Lawrence and Martin - I belive that the main reason a front diff =
lock was
not available in the USA is due to the fact that when the front axle is =
locked
while driving on a good road surface, virtually all steering is lost and =
the van
keeps going straight on when it gets to a bend. Over here an =
accident
would be put down to "pilot error" - but I suspect in the USA =
the
manufacturer would get sued! Below are copies of earlier posts =
from Tim
Smith (
smitht@pop.unb.ca) =
which I
think answer your questions:
Don McCallum (1992 T3 1.6 TD =
Syncro,
1986 T3 1.9 Camper, North Wales, UK)
Hi =
Don,
I've
machined out the front diff to take the locker components from =
the
rear, they
are all identical. Derek's not the only one with a front locker
this =
side of
the pond :) They do rarely come up for sale too, as new units
from
Germany.
I've used an Audi Quattro locker control panel, =
fits
beautifully under dash
lip, includes a cig. lihter too. Much nicer =
than the
VW version, one click
of a nice big dial gets rear, another click =
gets front
added on. I can
lock/unlock faster and with more certainty, the VW =
knob/valve
is pretty
cheap plastic and had cracked already.
I =
can't run
the diffs independently, but doubt I would ever want to. =
I
wired up the
Audi PCB for it's LED indicators, works fine. No blinking.
Tried it =
first
with the VW panel, there is only one PCB in my VW panel, =
just
LED/bulbs, no
flasher cct. How is yours put together, with an extra
'mini-board'? =
My Syncro
came fully wired for the front locker, just
connected it up at the =
diff
switch and front LED came on! maybe winken und
blinken was a =
later
modification, handling does suffer with front engaged,
not a bad idea =
the
warning.
Hi Derek/Syncronauts,
short answer, ALL =
locker/servo
components are same in both ends. Remember,
SDP designed the system =
NOT VW
;).
My front locker was built from a dead trans rear =
locker. I
machined the case
myself. You keep your old front R&P however, =
just swap
the ring from
non-locker to locker carrier, and set it up properly =
:(.
Indicator switch
wiring is tied up to bottom of the chassis, nothing
electrical needed.
Control panel on dash is now from Audi =
Quattro,
nicer, single dial to twist,
one click for rear, two clicks for both, =
way
better made valve body, same
LEDs to light up (I use Audi centre diff =
as
front locker LED), and I got a
bonus cigarette lighter out of the =
deal.
Easier getting on/off the lockers
when turning in soggy cramped =
places. Low
profile, fits/looks nice under the
dash lip, after a bit of carving =
(of Audi
panel). Extra vac. line was also
taken from Audi.
>I am also interested in any =
information
regarding the following post
-
>
>Lawrence
>
>----------
>Martin Peitz
wrote:
>
>> I've been wondering about the availability of =
the
front diff lock in the
>> Syncro here in the US.
>> I =
have
never seen one equiped like that in the US, but maybe its a
>> =
regional
occurance. Canada may again be different.
>> In Germany, where =
people
order cars in the configuration they want them
>> in from the =
catalog
and option list, I have seens lots of front diff
>> =
locks.
>>
In the US most Syncros seem to have been sold with the rear lock
only,
>> but some no-lock-at-all cars are =
around.
>
>>
Does anybody know anything more about the VW sales approach =
and
>>
statistics on this.
>
>> I am contemplating to convert a =
front
diff to lock using the setup from
>> the rear =
lock.
>
>>
I remember somebody doing this before. Who was this? Please contact
me.
>> It is interesting to note that the front diff lock =
components do
not
>> list in the US parts fiche, but of course do show in the =
german
fiche.
>> This speaks against availability in the US, but then =
anything
is
>> possible in the confused VW sales
organization.
>
>> Anybody have a front diff housing for =
lock
laying around, maybe you
>> folks in =
Europe?
>