2003 VW Passat 2.8L motor mount removal

Question

I have a 2003 VW Passat 4motion that had a starter fail. I've confirmed that it's definitely the starter, but getting to it is challenging.

I am currently being held up by some sort of electrical connection on the aluminium member that serves as a mount for the subframe, motor mount and sway bar, plus the mystery electrical connection. Attached is a picture of the passenger-side, or right-side mount, seen from below.

Item number 4 is the mystery. I cannot figure out how to remove it. That sway bar bolt is seized in some manner that I do not yet understand, and I cannot get behind it to get it out.

If anyone knows how to remove electrical bracket that I've labelled 4, or knows what it is called, I would love any advice.

update: That wire holder is just a passthrough to keep the wire off the manifold. It doesn't seem to really serve much purpose except to complicate something on a wire that is 40cm too long. Also, the bolts on the aluminium subframe mount were steel that was press-fit into the aluminium and became unset by the removal. One is supposed to purchase a new subframe part to address this, but I solved it by creating shim to keep them from spinning out of copper wire that I banged flat with hammer. The impact wrench pulled them down onto the copper and it gave enough purchase for them not to spin.

Answer 1

It appears this is a split piece which holds the wire (?) in place. You need to open it up so you can move the wire. To do this, take a look at what I've done with your image:

1. The red arrows are tabs. Using a screwdriver, lift the top portion away from the bottom portion and it should pop up.
2. The green arrow needs to be pulled down from the top so you can pull that away.
3. The blue arrows are zip ties which holds the wire in place. You may need to cut these to remove the wire.

Once the wire is out of the way, seeing how to get this split holder out of the way should become a lot easier to tell how to do it.