I was in a similar position with my 2WD though it may have had more
miles on it at the time. I know the Syncro is different, but in
hindsight, the front end work wasn't rocket surgery save for the old
style seized radius arm fasteners (you don't have these). That said,
the Syncro is obviously more involved. There's some great pics on
thesamba.com Check Hodakguy thread on his Syncro build here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=517384&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=hodakaguy&start=120

give or take a page or two. It's image intense but an awesome build overall IMO.

I would suggest that if you know for sure that some parts are
original, and still in good shape, they might be worth keeping. Some
aftermarket parts may not last as long. (see threads on upper ball
joints and upper control arm bushings). The UCA bushings on my '81 are
now squeaking and they have much less than 50K miles. If you replace
the upper ball joints, have a look and see if they have enough grease.
IIRC, the boot is held on by a small gauge metal (circlip? circle
clip? clipular circle?) ring.

OTOH, it's a nice feeling knowing that the front end is "new".

Neil.

On Fri, Sep 27, 2013 at 9:18 AM, Mark McCulley <markmcculley@gmail.com> wrote:

> With 187K on my '87 syncro ..... I've never worked on this part of the
> van before and would like some advice on what exactly I should consider
> replacing?

--
Neil n

Blog: tubaneil.blogspot.ca

'88 Westy http://tinyurl.com/c8rlw6p

'81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"  http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

Vanagon VAG Gas inline-VR Engine Swap Group:

http://tinyurl.com/d7gd5ej