Upgrade advice

[syncrosimon]

Jed, they only engage or disengage when on a trailing throttle. Usually just letting of the gas for a fraction of a second is all that is needed. Now on mine I just have to wait 15 seconds and the same applies. I will test the vacuum circuit first on mine, but it is not a priority.

[syncrosimon]

The best option is a Sport VC and a decoupler. Best at everything.

[jed the spread]

Jed, they only engage or disengage when on a trailing throttle. .

Sorry mate, what do yo mean by trailing throttle? Like biting point?

jed

[syncrosimon]

They only engage when the engine is not pushing the vehicle, or visa versa, just get of the gas pedal for a second.

[jed the spread]

They only engage when the engine is not pushing the vehicle, or visa versa, just get of the gas pedal for a second.

Thanks for this Simon, this explains why Dave was stuck and couldn't get into 4WD for Andrew and I. Thats why its good to talk about stuff and get a full understanding about things before deciding what is right for an individuals use of a product, and not just taking the things you want to so you can justify spending the money.

jed

[Russel]

There is no setup better than Decoupler and sports VC combination unless you spend your life pussy footing around on tarmac. Then you dont need a syncro in the first place.
Russel

[taigagreen]

There is no setup better than Decoupler and sports VC combination unless you spend your life pussy footing around on tarmac. Then you dont need a syncro in the first place.
Russel

Well, I kind of disagree. Depends on your environment and what you need from a car. Even though I choose not to abuse my syncros offroad (not legal in Norway) it doesn´t mean they won´t be put to use.

Just read this on thesamba. Looks like there will be more options for the syncro enthusiasts soon:

Excuse me but what is a VC replacement diff?

A differential with gears that would compensate for the difference in rotation of the rear axle versus the front axle. Land Rover Discovery for example is also all wheel drive and uses a differential in the transfer case. On the Disco it is also lockable for true 4WD. The differential that Peloquin has been working on would also be lockable.

When the decouplers first became available most Syncro owners still had stock WBX and were not lifting their vans more than a 19.5" ride hieght which is actually a stock specification. Now they are going above 20" and installing engines that have at least 50% more torque and horsepower. The trend is also to accessorize the Westy's with more equipment and they are becoming extremely heavy. Expecting the CV joints that were originally designed to handle 50HP in much lighter Bay window bus to handle the above is a bit ridiculous.

That is why when I built my SyncroMog ten years ago installing 930 CV joints and stronger axles front and rear was the first thing I did. I still have not broken an axle or CV joint but I do repack the rear CV's almost annually.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=432633

[silverbullet]

Why not go and search out a PTO syncro transmission? You never know, you might need to drive a compressor, water pump, hydraulic something or other
Rare as rocking horse poop, goes without saying - no, wait, what's this? One for sale on ebay? (waits for response)

[syncropaddy]

They only engage when the engine is not pushing the vehicle, or visa versa, just get of the gas pedal for a second.

Thanks for this Simon, this explains why Dave was stuck and couldn't get into 4WD for Andrew and I. Thats why its good to talk about stuff and get a full understanding about things before deciding what is right for an individuals use of a product, and not just taking the things you want to so you can justify spending the money.

jed

My Van spends most of its life on tarmac. I have never had any form of transmission wind up on this van and never have I felt that the front is fighting the rear. The vehicle has been designed and manufactured by VW and Steyr Puch. They have seen fit to delete the de coupler as its unnecessary as under normal driving conditions the VC is not working so in effect the front is de coupled from the rear anyway.

It is simply something else to go wrong and if your transmission is in good nick you wont need it

[Justavan]

Could some one explain the symptom of Transmission Wind Up as I have had nothing to relate this to with my Doka..................

[Justavan]

Could some one explain the symptom of Transmission Wind Up as I have had nothing to relate this to with my Doka..................

[jed the spread]

Sooooo, just going back to Ians original point on upgrades and a decoupler on his list. (and mine, or it was....)

Reasons for,

Ease of transmission strain, feels a better drive, stops "wind up" while on tarmac etc

Reasons against,

They break sometimes, you cant engage them while stuck, the life span can be 40k or much less was mentioned, that would be every three years for me, more often than a clutch or even tyres, and if your Viscous Coupling and drive train is working (i have a new VC with 10k on it) while on tarmac with a good working VC you would be de coupling..... well errrrrrr nothing because thats what the VC does anyway.


Its a no brainer for me Ian as far as upgrades go you might want to look at a new VC if you have wind up and have the van running to the standard that VW felt fit to discontinue the de coupler as un necessary due to there developments. Your van with a new VC will be decoupled automatically with your new Viscous Clutch and when off road your new VC will sort you out. If Aiden goes against them and sees them as unnecessary on a van with good running gear and he sells them thats godda say something, and I think Andrews last post was something that couldn't be argued personally.

Get yourself a new VC and get your van running spot on in my humble opinion.

jed

[Aidan]

talk to Russel re N Africa trips though, that is different kettle of fish potentially and his comment earlier is right for some peeps and terrains

SimonTMT decouples, he's very quick at removing and fitting his prop, and some of the SA guys I read about do that too

[syncrosimon]

I still think that you have missed the point of the de-coupler.

It is an addition that makes life easier on a syncro, it takes the front half out of the equation when it is not needed. This would have the benefit of prolonging the life of the VC almost indefinitely.

I think that the VC's are more likely to give you trouble than the de-coupler, and far away from home the comfort that the de-coupler gives you is great indeed.

16" syncros do seem to have aggressive VC's, the larger tyres probably means that they have to in order to get a similar off road capability to the 14" (as the tyre diameter is larger you need more torque to get them moving) A tighter VC works very well with a de-coupler as you retain it's off road ability and loose the transmission wind up associated with a tighter VC.

Agreed that if everything is standard you do not need a de-coupler.

With regards to reliability, if there is only one occasion when one de-coupler did not engage for an unknown reason then that is quite reliable. Where as VC are always going wrong, and seem to have a great degree of variation in there rebuilding. I have never had a problem getting it to engage.

Another advantage of the de-coupler is that when disengaged you can spin the wheels independently, which really does make life easier for brake set up, wheel bearing testing, CV joint maintainance.

In my situation I had a tight VC, so it was either a new soft VC or a decoupler, I am very glad I went down the de-coupler route, and if the VC does fail now I would without doubt get a sports one, this improving the off roading ability of the vehicle. The VC is still going strong, and when it snows or if I am off roading I do tend to leave the coupler engaged until the motorway looms.

If I had just bought a standard soft VC then the decoupler is a luxury item that just make your vehicle more reliable and easier to run and maintain.

[hotpod]

I do tend to leave the coupler engaged until the motorway looms.

If I had just bought a standard soft VC then the decoupler is a luxury item that just make your vehicle more reliable and easier to run and maintain

that has always been my take on the decoupler. i love the fact that i don't have to think about 4 wheel drive ever with the visco, but occasionally ( like when the AA turn up with a spectacle lift and then i have to wait for a low loader ( although i would like to point out that this hasn't happened for several years now)) i would love to be able to turn it off without crawling underneath and unbolting the prop.
it is definitely on my want not need list but i suspect in my vans it would be a tool to disengage rather than to engage.