Syncro: Cut protection bar access for gearbox oil drain plug

[Sodo]

This thread is kinda "late" in the Syncro life cycle.
.....towards 30 years and a few rebuilds too late.
Lack of gearboxes will soon doom lots of nicely built-out vans to sit behind the barn.
That day is coming and it's not a happy day.

2WD vans have Subaru gearbox options (time will tell if they can push the brick....).
But there's no hope for a Syncro gearbox replacement with a compound low gear and a differential locker.

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If you have a Syncro, it's wise to cut around the gearbox oil drain plug to reduce this 'barrier to proper maintenance'.

I suspect a lot of Syncro owners, knowing they have a "special antique" would have harumphed the (VW self-serving) manual stating that the gear oil 'does not need to be checked or changed';
only to slide under the van, noting the difficulty, decided it would be a big hassle to change the gear oil.
Perhaps to do it 'later'.
And then 'later' became after it started to 'make noise'.
Which is far, far too late.
The trans is worn out. And sadly, due to 'non-maintenance'.
Probably NOT intentional non-maintenence, but cultural non-maintenance.
Nobody else was maintaining their Vanagon transaxles.
I suspect many attentive vehicle maintainers fell into this trap.

It's ironic how the "protection bars" have actually DOOMED Syncro transaxles by creating a significant impediment to maintenance, moreso than 2WD.

Here's the best pic I can come up with.
If any Syncro owners would crawl under the van and take a pic of what
the 'gearbox drain area' will see from under the van,
I'm sure that other Syncro owners would appreciate it.

30 years may be late in the game, but better late than never!!👍🏽👍🏽

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IMHO, a Syncro in the 1st 100k miles the oil should have been changed the first 500 / 1000 miles to flush out the break-in trash, then thereafter every 30k miles.

An "old trans" that's still quiet should be maintained every 15,000 miles.
A rebuilt trans (which has new bearings and old gears) should be changed every 15,000 miles.
Any trans with a big engine hanging on it should be changed every 10,000 or every other engine oil change. If your drainplug magnet is coming out clean at 10,000, you can reasonably extend your interval.
But ya gotta LOOK at the magnet to know this.
_________________


'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]

[jberger]

I definitely used a hole saw to radius an access hole to the drain plug then cut through with a sawzall. Oddly enough the only Syncrodemayo I attended resulted in that cross member getting smashed up against the diff cover creating a weird rattle. I cut it off when I got home and it's lived in the same spot between my garage doors since. C'est la vie

J

[Sodo]

[dkoesyncro]

Sodo,
I hear you and I get what you're saying but I'm picking up another message in this PSA...I don't like it!

[Sodo]