The description I used was too crude.  I am talking about the plate that
bolts onto the rear differential.  At Bently, page 35.62, there is a
picture of the differential...you can see a plate bolted to it...that
plate.  (I had only had it described to me at the time I posted the
question.)

A local VW guru thinks maybe mine is cracked down by the gear.  We have
been trying to diagnose a rumble-like sound vibration at between about
2500 and 3500 rpm.  He says his wife's syncro made a kind of simillar
noise and that is what failed on hers.  He claims this will push the
pinion gear out of proper alignment and cause eventual failure there.
steve

Dennis Haynes wrote:

> Are you talking the threaded insert or the case itself?  There is no
> "side
> cover" like the early days.  If you are talking the case, you are
> sorta in
> trouble.  I have seen this happen.  Extra parts get caught in the
> pinion
> gear and the case becomes the stress relief.  Some cases are
> interchangeable
> if they have the bosses for the diff lock.  However, if you did blow
> out the
> case, I hate to think of all the internal parts also needed.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steven X. Schwenk <sxs@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
> To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
> Date: Monday, May 18, 1998 2:17 PM
> Subject: Differential Side cover Failure
>
> >Any one ever hear of the differential side cover cracking in a syncro
>
> >trans.  Are they interchangable with standard vanagon transmissions.
> >Steve