I've never heard of a rear cv on a vanagon failing catastrophically enough
to affect driving.
Generally they just start to clunk when turning one way.

Yep, 1 wheel drive in snow. GOOD snow tires help alot.
Otherwise a 2wd vanagon is "ehh" in snow.

The droning could also be a transmission related issue, such as a failing
Ring/Pinion Gear or Bearing.
Rule out wheel bearings first and change your transmission fluid if you
never have.

-Craig

On Thu, Jan 3, 2013 at 5:59 PM, Zoran Mladen <zmaninco@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I would agree that the droning is likely a wheel bearing.
>
> As far as the one wheel drive...that is correct!  These vans...as most
> cars are...is a one wheel drive vehicle.  Whichever rear wheel has the
> lesser resistance will spin.  Hence, if you raise one rear wheel in the
> air, the van is not going anywhere.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jan 3, 2013, at 15:35, Ed Duntz <eduntz@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > As soon as it's not quite so cold out, I'll jack up the van and do a
> little more investigating, but until then, I pose this question here. This
> is about my 1984 Vanagon.
> >
> > I have two symptoms. One is a noise from the rear which I think might
> best be described as a "droning." I hear it almost all the time that the
> vehicle is in motion. I haven't really listened for it at low speeds, but I
> hear it when I'm going about 30 mph, my average speed on my back roads. It
> is more prominent when cornering to the left. I hear it whether the van is
> in gear or not, and whether the clutch is in or out. This is what makes me
> think it may be a wheel bearing.
> >
> > My second symptom makes me wonder if I have a cv joint issue. I realize
> that when a cv joint goes, it usually means that the vehicle won't move, as
> the transmission can't turn one axle if the other has a bad cv. But I was
> traveling on snow, and I wonder if that allowed the wheels to turn
> independently and made a difference. I was traveling up a slight incline on
> snow and the van went up the hill partially sideways, probably at a 30
> degree angle. It seemed like one wheel was turning more than the other, and
> I had to steer accordingly so that the van went up the hill in my lane, but
> at an angle. There was not significant difference in the rear tires to make
> me think that had a large impact.
> >
> > Any thoughts are appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Ed
>