>     Has anyone noticed that the Syncro VS non-Syncro
> starters are not the same length! I figured I would try
> out a starter that I just took out of my daily driver.
> It's a Syncro but no dif. lock. Sure enough
> the Syncro starter is 1/2" shorter than the non-syncro
> starter.
>
>     Now this explains alot. First off many dif locks
> that I have seem are broken. As usual, some butcher
> mechanic was in there trying to put the wrong parts
> in there. Also this is why the syncro turns slower than
> the 2 WD Vanagon. NOW, Why then, do the parts people not
> have a seperate listing for a Syncro starter? Am I
> missing something?

Bosch, like most parts manufacturers, frequently supercedes parts.  It is in
their financial interest to offer as few different part numbers as possible
that fit as many vehicles as possible.  So if they determine, say, that a
1982 Vanagon starter can also be used, in, say, a '76 bus with no ill
effect, they will eventually discontinue the earlier version because it is
redundant.  In this particular case, I'd have to look at a microfiche to see
if Volkswagen originally used a different starter for the Syncro, but I can
say that for years, a single Bosch replacement starter has been specified by
Bosch to fit both applications.

Another possibility is that perhaps the difference you are noticing is not
Syncro-related at all, but is merely the difference between a pre-''87 and a
post-'87 starter.  Is one of your Syncros an '86 or early '87, and the other
newer?  In November 1986, VW changed to a different starter on all Vanagon
models.  As is typical, the later style starter (SR401X if manual trans,
SR25X if automatic) can replace the earlier one (SR19X and 18X
respectively), but the earlier style is not recommended for use on the later
model, so the interchangeability is in one direction only.  In other words,
a starter for an '88 could be used on an '84 but not the other way around.

- Ron Salmon
 The Bus Depot
 http://www.busdepot.com