I have an 87 jetta 1.8 the starter went bad.. is the starter interchangeable? this car is impossible to find at U-WrenchIt the junkyard i always go to.. and a new one is like 100 bucks. yeah right.. also. the bracket that comes off the side of the starter and what looks like it connects to the motor mount or somewhere around there snapped. will that cause the engine to rock?? or what would the motor mount looks fine..

It should be interchangeable. What I do to check is go to a parts website (such as: catalog.discount-vw-parts.com) and check their part numbers for my model year and a few other years. Same part number = interchangeable. They list your starter for about $80. I don't know what the parts stores charge.