaft a go with that and clean the other bits with WD40.

Very nice post with photos can be found here

VWvortex Forums: DIY - Starter Motor Grind Fix and Starter Motor Replacement

:thumbdwn:Dont grease the shaft as this attracts the clutch dust and jams up again, just clean the shaft with parrafin and leave it dry and it should then be OK. - Stuart.

I finally got round to stripping my starter down to clean/re-grease it. I used the above mentioned strip down guideline post and found it a great help.

When i eventually got the gearbox apart I noticed all the grease had been thrown off the planet gears onto the side walls, the gear teeth still had grease on. It looked as if there was no lubrication between the carrier plate and the side of the gears.

I found a old tin of Castrol Moly Grease and slapped a load on the gears and carrier and a little into the oilite bearing that supports the motor spigot.

Checking the shaft that extends with the spur gear on the end, I found that was clean, bright with no rust on it, gave it a squirt of WD 40 just to make sure.

Grinding noise has stopped "touch wood" !!!!

Peter