Date:         Mon, 3 Jun 2002 16:46:30 -0000
Reply-To:     Cooper John LCDR ALCOM/J322 <John.Cooper@ELMENDORF.AF.MIL>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Cooper John LCDR ALCOM/J322 <John.Cooper@ELMENDORF.AF.MIL>
Subject:      SYNCRO TRANSMISSION SEAL
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

This list probably saved me my transmission!  There has been some talk
recently about list shrinkage, dissatisfaction, and non-vanagon content.
Well, hang in there.  I am prepping my Syncro for a trip down the Alaskan
Highway to Canada this weekend.  Last week I discovered the driveshaft
transaxle seal on front of my transaxle was leaking.  For those of you who
are not syncro owners, that is where the driveshaft exits the front of the
transmission going forward to the front axle.  I needed to take care of it
this weekend to travel next week.  When I called the FLAPS they told me the
seal was a dealer part.  When I contacted the dealer, they tried to tell me
it was part 113 311 113A.    I posed a question to the list, because this
didn't make sense to me.  Perhaps VW used the same seal on the input and
output shafts, but, I didn't think so.  The European ETKA CD I purchased
from a listee a couple of years back, showed part number 094 113 189 for the
forward diff seal, but I could not find the rear driveshaft seal on the CD.
So, I contacted AA Transaxle, on the vendor links page, and asked.  094 113
189 is used on both ends of the driveshaft.  He had two, and would ship me
one if I wanted.  I ended up purchasing it locally, but really appreciated
the help.  Then I started looking for gear oil.  I did a couple of e-mail
searches of the archives, and found several lively discussions.  I wanted to
put synthetic oil in my tranny, but after the discussions I found that only
a couple were not GL-5, Amsoil, and Red Line.  Neither is available locally
in Anchorage Alaska.  So, I marched to THREE DIFFERENT FLAPS.  All three
tried to tell me that their brands of oil marked GL-5, GL-4, GL-3... were
all compatible with my needs.  "When the new specs come out the oils are
automatically compatible with the older specs."   Armed with knowledge that
this list gave me, I stuck to my guns, and one of the stores had a GL-4 oil
manufactured by CRC that SPECIFICALLY mentioned that it was safe for use
with transmissions with bronze or other yellow metal parts.  Bottom line, if
I had not had the resources of this list I would have purchased the wrong
seal, and probably ruined my transaxle with an incompatible gear oil.  I too
get tired of reading about the occasional rantings and ravings about this
and that.  Hey I get that off talk radio.  But, there are some great
resources available on this list that certainly justify my participation.
And, if I don't post very often, it is because I found the answers to my
questions already in the archives.  Go Navy!  John Cooper '87 Syncro
Westfalia.