Starter motor VALEO or OEM Volkswagen

My problem (from 2+ years ago) turned oiut to be a bad starter. The solenoid must have gone south. A new starter motor fixed it.

Well I began taking apart the car and removing the starter and found that a part of it was bent. I'm not sure if that's the solenoid or what it's called but I'm pretty sure it's the reason the car wouldn't start.

So, replaced the starter, and that was that issue.

I have a Valeo and I definitely noticed an increase in starting power and also less battery usage, over the (probably tired) Bosch starter.

My almost stock winter beater has had minimal issues minus exhaust and front end which goes just because the wear and tear. Replaced the original starter last year and alternator a couple weeks ago.

I ran the smaller mk3 starter for many years, and it was fine, but now that I have a new-to-me car with the original starter still in it- I prefer that one. It never bogs down, seems to have more torque.

I installed a 02J VR6 starter after cleaning up and regreasing the the bendix and solenoid. Testing of the starter:

So for those who want to know a mk4 tdi manual starter does fit in a mk4 1.8t manual car! The starter is a bit longer so make sure you have clearance for it. It fit fine in my car but it's a mk2 so not sure if there is clearance issues in a mk4. I had to adjust my boost piping a bit to not hit the longer starter but, that's no big deal. Keep in mind this starter cranks like a mother ****er but, does require a strong battery in some cases more cranking amps. My car doesn't get driven much so the battery wasn't at it's full capacity so I charged it up and she cranked like hell!

Volkswagen did something similar with the starters on the 70's/80's Rabbit -- They installed it mere inches from the exhaust, which led to premature solenoid failure. I installed a solenoid bypass button and mounted it under the dash after the 3rd starter replacement in 5 years.

Ive noticed during the day on a lunch run, when I release the pedal to pull away from a stop sign or light, the engine judders hard and lunges me forward somewhat aggressive. I think this feature really puts a strain on the starter too.