First off this is on a 2002 Jetta. A friend of mine when the car is first started fires up as normal, however upon firing up it then makes a noise similar to that of the starter being engaged after the motor is turned on, the grinding sound. Apparently the sound is coming from the general starter area as well. I personally have never worked on a starter, so I'm curious what you guys think. Ever heard of anything like this before? If so what caused it and do you have any idea of how to fix this problem?

 

Weird. Is the car actually firing up?

 

im pretty sure it needs a starter, i've seen this a few times.. it's like the solonoid on the starter gets stuck.

 

the drive is having issues, a very common problem on those cars.


aka the "bendix". get a new starter.

 

Any idea how hard it is to pull and replace one? What about the flywheel? Think the teeth may be screwed up by it? Its a girl owner so I didnt want her to get screwed over.

 

I haven't had to replace a starter on any of my mk4 cars, but the mk2 was a fucking pain in the ass.. I took it to have it rebuilt in Vinton for next to nothing... Not that bad, but it was a PITA

 

in all the starters i have replaced, only two that i can think of had damaged flywheels. its a problem in the drive itself (usually the bushing) and it usually never messes up the flywheel.


and i assume since its a chicks car it is a 2 liter auto? starter is on the front, under the battery on them. pull the battery, and there are two starter bolts, two wire connections, and it comes out rather easy.

1.2 hours is book time. so count on 3 and a case of beer

 

mk2's aren't that easy to get to damnit..

especially in the dark. lol

 

Its a 5spd, but I assume its probably the same. How could I personally check the flywheel for damage? Or how does a shop do it? Just take the starter to say advanced auto to have them check it out?

 

I took my old starter in the ol' Wolfsburg Jetta to a place in Vinton to have it rebuilt pretty cheap. Probably your best option.