rebuild 2wd to Syncro transmission?

[WTGPhoben]

[tjet]

I forsee the syncro market dividing. People will demand born syncros once the value starts to take off, not a conversion.

Just look at the muscle car and vintage Corvette market.

[DuncanS]

The question is what do you want? Love doesn't deal with evidence and facts. I just whacked a huge hole in the engine deck because I wanted to. I'm about to put a power window in the DS rear fixed window spot. I'm about to cut the roof out of my tin top from the B pillar all the way back to the AC evaporator unit with little plans of what to do next. No high top or pop top.

Because I want to.

A Syncro, if in demand will bring a good price whether it is grey market for not. If certified by a reliable mechanic, that's all the next owner needs to know. The next owner has only one question. Can I realize my dreams in this vehicle or not?

Go for it.

Duncan

[MarkWard]

[4Gears4Tires]

[dobryan]

[MsTaboo]

That's what I've been saying. Might be more cost effective to start with a better engine and some other prerunner type upgrades before dumping $yncro money into the project. With a 2wd you can upgrade to a much more powerful engine without worrying about trashing an expensive Syncro transmission (still waiting for someone with deep pockets to finance a new Syncro transaxle ).
With a 2wd setup you can always upgrade to a 5 speed Subaru transmission.

The main difference I found with all season driving and forest service roads is the Syncro handles snow/ice/rain MUCH better than 2wd and of course can get itself out of tough spots better, but the 2wd Vanagon is pretty capable.
The Syncro AWD is great for all weather travels and will handle really bad roads, but you have to weigh the costs.

I love my Syncro, and will never go back to 2wd, but I also have a lot of money invested into mine (and I bought it fairly cheap). It's now to the point where I worry about leaving it at trailheads overnight and keep a close eye on it all the time.
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
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[dobryan]

[tjet]

Looks like Go Westy sells syncro transmissions

https://www.gowesty.com/product/manual/4281/rebuilt-syncro-transaxle-with-locking-differential

[Sodo]

That has to be exchange.
And based upon a rebuildable core.

And not a "core" that has welded its shafts to the gears and has to be cut open with a sawzall.
I heard of this recently....
another syncro trans bites the dust.
The quantity went down, demand up, and street-price, up (by one increment).
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[MsTaboo]

[vandroid]

[MsTaboo]

Yeah, I know that's a coming option. Still a bit of range anxiety when thinking all electric when off-road camping and long road trips to out of the way areas.
And it's a major reworking of the drivetrain to try and do a hybrid.
A straight forward Syncro transmission replacement still has it's place.
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

The information age has morphed into the age of disinformation and willful ignorance. Agnotology!
Help the fight against Truth Decay.
Defend democracy, support Ukraine.

[WTGPhoben]

Accidentally hit post twice... See next post.
_________________
'85 Full Camper #westyjanefonda

[WTGPhoben]

In case anyone was interested what I finally came up with, I did make a call and have a self-review of the results...

Ultimately I decided that the uncertainty about how long before a viable modern [electric] replacement for the Vanagon comes along was too great to target a full syncro conversion (the downtime for a vehicle I use all the time was also not very attractive), but I do care about reliability (I have one of the early transmissions that are prone to exploding unexpectedly in the 125k mi range), and I did want more capability. I decided to do a rebuild and a locking TBD with some modified gearing on my 4spd (I was told upgrading to 5spd was cost prohibitive so I didn't really inquire any further)

Final Details:
Tire Height: 27.0 (215/65r16)
Ring&Pinion: 5.43 (much smaller than stock)
1st: 3.78 (stock)
2nd: 2.06 (stock)
3rd: 1.14 (taller)
4th: 0.78 (taller still)

The goal here was to get a little more steep + low traction terrain capability while retaining my ability to go fast on the highway.

In practical terms the gearing above gave me 1st gear that's noticeably lower than a bone stock van (original wheels and gearing). This is great for stop and go traffic and the van will grind up a terrifyingly steep slope (30%?) without hesitation. The lower final drive also makes 2nd gear usable in more rugged conditions. 3rd gear ends up netting a little taller than stock with my wheels and fourth a little taller still, allowing both to be good highway gears that take me to 51.9 and 75.9 mph @4000 RPM respectively.

The locker was a last-minute add when I realized that it wasn't a whole lot more expensive to do (+$1400 installed, IIRC, and I happened to end up with an AAN bellhousing on my exchange, so it's a tiny bit like a syncro...), though I doubt I'll use it much.

Overall I'm happy with the result. The TBD is very noticeable in "everyday" situations I encounter like backing out of my driveway onto a street that's ~23% or climbing twisty dirt roads. The gaps between gears do require that the engine be revved, 2-3 is basically redline to middle of the green zone on the tach, but I'd do that anyway simply because I tend to drive pretty fast. My only real complaint is that around town I need a lot more double clutching in 1 and 2 to make sure I match revs than I did with the old gearing.

Anyway, hope this is helpful info for someone!
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'85 Full Camper #westyjanefonda

[Sodo]