I'm sure Angus has already done this to prepare for this lovely task in the
> breakdown lane of I-5 on a dark and rainy PNW day or night.  ;-)
>

Actually my first line of defense is a tire repair (plug) kit and bicycle
pump under the back seat. I've never yet had to use the spare on my
Vanagons (knock on rust).

I have removed propshafts a time or two however, probably vying with
Alistair for some sort of record there. I don't bother with indexing the
flanges, after a certain number of driveshaft/U-joint permutations it
becomes a moot point.

Angus

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Angus Gordon
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 9:14 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: New owner questions-Syncro ownership costs.
>
> The propshaft which joins your transaxle to the front diff/VC can be
> removed. Four bolts/nuts at each end.
>
> Angus
>
>
> Angus Gordon
> Bainbridge Island WA
>
> On Nov 29, 2012, at 8:56 AM, "sailingfc @dslextreme.com"
> <sailingfc@dslextreme.com> wrote:
>
> > That's very interesting.  Can you describe what you have to do to
> > remove the driveshaft and which one are you removing? (or can I search
> for
> it in the archives?) Thanks.
> > -Dick-
> >
> > On Thu, Nov 29, 2012 at 7:41 AM, Angus Gordon <birdworks@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > I carry a mismatched spare tire, along with a set of open end wrenches to
> remove the driveshaft should I ever need to use the spare. A decoupler
> would
> be nice - wrenches are cheaper.
> >
> > Angus
> >
> >
> > Angus Gordon
> > Bainbridge Island WA
> >
> > On Nov 28, 2012, at 11:31 PM, Dick Wong <sailingfc@DSLEXTREME.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > > You're right, tires are cheaper than a VC.  I guess I'll go shopping
> > > this weekend and see what I can find for the spare.  If I can't find
> > > the same tire, I hate to toss out a set of A/T light truck tires
> > > that only have about 11K miles on them.
> > >
> > > -Dick-
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Dennis Haynes [mailto:d23haynes57@hotmail.com]
> > > Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 11:17 PM
> > > To: 'Dick Wong'; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > > Subject: RE: New owner questions-Syncro ownership costs.
> > >
> > > 4/32" is a worn out tire anyway. Test have shown wet traction at
> > > that point is half along with reduced hydroplaning resistance. AT tires
> can be 15/32"
> > > or more new. One different tire on an axle is not as bad as two. And
> > > a new coupling can be $2K plus installation. Makes matched tires
> > > cheap. If your coupling fails in the excessive aggressive mode than
> > > consider a drive shaft de-coupler.
> > >
> > > Dennis
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> > > Behalf Of Dick Wong
> > > Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 1:40 AM
> > > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > > Subject: Re: New owner questions-Syncro ownership costs.
> > >
> > > Wow, that's not much!
> > >
> > > So a brand new tire has maybe 12/32" depth on the new tread. If I
> > > put on the same tire worn tire down to say 4/32" tread depth, the
> > > difference from the center of the tire to the tread is 0.25" or 6.4mm.
> > > That's enough to fry my VC?
> > >
> > > -Dick-
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Robert Stevens [mailto:mtbiker62@gmail.com]
> > > Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 10:18 PM
> > > To: Dick Wong
> > > Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > > Subject: Re: [VANAGON] New owner questions-Syncro ownership costs.
> > >
> > >
> > > On Nov 28, 2012, at 10:29 PM, Dick Wong <sailingfc@DSLEXTREME.COM>
> wrote:
> > >
> > > So how much difference in tire size is considered a mismatch?  I
> > > have 27x8.50-14s all around and the spare is 205/70x14. According to
> > > my tire calculator that's a difference of 1.63" between the two.
> > >
> > > IIRC, about 3mm is max tolerance before your VC notices and burns
> > > up. That is about $1K to replace.
> > >
> > > bob
> > > -----
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> > > 11/28/12
> > >
> > > -----
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> >
>