syncro rebuild

[cranman]

i posted this on brik-yard as well.
finally got round to starting on my syncro, have had it sitting in my workshop all winter, the plan is to fit an AAZ and new gearbox, remove all the suspension and steering and have everything sent to the powdercoaters, replace the brakes allround with upgraded disc and calipers and while i have everything off the underside of the syncro get the sandblaster out and take it back to nice clean metal and give it a nice coat of paint underneath then waxoil it, i have got a replacement gearbox on the way from aiden with a new decoupler fitted, supplied by henning, i have lifted it a few feet of the ground with my fork lift and the engine and box have already been removed, i got a bit done today and got all of the front end removed, i need to free off the front diff lock and once i remove the the diff from the subframe i'll get it up on the bench and get that done,

i need to get replacement bushes before i can start putting things back together, can you get a complete poly bush kit for a syncro ?

i get some pic's up later

[jebiga41]

try brickwerks they have poly bush kits in the procss f getting round to fitting them soon or you could order the stock ones from vw

[KarlT]

Sounds like a job & a half. Have you got a time scale in mind? Great to see a project like this in photos....so get snapping!

[syncroandy]

Use original VW rubber bushes, these last very well, and will absorb impacts and vibration much better than Poly. If I were you I'd only remove the underseal coating where you need to repair corrosion, otherwise just top it up. The factory stuff is pretty good as long as it's not damaged. When done inject Dinitrol brown in every cavity. I find Dinitrol black wax is very good to finish off the underside.

[cranman]

here some pics from yesterday and today, made a bit of progress,
yesterday




today with all of the front end off, just the strutts to remove,






just need to get the diff lock unseized, got it up on the bench to get at it,

[cranman]

time scale wise im hoping around 4 weeks or so, but that might be a bit hopefull.

as you can see from a couple of the pic's it's a bit scabby underneath and i want it cleaned up, the plan is to carry the syncro outside with the fork lift and lift it up so i can get under it with the blasting gear, then back into the workshop and sort out any welding needing done and a good coat of paint underneath, the dinitrol sounds like a good idea, i have got bushes ordered now and top and bottom ball joints and track rod ends too, and i have just had an email from aiden and my new gearbox should be here tomorrow,

[Aidan]

brake lines and clutch lines while you are there you'll never get better access and fuel tank straps too, check them all out and renew if necessary

[sonic23]

And I'm quite sure you'll be doing it already, but get that fuel tank out too....It's amazing what gunk you'll find behind there.

Rich

[HarryMann]

Yes, good advice get the fuel tank out first and really checkout the front and rear jacking points and adjacent sill areas..

I really think its NOT a good idea to sand blast underneath, as AndyMc says, if the underseal/finish looks in condition, don't remove it... not that sandblasting would get that off anyway, hot-air gun/scraper or heavy use of twist-knot wire brush in a 4.5" grinder...

Areas you should clean underseal off to inspect & check, from experience:

Behind the front wheels/ in front of the front jacking points where there are overlapping seams...
In front of rear wheels (where the steel rod sprrung clips hold the sound insulation pads) tank out time
Front seat belt jacking points/outer doorside fixing
Under front seats/above fr.suspension hangers

IMHO, your time would be better spent (than sandblasting), indeed, definitely better spent, raking out all the sill and frame cavities and box-sections - that is, first removing mud/rust scale and silt entirely, before treating* inside them (what good laying waxoyl onto an inch of silt?)
Main sills, two front cross members (include s/frame tube), rear main cross-member (if waded can contain pounds of silt), rear frame members, inside rear suspension hangers, inside rear radius arms (and front lower wishbones if early fabricated)

This is not a quick process! - normally requires intermediate drying out stages, depending on previous usage.
Tools/methods: Hot air gun (used in stages daily to dry and then rake) Hoover with 1/2" ~ 3/4" hose attachment; Fencing wire rakes (with bent but deburred ends to grab muck but not scratch)
Remove all bungs, and tickle silt/flakes/detritus out of aforementioned cavities.. ths cannot be done in one go, as having loosened it and injected hot air and removed some, required repeating several times, especially a round rear cross-member (go in from below rear jacking point and other vent holes) and into the rear sill compartments (3 off, at different levels!)

When all free of detritus as far as possible and then dry go for treatment
*(although Waxoyl & others claim doesn't need to be dry and clean - worth checking Dinotrol products before using Waxoyl, higher tech?)

You might also create some extra breather/drain holes here and there and plug with (I go for the 22mm std Syncro round nylon plugs, as have a Qmax punch that makes perfect holes for these)
One place might be directly up into the lower sill plate through the centre cut-out of the front jacking point.. this collects water somehow it seems which cannot disperse or be drained easily, and front jacking point is a very difficult repair to do well, so if its solid now, you want it to stay that way - you can come down from the B pillar to treat it, when finally clean & dry

4 days...?

But enjoy!

[cranman]

got the tank straps, i could only get one from vw so i got a pair of stainless ones from henning, thanks for the advice on where to look for the corrosion, i will keep updating as i go.

[Andy syncro-nutz]

Stuff all that nonsense! Get Sk8in!!

[cranman]

hi andy im not skating or riding the now i managed to break some ribs while i was out in france snowboarding nearly all fixed but dont want to push it,
anyway here's an update, got most of the part's ready to go to the powder coaters just the rear swinging arms to get off.


and here's some of my new bit's that have arrived.


the swinging arm bolts are seized solid, i blew the heads off the bolts with burning gear but cant get the bolts to move, i will need to cut the bolts from the inside of the hanger brackets with a power saw to get them off.


and managed to get the diff lock stripped out of the front diff.

[Simon Baxter]

the swinging arm bolts are seized solid, i blew the heads off the bolts with burning gear but cant get the bolts to move, i will need to cut the bolts from the inside of the hanger brackets with a power saw to get them off.

That's fairly much par for the course with those, I don't think I have ever succesfully undone an outer one, inners always come undone, outers always end in sweating!

[Andy syncro-nutz]

Hi Chik! If the arms are given you to much jip ive got some ready to go just swap me like for like!

[cranman]

i have a pretty extensive tool kit and i will have them off some time tomorrow, just need to pick up some metal blade's for my power hacksaw. if i run into a serious problem then i will be on the phone, cheers andy