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Sun Jan 25, 2015 1:16 pm

Balancing is included at this shop. And he built a jig years ago for MellowCat, who has had several Syncro shafts through his shop. You can of course drive your Syncro through here on a summer trip and drop it off and keep going with rear wheel drive. Then pick it up on the way back through.

Whatever you do, best of luck and all that.

Cheers

Sun Jan 25, 2015 2:46 pm

There is no magic to drive shafts and u-joint replacement, but there are a few details that can help make it a greater success.

The yokes, the parts on the ends that attach to the gearbox and front diff, and the shaft, should be marked so you can put the shaft back together in the same orientation as removed. If you spin either of yoke you will lose the original balance.

The bump marks you see on old u joints is called brinneling. Its generally from a lack of grease.

The post earlier that spoke about CV joint wear should be noted, as well as tire size and wear. The object is to have both axles rolling smoothly at exactly the same speeds so there is no binding. You might also consider clocking the cv joints, especially if you've added any lift.

I would lose the do-nut. In a perfect world its okay, but its truly not necessary. No 4x4 can ever be completely vibration free, your going to feel something with all that machinery in motion and tied together. As long as everything is tight and retains its original balance, your not going to have trouble. The donut was put there so the soccer moms wouldn't feel "anything". But really its just something else to go wrong. Keep it simple.

Be careful "beating" them out. You do not want to damage the tube, its really not that thick. A dent can not only throw off balance, but can weaken the shaft. Use a leather mallet and strike the shaft on the weld area at the yoke. Several small blows with a decent mallet are gentler than one big one with a BFH. Same goes for tapping the end yokes over a socket, several light blows are better. It is possible to bend the ears and throw the yoke bores out of alignment, leading to both vibration as well as rapid u joint wear.

Last is the slip yoke. If you can keep it greased it should last a long time. Once it gets dry it can wear very rapidly. Once it starts to have perceptible wear, youll begin having balance issues.

Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:30 pm

Hi! I am gonna try the cheap route and see what happens! Does anyone have current parts numbers or where I can find ujoints for my stock driveline?! Thanks David

Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:38 pm

These are a fair replacement for the stock u-joints and be sure to check the internal bushings for wear.

Phil

Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:12 am

Thanks so much!

Are the grease zerks going to work or will I need to modifly or change them?

Tue Feb 17, 2015 8:33 pm

I opted to modify mine in order for it to rotate freely

Phil

Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:15 am

I just called NAPA and found that the u-joints are still available. Precision and SKF are now one company and they use the Precision part number UJ813.

Have two on order so will be rebuilding my shaft this week.

Current price is $30 each

Mon Jun 13, 2016 8:57 am

Good to know, thanks.

My driveshaft is smooth and quiet and I have NEVER done any maintenance. 177,000miles. Is there anything I should be doing NOW, to increase its longevity? I can renew the U-joints of course, but is there a trick to sneak some grease into the needles I have?

Sun Jul 24, 2016 7:56 am

What wears out on the stock shafts are the bushings behind the guibo. That is the rubber shock/vibration absorbing donut. It would be worth your time to pull the shaft apart, replace the o-ring and grease the joint. Make sure you mark everything so it goes back together the same way or you will be looking for somebody to rebalance the shaft.

Some years ago I had an old Mercedes I was restoring that didn't have zerks. Before I put in the new joint I removed a cap and drilled and tapped a hole for a zerk in the center of one end cap. You have to use the small zerks here.

I don't think I would do this on the car as you would take a chance of getting metal particles in the needle bearings.

You can buy a needle mounted to a zerk from the auto parts store but it would be difficult getting grease where you need it without ruining the seals on the u-joint. The needles are designed for adding grease to ball joints or tie rod ends that don't have fittings.

If they are tight leave them be but check them frequently.

The u-joints are not that difficult to replace especially if you have a press or a large vise and a good selection of sockets to press with.

PS The driveshaft I just rebuilt works great, no vibrations. I plugged the zerk holes as I couldn't find a small 90 degree fitting like the one WHIP618 used

Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:17 am

Correction, I misspelled the "rubber donut" name. Is is a giubo joint although you will find them listed on-line as guibo. The same giubo is used in BMWs and Mercedes. Also known as a flex disc. On the older Mercedes, where they use a two piece driveshaft, the giubo actually replaces the u-joint on the end of the tranny output shaft. No u-joint is necessary as the shaft and tranny are in alignment.

Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:50 am

Just in. Hope they are the correct ones!

Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:04 am

I replaced mine with a telescoping shaft and still have the 37mph vib, I removed it last week and notice that the flange on the front diff would wobble even though the nut was torqued, that didn't seem correct, I left the shaft out and will drive it like that till the Front Diff gets rebuilt over the winter. That vibration starts slowly at 33 and maxes out a 37 than goes away until around 75-77 than it starts again, it's very slight , most wouldn't notice it.

Sun Nov 11, 2018 6:46 pm

I'm finishing a driveshaft rebuild. For future readers using this thread for help, you don't need to build anything custom or drill the yoke to make the zerk fitting sit freely.
Instead, order an M8x1 flush-style fitting from McMaster. Works perfectly with no rubbing.

The new joints feels a little bit stiff. Anyone know if that's normal? I may back them out and re-grease them to be safe.

Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:06 pm

that friggin RULES!

Mon Nov 12, 2018 3:14 pm

I've been running a driveshaft with regular u joint like this since 2004. Had it in and out, transaxle out, engine out, front dif out, all separate events with separate realignment of parts. Never had a vibration. Lucky I guess :) It works.

I do have the ting ting clank from the inner bushings in the driveshaft being loose if I lug the engine.

Thu Nov 21, 2019 9:58 am

Has anyone used the Syncro driveshaft from Wholesale Import Parts and had any long term luck with it? Just wanting a update on this thread.

http://www.wholesaleimportparts.com/VW_Vanagon_Syncro_Driveshaft_1991.php

Thanks
Bob

Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:01 am

mbob wrote: Has anyone used the Syncro driveshaft from Wholesale Import Parts and had any long term luck with it? Just wanting a update on this thread.

http://www.wholesaleimportparts.com/VW_Vanagon_Syncro_Driveshaft_1991.php

Thanks
Bob

tencentlife wrote: But my machinist knows about a Chevy driveshaft that is a direct fit for the Syncro shaft, brand new at only $450, vs. $700 for rebuilts and $1100 for new VW shafts. The Chevy shaft doesn't have a Guibo disc, just a splined sliding joint in the middle.

Seems like it may be the Chevy shaft eluded to on page 1 post 11, as quoted above.

More than one way to skin these cats!

Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:10 am

That was an awful long time ago!

Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:29 am

Time is an allusion

Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:32 am

tencentlife wrote: That was an awful long time ago!

That's the point.....

The substitute has long been known, if you were to read.

But the poster wanted to know specific, long term, experience with the referenced shaft.

Maybe some one else has a "Chevy" shaft installed who can tell.

Having a Syncro Westy awaiting a turn for restoration, for about as long now, it kind of interests me too. But so does a full Subaru drive train too....

I can feel the money pressing to escape from my wallet!!! :)