Reviving a Syncro

[raoul mitgong]

Those wheels look like they were made for a Syncro. And 5 spokes with 5 lugs just visually balances out for me.

On the MPG, have you had it smogged yet? How do the plugs look?
-d
_________________
84 Westy with a 2.1 (Groover)
86 Tintop Syncro (Crow)
86 Tintop Syncro to Westy project (Tom Servo)
91 Westy (Only the top 12 inches of this van (a burn victim))

[joetiger]

I've been able to find a little bit of time over the past few days to get some work in on the van.

I removed the intake and found that it was incredibly dirty from front to back. The throttle body was thick and black with dirt inside. I went through two cans of throttle body cleaner and got it, the tubes, and the air cleaner housing all polished up.

I also disconnected the OXS for the drive home from work the other day, and it made a huge difference in driveability. The hesitation was reduced and power much improved; I ordered a new sensor, tune-up parts, fuel filter, etc.

I don't think there's a magic bullet with the engine's acceleration issues. It's just been neglected for a long time, so I'm going through everything to make sure it's clean and operational. Even after all of that, I can't see this motor having a much easier time getting the 28" tires rolling.

I relocated the A/C lines (pictured here) underneath the intake, which leaves about two inches that I can shorten the engine cover. I don't know why the PO arranged the engine bay so inefficiently.

I was able to drop the transmission this weekend in order to get to the rear main seal and replace the clutch while I'm in there.

My first indication that the transmission had been worked on previously was the stripped fill plug:

I went ahead and drained the fluid since I knew I was taking the trans out anyway and could fill it from the drain hole (I realize that this doesn't help me in the future...) I was relieved to find a pretty clean magnet.

Here's the beast on the ground.

I also removed the bell housing to get a look at the diff and was delighted to find a Peloquin differential! So no locker, but it'll do.

Tomorrow I'll have a few hours to get going on replacing the main seal and installing the new clutch.

I'm not sure where to go from there. The smart thing to do is probably just pull the motor, clean up the engine bay, and deal with the rusty gas tank straps; however, I'm not sure this motor is the long-term solution, so I'm also thinking I'll button it up, drive it like this for the winter, then replace the motor with something more to my liking next spring.

I'm very happy about the trans. That's a $4k win as far as I'm concerned.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[dobryan]

Looking good.
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[raoul mitgong]

[alijonny]

Hey, just an FYI, I have an ABA in my syncro mounted at 15°, no supercharger though... Kinda jealous... Haha. If you need any help, I've been sorting mine out for a bit now, it has been running good. Message me or find me on the VOG on FB if you need any assistance.
_________________
1965 Beetle
1990 Syncro Westfalia
1983 Westfalia

[joetiger]

Alijonny and JRobewesty's thread about an ABA in a Syncro has been a really big help for inspiration and in trying to figure out how to move forward with the exhaust when I get to that point.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=545773

In the meantime, I stole an hour the other night and replaced this leaky rear main seal and oil pan gasket.

I could only get one motor mount free. I considered hacking the other one, but again, I want to get it buttoned up and driving for the winter, then we'll reassess the engine later on down the line.

I did quite a contortion with the carrier, pulling it way down on the free side to get the pan out. (What was that thread about "are you a mechanic?" Any worthwhile mechanic would have been aghast.) Sadly, no pictures of that shit show.

KEP...Funny, the 2wd Vanagon sitting outside is running a Subaru KEP adaptor plate.

If the stars align and I get some time to myself, clutch, trans, and ancillaries tonight and tomorrow morning, and hopefully move on to the front diff tomorrow afternoon.

I'm starting to get used to having a face full of rust. And I really miss driving the thing, warts and all.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[joetiger]

Got it all back together, still leaks oil...From the oil cooler. Adding that to the list. I also replaced all of the rusty old hardware with shiny new bolts during reassembly.

Replaced the plugs, cap, and rotor. They'd been done in November, and the plugs didn't look bad. I went with a different NGK plug that allegedly runs better with this supercharger according to an old thread on vwvortex, and I can confirm that a little hotter plug is making a bit of a difference. The driveability problem seems to be a lot of little things. This van was neglected for a long time.

Removing the rear bumper was a two hour death match, but I won, then sold it!

So yeah, I'm going to be one of those knuckleheads with a sweet new bumpers...

...And horrifying rocker rust. Obviously I gotta deal with this ASAP. I'd like to mitigate it somehow then deal with it correctly when I paint the van next spring. I have never done body work, so I'm very VERY open to ideas. (hint hint.)

I also added a GoWesty third brake light.

The exhaust is still loud and obnoxious, so I figure I'll mess around with that today and see what I can come up with. To that end, I bought a straight pipe, tail pipe, and Ernst 1.9 muffler in decent shape for next to nothing from a very cool Samba member.

The biggest news of the day is that it PASSED EMISSIONS! It stutters and hesitates under load a bit, but it sure does run clean.

Next up is exhaust, VC, shoulder belts, trying to get the AC system to stop rattling, and a million other things.

So yeah, I'm taking a shotgun approach. I do something hard and messy then I do something easy.

It has become a really fun daily driver. I realize that rock crawling and pretty vistas are the most popular ways to utilize a Syncro, but it's a beast in the city, eating up potholes and deftly navigating traffic.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the whole thing. You never know how badly you needed a project until you're lucky enough to find one.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[dobryan]

Joe,

Reagrding that rust... other than putting on some ospho or other rust converter I'd be careful about what you do since you intend to tackle it in the spring. I would very much stay away from any oil or wax treatments since they will creep into the seams and make the body work very difficult.

Have fun!

(Unfortunately the Skins play the Broncos Xmas eve here and I won't be able to go to the game or I'd have you over for the game.... )
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[photogdave]

[BavarianWrench]

Hello Joe, was the Driveshaft in when they did the etest? If it was, and you had it decoupled, thats not so good? The decoupler was not designed to have the front output flange held stationary while the decoupled shaft spins at 60mph. In most on road situations the front wheels are moving at close to the same speed as the rears. Some decouplers only have a bushing to support the shaft and no decoupler has a very large oil supply going to it to cool it. I always run mine 4wd in the 4wd dyno lane. Your photo shows you're in the 2wd lane. Just a heads up for two years from now. Glad it is going well.

[joetiger]

The driveshaft is currently sitting in my garage, so full time 2wd.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[joetiger]

I went to the Pixies show last night and wisely took a much-needed day off from work today to do a few things with the Syncro; I've been able to steal an hour here and an hour there to keep the project going and was happy to have the good part of a day. Nothing major has been accomplished lately, but I'm daily driving it and still having fun.

Here's a rundown of the past few weeks.

I finally got plates! Feels much more official now. Monday at 11 AM in the middle of the month, I was the only customer at the DMV. Shocking.

I replaced the door handle seals and the front window seals; the old ones just about disintegrated in my hands. I was surprised to find how orange the trippy paint stripe was before it apparently faded, evidenced by the areas covered by the handles:

The sliding door sounded like it was haunted. Shrieks and screams coming from under the cover every time the door was opened. I removed it and the old seal which was painted over with the respray...

There was some surface rust under there, but it was still really solid and in much better shape than I'd feared. I greased the tracks and used bicycle lube on the moving parts. Now it glides smooth as silk and sounds like new.

New seal from Van Cafe.

Here's a weird mystery, how do you burn the front of a side mirror? Did they park it too close to a camp fire? I kinda dig it though. This ain't no show queen...

I'm still finding evidence of a vehicle that sat for a good while.

It's still not running right. It fires up, idles well, and the first two accelerations, it FLIES. Then it settles into the usual underpowered, ocassionally stuttering hesitation when under full throttle.

I replaced the OXS, coil, and cleaned the throttle body good again. I was checking the idle control valve and wiggled the wires and they disintegrated in my hand! I was able to get a replacement plug at O'Reilly's surprisingly.

Everything I've replaced has made it better, but I'm still just not there with the motor.

I also converted from square to round H4 headlights and plasti-dipped the grills. I'm much happier with the look and I can confirm that the lighting is superior. Added decals as well. You'll notice no cap on the driver's side wiper bolt...I know how important they are. GW sent me 13mm caps instead of 10mm, which I pretty much destroyed trying to crush them on. I'll order a couple more from somewhere else.

Added 3-point belts to the rear bench. I had a couple of the OEM ones in my stash; the GoWesty version would have required much more cutting of the plastic shrouds.

The rocker rust has been cleaned, wire brushed, and treated. I'll do a full repair down the line sometime. I also added the rubber drip rail covers. Little things like that are easy to accomplish and make the van look so much better.

The colors and pin striping are actually starting to grow on me. It's a fairly unique looking Syncro and, warts and all, it gets a lot of compliments.

I still need to re-do the exhaust. I have all the parts but haven't grabbed the sawzall yet.

There's a rebuilt VC sitting in the garage begging to be installed, but I've torn two of the dry-rotted front CV boots since I've been driving it. I'm waiting for those to arrive before I tear it down.

I'm aiming for this weekend to get at least one of those objectives completed. Getting there.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[dobryan]

👍👍👍👍
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[joetiger]

Sometimes when getting into even the easier procedures, it's worth it to go out and see if the web can point you to what others have done as a way to bone up before jumping in. With that in mind, I was happy to find this excellent Syncro fuel filter replacement writeup yesterday:

https://shufti.blog/2010/08/03/syncro-fuel-filter-replacement/

I should have checked/replaced the fuel filter the first day I had the damned thing, but I became overwhelmed with the myriad other stuff that the van needed. Here's what I found. It was pretty nasty and corroded.

Hmm...Maybe hasn't been changed in awhile?

While the hoses appeared to be in good shape, I replaced what I could get to with Gates Barricade. The brackets were solid but rusty, so I cleaned them up and hit them with some converter paint.

As I've mentioned before in this thread, there's no magic bullet to the driveability issues; every time I do something, it gets a little better. This little job definitely made a difference.

Dropping the tank and replacing all of the remaining lines is high on the list.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[joetiger]

I did a little bit of Syncro work last week.

Here's the supercharger apart, pretty simple device. It was filthy inside but cleaned up well. There really isn't much to it; the bearings are clean and quiet. Replaced the oil in the nose.

I always take a photo of the serp belt before disassembly.

I'm still having acceleration/power issues. The intake air sensor was filthy, but cleaning it up made no difference. I'm now leaning towards temp-related because it runs like a top for the first couple of minutes, then it warms up and runs like shit.

It's a used VW lot. Had to move everybody around front to clean up the garage for Syncro work.

The front diff came out pretty easily, but then anything is easy when the diff bushing bolts snap in two instead of simply unscrewing. This was an unexpected treat that set me back a few days. It also meant that I couldn't take the Syncro to the Vanagons and Microbrews gtg, which was a bummer.

As I pouted about the Syncro being on jackstands and having to take the Westy, my wife said, "you know, some people don't even have one Vanagon."

New (rebuilt) stock VC from Van Cafe.

The magnet looks good.

After a parts delivery Wednesday, I was able to get it all back together.

I had been running it without the driveshaft. All positions were marked and reassembled exactly as had been before, so I don't have any real drivetrain vibration.

However, the resonance from the motor from 2000-3000 RPM through the driveshaft vibrates the whole vehicle, and it sucks. I still haven't re-done the exhaust either.

Does anybody know if there's a hydraulic mount that can be installed at 45 degrees? Somebody mentioned the Mercedes 190 in another thread. These are intact, but I don't think they do much:

"6 ARP 2366." I can't find any reference to this part number on the interwebs. I'd like to find out what vehicle these mounts were intended for as a starting point for replacements.

Any money not spent on Syncro parts goes here.

Temp sensor, exhaust work, and chasing down some interior rattles today before I start "prepping" for LSU-Alabama this evening. This would look nice on my Syncro.

_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[Paulbeard]

[joetiger]

Toyota Corolla! Anchor industries part #2406.

Twenty pages of mounts on Summit Racing's website. Whew.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[IdahoDoug]

Sweet! So I'm on your wavelength. This summer I put new motor mounts on the Vanagon. What a difference. Can barely feel it idle and above idle the van is just a magic carpet ride. And 48 hours ago I finished putting new motor mounts under the 944's engine. Probably about 17 times more difficult than the Van. I never want to do that again. Half of it is done with your hand up in a tiny crevice never seeing the fastener until it falls on your forehead. Made all the more special when the left motor mount opens and dumps a half cup of bright green D-Con mouse poison on your face. It's tubular and the car sat for years in a barn.

Anyhow, good find.
_________________
1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[joetiger]

Thanks Doug! I love 944's but I swear you're the umpteenth person from whom I've heard a horror story about working on them.

The old mounts on this van are obviously worn out and there might be a better option out there than going with the same ones, but the way I see it, the conversion was done in the late '90's, and the last owner drove it for many years with these mounts. There's no way he could have survived the resonance that I have now if the motor mounts weren't effective. And they're very inexpensive, so why not try it before reinventing the engine cradle, so to speak.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com

[joetiger]

After successful knee surgery that kept me out of the game for a bit of time, the work goes on. I'm due for an update of all that I've completed but I'm in the middle of a really weird one and figured I'd seek some knowledge.

Driveability. As I've said, it idles perfectly, bogs and hesitates through 2200-4100 or so, then takes off. In the midst of researching why this would be the case, I suddenly realized that the simplest answer is usually the right one, and D'OH checked the timing. What I found created more questions.

At TDC, the rotor tip should line up with this little notch. It did not. The rotor's butt does, though, almost. Why would anybody time the rotor at 190 degrees off TDC?

So, I timed it up perfectly at zero, correctly, with the crank, cam, and intermediate (dist) shaft lined up perfectly. I tried to start it and got nothing but backfires and flooding. Loosened, timed, tried to start x 4, same result.

Then it hit me--if the thing was timed this way, then the firing order was also timed this way. And, sure enough, the plug wires were set up to fire 180 degrees off of TDC. I put them back in the correct firing order and tried to start it; it turned over, but would not catch.

The plugs were fouled and it was flooded, so I took out the plugs and let it air out overnight. New plugs the next day, tried to start it. Nothing. I've got spark, I've got fuel, but something's wrong.

So I thought some more and looked back at a picture of the old rotor:

Extreme scoring on the left side--it was not timed correctly, meaning, if 180 degrees off TDC is correct time, then whoever installed the timing belt was off a couple of teeth and that, most likely, caused the driveability issues.

After work today, I'm going to start over, time it correctly (incorrectly) to 180 degrees below TDC, and see if it starts and runs right. I'd prefer to do it the way the factory intended, but that seems silly since it's a '94 Jetta motor in a Vanagon and if I cared so much about factory I wouldn't be messing with the thing anyway.

My question: I now think I understand why it was running poorly, due to a just-off timing belt install, but why would somebody purposely run it at 180 degrees off TDC? Does that trick the ECU in some way?

Because it obviously doesn't start when it's timed right. My gut tells me crank sensor, but it tested fine.

I've ordered a cable and downloaded VCDS Lite, so hopefully in a few days I'll be able to pull OBD1 codes.

In the meantime, I've become an expert in ABA timing belt installation and can do so with only one knee functioning correctly.
_________________
Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'04 GTI 1.8T
'04 Golf R32

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Available Now! Vanagon to Louisiana--A Two-Lane Reckoning Through Past and Present

www.josephtrussell.com