16v Starter Bolts - what are they?

["Neal Tovsen" <ntovsen@piper.hamline.edu>]

What kind of bolts does my starter use to attach to the engine? If someone
could indicate both the type and size, that'd be great. The Bentley just
says "remove bolts" and the Chilton says "special allen socket." I couldn't
find an allen socket to fit, and none of my Torx sockets fit, either. I
can't really get a straight visual line on it, so I can't really tell by
looking. Is it one of those 12-point Torx-like things (similar to drive
shaft bolts)? Where do you get them? I went all over and most places hadn't
heard of them, though I haven't been to a VW dealer yet.

I did manage to fix the problem without removing the starter, but I'd still
like to know for future use. Turned out that one of the two smaller wires on
the solenoid had come loose, either from corrosion or melting the plastic
around the connector. I've been having trouble starting, so I probably got
the starter too hot this morning. I also found out that my starting trouble
was caused by poor grounding, so I ended up fixing it all for about $5 worth
of 4ga. wire! Coolness. Even though it was cranking fine, it wasn't
providing enough juice to the ignition. I thought it was a fuel system
problem all this time...

If anyone else out there is silly enough to be a non-believer regarding
large grounding straps to the engine: Repent now, or suffer my fate! The
stock wiring doesn't cut it!

TIA!
Neal
black 87 16v (starting OK now!)
red 88 16v


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