[t4toad]

Hi
Recently purchased a red t4 doing a home conversion my fathers got the t4 bug and wants to build an expedition vehicle to do some traveling so he's looking for advice on the good and bad points of the syncro system and the comparisons between the early and late models any advice would be gratefully received

thanksT:

 

[tobes]

doa search through the forum on 'syncro' and it should give you a load of info on the capabilities of the t4 syncro.

A trawl through youtube will also show you what they can be capable of. I think its fair to say that the t25 was, and is, more of an off road animal.

I have a syncro but really have only made use of its 4wd in snow, for which it has been fantastic, but never really tested it off the beaten track. Then again Ive never owned a two wheel drive t4 and woudlnt really know how that goes in the snow either.

Its nice to own something a little different for sure but Im sure that novelty will wear off if I ever develop problems with the transmission (and the cost that follows!)

tobes

 

[jets]

I am also looking for info on the T4 Syncro. There seems to be plenty on the T3/T25 but very little on the T4. I have spoken to the foreman at my dealership & he says they are very reliable. I know that the tire dia. needs to be the same on every wheel but I don't know what happens if you need to put on the spare & in my case is unused.
The T4 has a freewheeling device in the rear diff that is an improvement over the T3system. Heres some pics. of my van when I bought it.
http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=15154

 

[tobes]

I think it is fair to say that the T4 was not really designed for serious offroad work. The wheelbase, ride height and abscence of crawler gear point in that direction. However I reckon it could surprise in its capabilities and that has certainly been explored by other members of the forum.

General concensus would be though that the t25/t3 is better suited to offroad and more easily (and less expensivly) customised with lift kits etc.

Diamond hell, one of the members here did post some video of his t25 quite a while back that had my eyes out on stalks. It near enough climbed a wall!

t

 

[willf]

I have owned both a t4 syncro and T3. The T3 is till on the drive now! And i'm picking up a new ( to me) T4 syncro on Tuesday.

The T3 I have is a 16". It has front and rear difflocks as well as the central viscous coupling, this basically means that in really low traction situations all four wheels rotate at the same speed giving maximum traction. The viscous coupling is a set of clutch like plates bathed in liquid that solidifies as it heats up so differences in rotation speed between front and back axles cause the central coupling to lock up, this is why tyres should be the same and be rotated to ensure even wear, to prevent constant heat and wind up.

The T4 has the central viscous coupling and a rear diff lock only. It is much lower to the ground and does not have any where near the same level of under body protection.

Comparing them above shows the obvious differences! The T3 is clearly an off road machine whereas the T4 is just a normal van with 4x4. I'ts the ground clearance, lack of crawler gear and protection as said above that really makes the difference. The T3 has a gated G or Gelande Gear which is very low range to allow lots of power delivery to crawl up inclines and more importantly use engine breaking on the way down them.

My T3 will be up for grabs soon so if your dad wants a proper overland machine....

 

[willf]

That said, my old t4 syncro 2.5tdi drove through deep sand with unbelieveable ease! seikel.de do kits for lifting etc. but i'd still go t3 for proper off road.

 

[surfmatt]

same, i would go for a t25 for the rough stuff, you only have to youtube it and you can see what they are capable of!

 

[surfmatt]

http://www.syncro.org/sitephotos/seikeldune.jpg


Action photo or what!!!!

 

[willf]

Yeah! they rock. mine goes anywhere!!! Took it up a slope on a slate shale track on an incline that is hard to walk and defenders and quad bikes fail to get up. And it got up it in seriously wet slippy conditions, no problem!!! I was fully scared! but it did it no worries!

 

[willf]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lf_JiYYDWOE

 

[Jurasik]

Or how about 1 of these:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ln_uZ5HFk&watch_response