Tight viscous coupling

[axeman]

not wanting to change the subject, but when will some one bring up seikle springs?

these and decouplers always bring out the strongest opinions, mainly from people complaning about these products that dont have them on the own vans, i have to ask how such strong opinions can be formed on minamal (if any) actual experiance, as opposed to those that have them on there vans? and have covered 1000's of miles with them. it is easy to say that they can fail, so can a vc and any other part of the van,


i like simon love my decoupler but i also love the vc and the way in which it performs when it's engaged, the recent snow proved that, i use my van every day the decoupler makes my day today driving easer and log term will reduce wear,

now as clive said shall we all kiss and make up

neil

[peasant]

now as clive said shall we all kiss and make up

I will neither kiss any blokes nor smear lipstick all over my face ...but you can have your decoupler if you like

[silverbullet]

By way of a comparison to this vigorous debate: our syncro caravelle was the first one I had driven and consequently bought last Easter. It drove nicely on tarmac with boring 185 R14C tyres, the difflocks worked and the DG was willing. OK the diff was noisy but I was aware of that. The front ARB was missing - I didn't know about that but it still handled well.
No power steering, but you can drive it with only thumbs and forefingers on the wheel, light as a feather and I'm no Desperate Dan.
Yes it does wind up a bit if you pile a load of lock on in a car park, but what 4wd vehicle with no centre diff and this sort of relatively short wheelbase and wide track wouldn't?
I haven't even done a VC test but the old thing aquitted itself pretty well on the Surrey lanes day, the first time I had ever offroaded it (not my first time offroad but I never pushed the Strange Rover anything like as far as the syncro that day!)
My point is: does it really matter a blind bu66er if you want a decoupler or not? If it makes you feel better and you think your VC will last longer then good for you. If you want to push a 25 year old, 1-ton light utility 4wd chassis of 30 year old design well beyound it's design parameters, fine.
Just don't expect it to last for another 25 years without a lot of hard work and cash being thrown it's way.
Get in your syncro, drive it how you like and modify it how you like (or leave it alone) but please just contain yourselves from starting another schoolboy's pi$$ing competition that comes up all too often on this subject - it's boring!

[syncropaddy]

Paddy it is you that is spouting the fact based on opinion, who's to say that your vc isnt failed open. When did VW last test your VC and give you a report on it's performance.

I dont need VW to give me a report on its performance because isnt failed open and this is confirmed by the fact that it works! Simples

[silverbullet]

And the award for "I always get the last word" goes to...

[HarryMann]

[jed the spread]

I know the very simple basics of off road driving, some know less than me and I have seen it, some know miles more than me, I listen to these people thats why I stick to what I have after I have understood how something works before I buy it.... These people have the last word in my books as they actually know what they are talking about though actual experience of driving more than 10 miles away from the house they live in more than 5 times a year and some may or may not be trained by VW, some may or may not be the best at what they do, some (you know who you are ) are just bloody nice and help me out when you can just because you are passing on the love . These people might or might not have driven through continents and might not see fit to buy more than one type of tyre to drive down the shops, to work or through the Sahara or not. Some people might get exited if it snows and are impressed because the 4wd van they own actually works (never understood the influx of, "I pulled the milk man out of the snow" thread... of course you did you have a 4wd with diff locks you ****).

The last word isnt down to the fella who has done 20 hard green lane trips through the gap, strata florida, in a year or the fella who has spent £1000 on some flashy mefros and BFG tyres just to do a combined milage of 1000 miles on pi55 easy green lanes in Wales where they "pooh" themselves.

There is an endless load of sh1te out there to tease the hard earned cash out of the Synrco owner, abit like Cocacola... you need it in your life because they tell you, so it must be true!!!!

Toys= de-coupler, flashy this and that, extra strength this and that, change this more often or less often, Big F**koff wheels, tires or what ever..

I will see you at the top waiting for you where I will be having a laugh, cup of tea and a big fat doobie with my mates

jed

[lloydy]

being a newbie my opinion probably don't count for much, but.... What i can't understand is the part people are buying to protect a worn vc actually costs more than a recon vc. And doesn't a stiff vc eventually fail anyway?
I've seen a decoupler at work on a greenlane day, and it made my mind up on the subject
Now i wouldn't get upset by the thought of someone having one, but i would rather have a working vc. Everyone like's toy's, i'd like to jack the van up and i always wanted really big tyres. But i listened to other people on the tyres and will be keeping to the same rolling radius, no point the van looking good, but performing worse off road

[Sync16]

The Decoupler is fantastic got mine from Henning at syncro services Approximately €560 plus returnable deposit €450 now I have three lights and pull switches in a row and no need for all those VC worries.

[syncropaddy]

The Decoupler is fantastic got mine from Henning at syncro services Approximately €560 plus returnable deposit €450 now I have three lights and pull switches in a row and no need for all those VC worries.

[silverbullet]

I will see you at the top waiting for you where I will be having a laugh, cup of tea and a big fat doobie with my mates

jed

Why thankyou mate - I accept the invitation wholeheartedly

now I have three lights and pull switches in a row

Says it all really but... if it makes you feel good then who's to say otherwise?

Look, if VW and SDP felt it necessary to invest in the development a decoupler for the syncro (and a PTO come to think of it - I'd really like one of those!) they wouldn't have done it on a whim.
I have seen the production drawings for the decoupler internals and the level of detail is mind-boggling.
A decoupler does help to eliminate tyre scrub when the syncro is driven on tarmac, makes the steering lighter if you haven't got PAS and arguably makes for a more versatile vehicle.
Think of it more like a seasonal control, rather than something you actively use when on the trail, which from my knowledge, wasn't intended to be used in this fashion anyway. If you don't need 4wd that day, then don't use it. If you do, engage the deco' and leave it alone until you're on tarmac again.
Simples

[silverbullet]

Forgot to say - I don't have a deco' fitted to our syncro but I would happily install one, if I had £600 sovs lying around with nothing better to do. I can see the benefit, FWIW.

[ajsimmo]

WHS ^^^ in all above posts,espesh

Get in your syncro, drive it how you like and modify it how you like (or leave it alone)

In a nutshell.

(IMHO This sentiment should also be applied to the rest of life in general.)

Just looking back, this is all Clive's fault. This thread was dormant for 21 months until he posted that damn (good) pdf...now it's the McViscous clan versus the McDecs.

BTW I think both are lovely.

[HarryMann]

Look, if VW and SDP felt it necessary to invest in the development a decoupler for the syncro (and a PTO come to think of it - I'd really like one of those!) they wouldn't have done it on a whim.

Ian, the decoupler was designed and produced to get the prototypes out there and testing the 4WD system well before the VC had been fully developed and tested and proven in its transfer box role. So its existence is evidence of very little, unless we can become flies on the walls of certain boardrooms over 25 years ago now

[torchy]

I know the very simple basics of off road driving, some know less than me and I have seen it, some know miles more than me, I listen to these people thats why I stick to what I have after I have understood how something works before I buy it.... These people have the last word in my books as they actually know what they are talking about though actual experience of driving more than 10 miles away from the house they live in more than 5 times a year and some may or may not be trained by VW, some may or may not be the best at what they do, some (you know who you are ) are just bloody nice and help me out when you can just because you are passing on the love . These people might or might not have driven through continents and might not see fit to buy more than one type of tyre to drive down the shops, to work or through the Sahara or not. Some people might get exited if it snows and are impressed because the 4wd van they own actually works (never understood the influx of, "I pulled the milk man out of the snow" thread... of course you did you have a 4wd with diff locks you ****).

The last word isnt down to the fella who has done 20 hard green lane trips through the gap, strata florida, in a year or the fella who has spent £1000 on some flashy mefros and BFG tyres just to do a combined milage of 1000 miles on pi55 easy green lanes in Wales where they "pooh" themselves.

There is an endless load of sh1te out there to tease the hard earned cash out of the Synrco owner, abit like Cocacola... you need it in your life because they tell you, so it must be true!!!!

Toys= de-coupler, flashy this and that, extra strength this and that, change this more often or less often, Big F**koff wheels, tires or what ever..

I will see you at the top waiting for you where I will be having a laugh, cup of tea and a big fat doobie with my mates

jed

Hear Hear
IMHO VW built a cracking vehicle with a VC so 4WD, the same that Audi called Quatrro and it works for Thousands of miles on, and off, highway.I Struggle to do 5000 miles a year so my bigger problem is keeping oil in the tappets!!. I'm not a purist but unless you are going across the desert, get a new VC, bring it back to original, and enjoy Audi Quatrro handling in a VW!