1996 Jetta Not Starting

[KevlarB]

Ok, here is the story. On saturday I had to drive thru a big puddle to get into my apartment complex. Car died. Tried starting it, click, nothing. Again, click, nothing.. Went out got a new starter (old starter, I assumed was dead cause Kragen couldn't test it and i couldn't turn it by hand, and the new starter you could.) Installed the new starter (not the bushing) and charged the battery. Again, click, nothing. I pulled the spark plugs before all this and checked to see if there was any water in the cylinders, stuck a rod down there, and it came out bone dry all 4 cylinders (which leads me to think it is not hydro-locked)... Any ideas on what is up and why this car won't start.. I need it to get to work. Work 30 miles away, only form of transportation.

[firemedicdave]

make sure the cap and rotor are dry, you can buy a moisture dissapating spray for all electrical.

[KevlarB]

Ok, got it started. The key must have been that bushing in the bellhousing that I didn't replace. I went out to the car, put it in drive and rocked the car back and forth. This must have aligned the starter, 'cause it finally turned over. Took a while to start, then was knocking really loud. I changed the oil, there was brown and white liquid in the oil it appeared, I changed it at 9pm via a flashlight. And the knocking stopped. The check engine light came on the next morning and now it's running a little on the rough side, like I can feel the car vibrate, but it has a steady idle and drives fine. I'll get the engine code read this weekend and report back. So much for the Jetta handling 9 inches of water. There must be some major malfunction with the design of the starter in this model Jetta. Because my buddy has a 1992 Jetta and came over to help me figure out what was wrong with my car, drove thru the same puddle, and the same exact thing happened to his car. Do they not have puddles of water in Germany?