Well it definitely works in 9i, and I'm sure I've seen it work OK in 8i also, although I'm not able to prove this at the moment. I wonder if there is some problem with synonyms on objects in your version.

You should raise a TAR on metalink and check if there is a problem with your version. You may need to apply a patch to fix it. You should consider going to 8.1.7.4 anyway.

When you raise the TAR use this example as it will allow support to assess the issue alot quicker.

Cheers