I uninstalled the solenoid, and removed the cover. I found this oily fibrous mass inside the cover, as well as other fibers inside the backing plate. I'd read that there was supposed to be a leather insulator inside the solenoid, so I suspected that's what I was looking at. I removed the backing plate, and found more fibers. There were two rivets where the insulator had been attached to the plate.
This is what happens when you live with a house-full of women, the wife and daughters name all the cars: 1960 Impala - "Frankie" (Frank Sinatra) 1961 Apache - " 'Mater Jr." (wrecker) 1965 Corvair Monza Convertible 1967 C20 "Ol' Blue" (hidden in a log cabin for 30 years) 1972 SuperBeetle Convertible - "Juliet" 1976 SuperBeetle Convertible - "Olaf" 1988 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce - "Romeo"
