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Date:         Sat, 18 Sep 1999 23:54:15 -0700
Reply-To:     Roger Bowman <bowmanrp@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roger Bowman <bowmanrp@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Re: [Syncro] syncro driveline rebuilders in Seattle area
Comments: To: Mark McCulley <transporter99@hotmail.com>, syncro@onelist.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Just a few thoughts...

I also have a high mileage drive shaft with vibrations in a couple of RPM ranges. I pulled mine out, several times, attempting to correct the problem.

I had new u-joints installed (a mistake; I would have preferred to install them myself - and I think the shop boogered the journals in one of the ends)

So I thought I would have the shaft spin balanced, which would either confirm above mentioned boogering, or show some other difficulty (i.e., bent, out of balance, out of phase with our time-space, etc.)

And no one has the fixtures to spin the VW shaft. Facing $695-1295 for rebuilt/new drive shaft...I had one fabricated.

The new shaft has more common OTS parts, with greasable joints and a slider to adjust geometry as the different parts of the van flex. It cost me less then $350. It works great.

Although you might try having a local drive line shop "rebuild" the shaft, all that means is installing new u-joints. The rubber flex collar will remain, and if that is the source of your vibration, you are stuck with it until you replace the shaft; the rubber collar is not serviced as its own part. Try to find a shop that will spin balance/straiten etc the rebuilt unit when they are done; might save you the trouble of installing the newer unit only to have to pull it again.

And now with about 500 miles city and highway driving, all appears to be well. The new shaft is not quite as smooth as the OEM shaft, given the absence of the rubber collar, but is smooth in operation throughout the RPM band. So far, I am happy...

Roger Bowman - bowmanrp@ earthlink.net Live Smart. Think for Yourself. Transform the Future

---------- >From: "Mark McCulley" <transporter99@hotmail.com> >To: syncro@onelist.com, vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com >Subject: [Syncro] syncro driveline rebuilders in Seattle area >Date: Sat, Sep 18, 1999, 5:51 PM >

> From: "Mark McCulley" <transporter99@hotmail.com> > > I pulled my driveshaft today--was experiencing vibrations at a couple of RPM > ranges for the last 6 months or so. Now I need to decide whether to get a > remanufactured unit from a VW dealer ($600+) or try to have it rebuilt > locally. >


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