The material in this document is copywrite 1994 by Derek Drew, 487 Columbus

Ave. #3R, New York, NY 10024 (212)-580-4459. It may be reproduced and
redistributed for any non-commercial purpose provided proper credit is
given to
the author. Contact the author for permission to reproduce in a commercial
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Before giving you the specs, a disussion of how to lift the van is in
order.
Since I regularly drive my Vanagon Syncro Camper on rough terrible roads
and
bash the underside, I have undertaken to lift it a bit. I lifted it about
1" by
buying BF Goodrich Radial All-Terrain tires, in light truck size 27 x 8.50
for
the 14" alloy rims. (I love these bigger tires, and they provide excellent
handling because the sidewalls are relatively stiff, but they kill the
performance of the motor due to their effect on the gearing. You will feel
like
you are in a 1970s era bus again, but I feel the tradeoff is well worth it
for
my application).

Another method I used to raise the van is to raise the rear end. I did this
as
follows: in between the rear springs and the body of the vehicle there is a

small doughnut sized wedge of about 3/4 inch thickness. I went to the
dealer
and bought a pile of these little wedges and put 2 or 3 more on each side
of
the rear of the vehicle. I am still puzzling over how to lift the front of
the
vehicle so right now it tilts down at the front a bit. Any ideas on how to
easily lift the front of a Syncro Vanagon, guys?

------------BELOW IS WHAT YOU GIVE THE ALIGNMENT MECHANIC----------------

VANAGON SYNCRO --'86-'91
ALIGNMENT SPECS FOR CAMPER MODEL WITH DUAL BATTERIES UP FRONT

[Proper specifications for camper are NOT INCLUDED on Hunter
machines.  Use the following.]

                  ORDER OF WORK
Alignments MUST be performed in the following order to avoid
one adjustment from changing other adjustments:

    1st  Castor
    2nd  Camber
    3rd  Toe

                SPECIFICATIONS -- 30-40% laden

      Left Front                      Right Front
--------------------               -----------------------
Min         Max.                    Min.          Max.
--------------------               -----------------------
-0.27      +0.40        Camber     -0.27         +0.40

+3.8       +4.4         Caster     +3.8          +4.4

-0.033     +0.033       Toe        -0.033        +0.033
(-0.017") (+0.017")  Toe (inches) (-0.017")     (+0.017")

                              Front
                         -----------------
                          Min.      Max.
                         -----------------
  Cross Camber            0         0.3
  Cross Caster            0         0.5
  Total Toe              -0.07     +0.07
      Toe in inches:  (-0.033")  (+0.033")
  Setback                 0         0.5

     Left Rear                          Right Rear
--------------------                -----------------------
Min.        Max.                    Min.          Max.
--------------------                -----------------------
-0.67       0.00       Camber        -0.67         0.00

-0.08      +0.26       Toe (each)    -0.08"       +0.26
(-0.04")  +(0.13")     (in inches)  (-0.04")     +(0.13")
-----------------------------------------------------------
                              Rear
                         -----------------
                          Min.      Max.
                         -----------------       FINAL
  Cross Camber            0         0.3          This page
  Total Toe              -0.16     +0.52         based on
   total toe in inches: (-0.08")  +(0.26")       measurement
  Thrust angle           -0.10     +0.10         page 44.3a

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes on calculations (for your own use/reference)

1. Calculating front camber spec:

   Notes:  The front camber spec for the regular Vanagon
           peaks in the middle and then comes back down.
           However, for the Syncro the spec seems to drop
           directly.  My figure should probably be centered
           around zero.   Thus:

           +5' +- 20' is a good compromise
           Range in degrees is 0.7*.

           This translates into:

           +0.0825* +/-0.334

           This translates into:

           +0.4165      -0.2515

2.  Calculating the front castor spec:

           Set arbitrarily at halfway between published spec
           and halfway point.

3. Calculating the rear camber spec:

           Empty               Full
           +0.25    Max       -0.50
           -0.25    Nominal   -1.17*
           -0.42    Min.      -1.84

   Has a 0.67* spread.

   So, set this at -0.00 max.
                   -0.67 min.

4. Calculating the rear toe spec:

        Empty       Full
       +0.125"
       -0.041"

WEIGHT INFORMATION:

Premise:  The empty non-camper syncro weighs in at between
3,641 and 4,000 lbs. depending on the model.  The max weight
is 5512.  The halfway point is therefore between 4577 and
4894 lbs.

My vehicle weighs in at about the halfway point, since I
weigh 4680 empty.  Being conservative, I will produce a set
of alignment specs for a vehicle 33% laden.

RANDOM WEIGHT STATISTICS:

               TOTAL    Front Axel  Rear Axel

             Syncro Camper

GVWR           5512       2866       3042
Empty          3950
Actual         4620?      2310?      2310?
Pub. curb R&T  4000       1972       2028
Pub. curb C&D  4000
Extrapo camper 4350

             Non-Syncro Camper

Empty          3960
Full           5280
Cargo weight   1320

             Non-Camper Syncro 2.1 litre

Empty          3661 (3689) 1793       1867
Observed empty 4045 (4109) 1982       2063
Cargo weight   1929
Implied GVWR*  5590

(*meaning empty + cargo)

             Non-Syncro, Non-Camper

Empty          3670

Road and Track states that Syncro adds 330 lbs to the 3670
non syncro Vanagon and the camper adds 350 lbs as well.

TRANSLATING DEGREES, MINUTES, AND INCHES:

   Degrees    Minutes      Inches
    0.01*   =   0.6'    =   0.005"
    0.0165* =   1'      =   0.00825"
    0.025*  =   1.5'    =   0.0125"
    0.05*   =   3'      =   0.025"
    0.10*   =   6'      =   0.05"
    0.167*  =   10'     =   0.0825"
    0.25*   =   15'     =   0.125"
    0.5*    =   30'     =   0.25"
    0.75*   =   45'     =   0.375"
    1*      =   60'     =   0.50"

Degrees devided by 2 = inches
    2* = 1.00"
    3* = 1.50"
    4* = 2.00"
    5* = 2.50"

Inches to Minutes
    1.00" = 15'

Derek Drew
487 Columbus Ave. #3R
New York, NY 10024
212-580-4459
Internet: derekdrew@aol.com

Malcolm Stebbins wrote:

> Before I took it in to get it aligned I tried to check out what was
> posted on the web.  On some web page someplace (I forget where) , there
> was a hot link to "Syncro Alignment" but every time I clicked on it, it
> came up "no data in file" - or some such.
>
> Can anyone confirm Sam Scholten's observation (no offence Sam)??
> Any hints/tips for alignments for Syncros (or a web page?)
>
> Thanks   Malcolm Stebbins