newb saying hello, some questions

[bandit86]

hello guys, just brought home a 86 vanagon syncro, 160,km on the clock. Bought it not running, rough but looks salvageable. 4speed with 14 inch wheels. Missing the middle and front right drive shaft, are these hard to get? also need a drivers outside door handle

had to winch it on a trailer, seemed like both rear wheels were seized as they were not turning, but they did turn a bit when it rolled down the ramp. Will know one I can pull the brakes apart and check. I moved the shifter all around, seemed to move kinda free, but I did "feel" the gates, wondering if maybe the shifter mechanism is disconnected and it's still in gear

how is the locker in the back engaged, is there a button? is there a way to know what it has by crossreferincing the vin?

it's windy and we just had 10cm of snow fall, so tomorrow I'll get at it. Any info is appreciated

Norbert

[syncropaddy]

Hi and welcome to the site. You have quite a few questions there so Ill give you my opinion and Im sure that there will be a few more along to give you theirs.....
First of all where are you in the world?

4speed with 14 inch wheels. Missing the middle and front right drive shaft, are these hard to get?

No not hard to get as there is plenty on ebay in Germany. I would ask why are these parts missing? Usually when the propshaft is missing it is because the VC in the front diff is knackered. As to why the front driveshaft is missing, who knows but be prepared for a shock when you go looking to find out ..... I hope your gearbox is a 4+G gearbox! While you are under the van have a look to see if there is a drive flange on the back of the box to be sure it is a syncro 'box. Transmission parts cost a lot of money so be prepared. To recon a gearbox, front diff, new VC, Propshaft and all 4 drive shafts could cost as much as €4000 euro

had to winch it on a trailer, seemed like both rear wheels were seized as they were not turning, but they did turn a bit when it rolled down the ramp

Sounds as though it was stuck in gear / engine seized / brakes seized but I wouldnt say the shifter mechanism is disconnected cuz if it was it would flop about freely

how is the locker in the back engaged, is there a button

Yes there should be a pull button (or two if you have a front locker as well) in the centre of the dash beneath the heater controls. No buttons - no diff locks!

is there a way to know what it has by crossreferincing the vin

Sort of but there should be a white sticker under the dash about 3" square with the build codes on it. You can go here http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleSpec ... ptions.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to find out what they all mean. You can also go here http://www.club80-90syncro.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for more syncro specific stuff.

Almost everything is available on ebay.de in some form or another but beware, gearbox parts are now getting very hard to source. Give us more information and we will help as much as we can

[Ye Olde Syncrospares]

hi,any spares you need for your syncro i have it several times over,check out http://www.syncrospares.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; also if you need any advice give me a call cheers cj.

[bandit86]

the tranny shifter is not connected to the tranny, explains the loose shifter feel.

still cant find the rear diff lock actuator on the dash, starting to get worried. I really wanted a diff lock. 86 vanagon gl by the way

my fuel pump took a leak, no fuel coming out the hose, just rusted through the housing

[KarlT]

Mate, welcome & all that, but man that is one messed with bus. I hope it was cheap!
Shifter disengaged, prop off, wheels locked...........Gearbox F'ked.
Good luck.

Any pics?

[jebiga41]

stil one less for the scrapheap welcome aboard sounds like a lot of work but if it was easy probably wouldn't be doing it might want to mark out the slot wher you put your credit card into it while your looking it over

[bandit86]

day 4. still cant find the diff lock, actually still hasn't ran. got the new fuel pump (bosch, I know how you guys feel about generic stuff) so now I have gas in the cylinder fouling the plugs. had 3 other gas leaks too. Spark is hit and miss, tried a new coil, much better. ordered new cap and ignition wires. will try again on the weekend.

[jebiga41]

doesn't look to bad at all the diff lock switches are right in front of the gear knob on the dash you can't miss them they are pull out knobs green lights will go on if they work . good luck with the engine i take it the starters turning it just be careful if its in gear lots of stuff on wiki in the general section, also syncro section and some stuff on the brickyard aswell

[bandit86]

freezing my rear off, -30 *C with the windchill today. looked all over, cant find any white stickers anywhere. my dog helped but I dont think she knew what to look for. some missing covers I think

under the heater controls there are 2 toggle switches unmarked, I'm guessing no locker for me, though I do have the front output and the front diff. I thought they all had at least a rear diff

just checked, the two switches are low and high beam foglights under the dash

[syncropaddy]

Take a photo of your dashboard and post it here so we can see. Sounds like you have a DIY nightmare on your hands

[Syncro G]

Don't know about Canada but the US spec syncros didn't get any lockers OEM, not even sure if you could get a rear one as an option (both even less likely), romour goes VW didn't trust Americans with them with their enthuseasum for sueing (syncro would have been launched about the time suzuki were getting some stick over the SJ), after all the big yellow sticker, flashing warning lights and safety locks to prevent you putting them on by accident might not be enough. They seem to have lockers in plenty of 4WDs over there though so it seems a slightly strange desision.

There are plenty of non locking vans around, the rear locker was just a popluar option (standard on 16"). Front lockers are a bit more uncommon and not as important. For some resion VW UK made both lockers a standard feature of UK spec which is why having both seems like the norm over here - its not.

On the plus side they are retrofitable, as a lot of owners over there have since done. If your doing a gearbox rebuilt I don't think its that hard to do, especally if you just fit a 'box with them.

[ThorAlex]

Here is a pic of my fusebox, you can see the top of the sticker below the box.

I couldent find a pic of the locker panel, but i'll try to remember to take one when working on it tomorrow.

[bandit86]

mine is an american version, it was imported to canda. unless they use miles anywhere else

I checked that area, no sticker anywhere. I looked under the passenger seat, nothing there. looked in the manual, tells me where to look, not there either

[bandit86]

still hasnt started, I kept pulling #4 plug to see if I'm getting fuel, which was wet so I was looking into other issues. pulled a different plug that was dry, so Ipulled the rest and they were all dry. I have a bad injector on 4 that leaks down.

is there a schematic I can download? I have a few wires that dont go anywhere I need to figure out

[Andy syncro-nutz]

Welcome Bandit! Why dont you go down the JLC and see monster jam then pop into Fitzrays For the best beer in town! Then tackle the syncro, Seems You have lots of faults there, think best you tackle them 1 by 1. Il pop in and look at it in the fall! Good luck mate!