Yes, the Syncro engine and tranny angle is different. The nose of the
tranny is lower to allow the center driveshaft part of it to clear the
cross member and also to line up properly with the front diff. Of course
in a Syncro the engine hangs lower from the body also but not as much as
the tranny nose needs to for the 4wd shaft. In Syncros that came with
inline 4 cyl engines they had to add a second oil drain plug on the
front end of the oil pan in order to use the same basic pan.

Mark

Alistair Bell wrote:
> I can’t recall for sure, but maybe it’s the angle of dangle of the engine ....
>
> I know that’s true for the in-line four vanagon engines. I just can’t recall about the wbx in the Syncro. I know the engine sits lower, but I can’t remember if the angle is different .
>
> Alistair
>
>> On Jun 7, 2018, at 7:55 PM, Dan N <dn92610@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>
>> I noticed there's a difference between the dipstick of a Syncro (green) and
>> a 2WD (red)..
>>
>> the minimum mark on the Syncro's dipstick is lower than the one on the 2WD
>>
>> https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=1686306
>>
>> so I ask myself a question ... why do they take effort to design and make a
>> different dipstick since both van share the same WBX engine (yeah.. there
>> are some differences but not much)... just guessing:
>>
>> - the engine sits an a different angle on the Syncro (leaning more forward)?
>>
>> - they didn't trust Syncro drivers to check the oil level as often as a 2WD
>> drivers?
>>
>> hehe...
>