Date: Wed, 1 Apr 1998 02:57:15 -0600
Reply-To: Budd Premack <bpremack@WAVETECH.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Budd Premack <bpremack@WAVETECH.NET>
Subject: Syncro Driveshaft Repair (replacement u-joints)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
The following details my experiences with repairing my Syncro driveshaft by
replacing the u-joints at a reasonable cost of about $ 150. The
alternative to this method is to have VW rebuild the driveshaft for $ 700
(VW will not sell just the
u-joints), buy a new one for $ 1,000+, or find a good used one for perhaps
$ 300. (If you choose to get a used one, be sure it's in good shape, and
it wouldn't hurt to balance it prior to mounting it.)
I have waited so long to post this as I wanted to thoroughly test this
method prior to recommending it to the List. Since I have had several
recent inquiries about my experiences, I felt that it would be appripriate
to respond now, even though I do have some minor reservations, which will
be indicated later.
If you wonder whether your vibration is being caused by the center
driveshaft, just remove 4 bolts in front and 4 bolts in back and slip it
off. If you have no more vibration, you have determined the cause of the
problem is either bad u-joints, an unbalanced driveshaft, a bad rubber
damper on the driveshaft, or some combination. (You will not damage your
Syncro by driving it this way.) If you still have vibration, check out
your cv joints, transmission, engine mounts, etc.
The rest of this relates to u-joint replacement, which was my problem.
Last summer a driveline vibration was determined to be caused by worn
u-joints in the center driveshaft of my 86 Syncro. (130M) I originally
thought this would be easy to remedy as u-joints are cheap and readily
available, right? Not in this case!
The first driveshaft specialty shop initially ordered u-joints from all
three of their suppliers, rejecting each as being too small, even though
they were indicated as being the appropriate units for the Syncro.
Eventually they chose one set and said they would work if they were painted
and peened. I said ok. Bad choice/bad advice. The new u-joints were
loose immediately and vibrated, although not as badly as the old ones.
After much research (thanks to some of you Listees), I located the
"correct" u-joints. They are made by Bondioli & Pavesi (an Italian
company), part # 41203, size 27 x 70 (according to the original box which
is in front of me right now). They can be obtained from Six States
Distributing of Ogden, UT. Call Tom Wood there at
(800) 453-2022. He sold them to me for $ 24 each, plus $ 5 UPS. Always
replace both u-joints at the same time! This is not the place to try and
save a few $.
For those of you who want further info, the importer for Bondioli & Pavesi
is located in Ashland, VA (804) 550-2224. These u-joints are made for the
power takeoff unit on farm tractors, but are the "correct" size for
Syncros.
You can ship your driveshaft directly to Six States if you want. They told
me that they have replaced many Syncro driveshafts from all over. Call
them for details.
I chose to get mine done locally, at the other driveline specialty shop in
Minneapolis, as I was getting no satisfaction with the first shop.
Contact Todd at Proven Force Clutch and U-Joint (800) 444-0755 or (612)
425-7474.
He determined that my initial replacement u-joints had only been painted,
and not peened (hammered into place) by the first shop. If they had been
peened, they probably would not have loosened up for thousands of miles,
although eventually it would have occured.
My Bondioli & Pavesi u-joints were installed in my driveshaft and it was
then determined that their cross trunion spacing was wrong. (No, I had
never even heard of an uncrossed trunion before.) In effect, the internal
width of the center portion of the u-joint was about 1/16" too small, which
would cause much looseness and vibration upon installation and normal
driving torque.
After much creative thought and searching, Todd and his crew agreed with my
uninformed suggestion, i.e., "Why not just add a washer on each end to make
it fit properly?" However, this has to be a high tech type of
washer/spacer, so that the grease does not leak out. They located a firm in
CA which made such a device, and ordered it so that they could custom make
washers of the correct size.
Two weeks later, the device arrived, the washers (designated as a 910 shim
kit) were fabricated, and the u-joints were installed on my driveshaft.
CAUTION: Be sure that you have the driveshaft balanced at this point. Do
not neglect this step!
My driveshaft was then reinstalled on my Syncro (which had been happily
driven as a de facto two wheel drive Van for two months). Naturally, there
was no driveline vibration during this period as there was no driveline to
vibrate. Of couse, I only had the appearance of driving a Syncro, since
the viscous coupling and front differential were not connected to the
engine during this period.
Total cost for the installation of the u-joints, fabrication of the shims,
and balancing of the driveshaft was $ 90. Todd (of Proven Force) will be
happy to accept driveshafts by UPS from anywhere and will return them to
you the same way. Obviously, this will increase your cost by about $ 20-30
(round trip shipping).
I am happy to recommend Todd and the gang at Proven Force. The guys there
were friendly, capable, and certainly happy to resolve my problem, even
though they had never seen it (or me) before.
Since then, I have driven my Syncro for about 7000 miles, including a 4500
mile MN-CA trip last month. Everything has held together quite well,
EXCEPT that there appears to be some looseness in the rear u-joint, which
has a very minor vibration at speeds from about 25-60 mph. (This was
determined prior to my trip, but I was advised to drive it as it did not
appear to be getting any worse.) Since my trip was almost all at speeds in
excess of 65 mph, this was not a major concern. In fact, it did not
loosen any further during the trip. However, I will soon be going back to
Proven Force to inquire about the slight looseness. This minor vibration
is why I have not given my full recommendation prior to this time.
If there are any other Listees who have resolved this matter in another
way, please post to the List, as my p-mail has shown that this is a problem
sooner or later for many Syncros.
Budd Premack
87 Wolfsburg, 86 Syncro, 84 Vanagon (son's)
73 Super, 64 Bug
Minneapolis, MN
