Date:         Wed, 18 Aug 2004 18:29:03 -0700
Reply-To:     Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA>
Subject:      Re: Water in starter housing?
In-Reply-To:  <411E079B.26342.3BDE80F@localhost>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Since nobody weighed in on my last post, it seems I may have a unique problem with
water in the starter. The bad news is the fix I did only lasted 4 days. I went to leave the
inlaws for the long drive home, and it failed to start at the gas station. I drove 600 kms
home push starting it, including the ferry trip... :-(
Tonight I pulled it again, and found yet more water in the darn thing. It has not rained for
weeks here, and I didn't even venture much off paved roads on this trip, so it's a bit of a
mystery. There wasn't much more water, so I suppose it could have been residual that I
did not get out the first time. The other bad news is the oil on the starter teeth, indicating
that my new trans input shaft seal is leaking *again*. (I didn't replace the pilot bearing,
since it looked fine, and only has 20k on it). I didn't plan on pulling the blasted trans
again until I was ready for a diesel swap, so this is a definite bummer. :-(

On 14 Aug 2004 at 12:37, Shawn Wright <swright@ZUIKO.SLS.BC.CA> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> Part way through our 3 week trip, the starter in our '88 Westy started acting up
> - just an intermittent click every so often, which I assumed was a bad
> connection somewhere. Then, while enroute from Calgary to Salmon Arm, the
> started died completely in the Rockies. Fortunately I was able to push start it.
> I checked all the wiring, and was suspected a failed ignition switch, but it all
> checked out. I pulled the starter, and found moisture in the end bushing cap...
> hmmm. Then I pulled the long housing bolts and was shocked to find about 1/2
> ounce of rusty water pouring out! The inside was totally corroded - it was
> amazing that it had worked at all. I cleaned it all up, put it back together,
> but the solenoid wouldn't pull. So I pulled it apart again, including the
> solenoid (which was rusty also), put it back, and it worked. :-)
>
> I can think of two time when I could have got water in the starter - one in May
> while crossing a creek, and one last September, on the same creek. The starter
> would not have been submerged, but I supposed water could have entered the
> bellhousing and got thrown in that way... Has anyone seen this problem before?
> I'm wondering if drilling a drain hole might be a good idea, since the water can
> get it, but doesn't seem to be able to drain out.
>

--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
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