>Tim, the spring compressor for the front of a Syncro Vanagon costs about
>$700. Can you give instructions for how to undo that assembly without using
>a spring compressor?

Duck? 
Seriously,  the upper A-arm isn't under load, just take off the two bolts 
holding the upper ball joint, and tap it out with wood block and hammer 
(just rust, no press fit). I'll let you know what happens when I take the 
lower arm off. I don't think the spring needs to be compressed until you 
have to change the shock. Taking off the upper balljoint allowed me to 
freely move the spindle hub around, this is how I checked for slop in lower 
joint. The lower joint appears removable with normal tools, in my case heat, 
WD-40, and a ball pein hammer. Will keep you posted as soon as I source a 
non-dealer ball joint. 
BTW... Why can't they assemble the entire strut and spring, then mount it 
with one additional nut/washer at the top, instead of bolting the frame 
mount in between during assembly? You could drop the strut off, then visit 
the nice garage with the great big bolted down mother of a spring 
compressor!  tim s.

aside... VW dealer had my '85 for 27 DAYS, spread over 6 months in 3 to 4 
day periods, to diagnose a fuel injection fault. They swapped out 
everything, gave me a new brain, probably similiar costs as you mentioned, 
plus I sued/won for the $2,500Cdn it cost me to have it fixed by a Bosch FI 
agency in 3 days. They put in an idle stabilizer, O2 sensor and a new 
airflow box that the dealer had tampered with. Thank god I had a warranty.