Well at last I can report that the gearbox in my van has had a welcome rebuild. The story is that Hartmut (my beloved father in law and learned member of this group) borrowed the van while we were away recently and suggested that as it had done nearly 200,000 km and the clutch felt like it was on the way out, it was time to bite the bullet and get the box looked at.
After much trouble because of that clutch cylinder bracket we obtained the help of a local expert VW mechanic and got the box out. I took it up to Ron Schmidt at Kempsey who runs a small business called Racetrans. He was absolutely wonderful, He did the most professional job and I would recommend him to anyone with a Syncro or T3 who wants gearbox work done.
Now for the details for those interested. The clutch was on the way out and we had a badly leaking slave cylinder. Numerous rubber boots were split. Ron will not take a box apart unless you are there or at least he will not do any work until he shows you the parts that need replacing.
In my case the major issue was a damaged and pitted pinion and a pitted 1st and second gear shaft. The only crown wheel and pinion for a syncro that Ron could find was a race quality Albins unit that he had to import from the USA. Very costly but high quality. He also got a reconditioned shaft. All the gears were fine and have been reused. Ron replaced a number of oil seals, races and bearings including the big one and the synchro rings. I sourced a clutch kit and a slave cylinder from Tooleys and a few other bits and pieces from Just Kampers and GoWesty. After a team effort with our VW mechanic, we got the box back in and I ran some cheaper oil for two days as recommended by Albins. Hart and I then put in Ron's favourite Castrol Syntrax oil. Slight adjustment on the gear linkage and she is working like a charm.
The main purpose of this post, other than for interest to anyone who likes to hear about our machines being kept on the road, is to give credit to Ron Schmidt for a thoroughly professional job. He is like a surgeon when it comes to gearboxes!!!! I cannot recommend him too highly.
Peter from Port