Before I swapped the starters on my 1990 245 (problem starter) and 1985 244 (parts car), I did a little reading in an attempt to diagnose my particular starter problem. The symptoms were slow cranking, gradually degenerating into an awful grinding noise with no cranking. Didn't match anything in the book. As I mentioned before, it seemed to respond to the "tapping technique" aka violent abuse to the motor housing with a small hammer. The last time I did this, I noticed a bolt sticking out of the front end of the motor housing. Curious as I was, I pulled it out. It's about 6-7" long with about an inch of threading on the end. I attempted to put it back in but could not do so completely. I started the car, tried to push the bolt all the way in and it went in all the way. I couldn't get a bite on any thread inside, nor could I feel it protruding out the other side. The diagram in the book (I think) says this is "the rod". What is this thing, and how do I reconnect/tighten it? The starter works fine as long as this thing is in all the way. Any insights appreciated. PDM