Volkswagen Repair: Starter motor removal, timing belt replacement, haynes manual

Question
Hi, My MKII Golf 1.6 Driver is refusing to start. I've narrowed it down to the starter motor, as it bump starts fine but won't start off a jump start. I think it's due to water getting in the motor (we had floods recently) so I'm looking at fitting a second hand starter. The process in the Haynes Manual looks fairly simple, but I've read on the net that there's a danger of the engine falling out, which isn't mentioned in the Haynes. Is there anything I should be looking out for or is the Haynes procedure safe?

Thanks in advance,

Will

Answer
The front motor mount is held in place with one of the bolts to the starter motor.  The motor should be held in place by some other device.  If you have an engine hanger, like the ones used for timing belt replacement, and the like, that is useful but restrictive.  You can get the job done that way, but as I recall, you'll have to adjust the height of the engine several times to get the starter motor past the radiator core support, and transmission.  The easiest way, and maybe NOT the smartest way is to use a floor jack to hold the motor/transmission combination up, and that way you can jack it up a little more, or let it down a little as you need, with less time consumed in threading the hanger up, and down.  If no floor jack is handy, then use blocks of wood, but definitely support the engine/transmission, it will provide the extra safety we all need to do a job, and feel comfortable while underneath the car.  Good luck, Will.  I'm very sorry I took so long to answer your question.  My computer broke, and I've only just gotten back on-line in the last hour or so, and have been answering questions as fast as I can.