'87 Rabbit Starter Motor

[vavavroom]

My son's '87 Rabbit had a bad starter motor. The pinion was sticky and the starter motor took too long to disengage the ring gear on the flywheel, evidenced by a loud screech upon pinion disengagement. The removed starter had a worn pinion bushing, resulting in a lot of slop. My son installed a rebuilt starter motor, but there's still a weird noise. At first, I thought it was a grinding noise upon pinion engagement, but then it sounded more like a grinding upon pinion disengagement. I am wondering if the old starter had maybe damaged the ring gear on the flywheel, causing the noise with the new starter. I guess we will have to remove the starter and check the ring gear for damage to be sure.

 

[vwmaniaman]

With the starter mounting bolts almost tight pull it away from the ring gear and tighten it. Sometimes the holes are enlarged a little on the starter mount and cause too much engagement. I have an 87 Cabriolet.

 

[Trav]

There is possibility the rebuilder didn't lube the starter properly or used a worn drive, this is a very common complaint and is almost always due to lack of lubrication of the sliding parts.
With rebuilt parts quality being what it is today I would suspect the rebuild, check the teeth of course but lube the starter.

Here is an albeit lengthy write up, its a very easy job.

https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?2269482

 

[Audios]

Usually the cheaper rebuilt places wont change the nose bearing the starter, causing the grinding squeaking after startup. get another starter and see if it makes a difference.

 

[vavavroom]

I made a mistake. That's the MK1 Rabbit GTI. I keep confusing the Golf and the Rabbit that live in my garage. Thanks, everyone! We'll take the starter out and take it apart to see if there's anything visibly wrong with it or if it's lacking lubrication. If it needs grease, what can I use that will be compatible with the grease that is in there? I presume different rebuilders will use different greases. I do have some Redline CV-2 EP grease with red moly.that I have used in wheel bearings.
In case I have to get another rebuilt starter motor, which online source would you recommend? Prices vary wildly. CARiD seems to have much lower prices than other sources.

The pinion on the old starter motor shows some wear, but it's not chipped or anything. The pinion bushing was worn with too much play.