[200q20v] Re: seat heater, inside door handle, auxiliary coolant (John Hamilton)

[Phil Rose]

At 5:28 AM +0000 2/22/01, John Hamilton wrote:
>It seems as if both Brett and Phil are pretty right on, but I 
>wouldn't be concerned about buying the car.  If these are the only 
>problems that it has, you are doing good, and it is probably a good 
>buy.  They are all relatively inexpensive, easy repairs.  If the car 
>runs and looks like it has been take care of, then I wouldnt worry 
>at all.  These engines are bulletproof.  Personally I wouldn't even 
>bother fixing the trip computer; it isn't even that accurate.

"Bulletproof" was the term I heard being applied a few years ago (by 
knowledgeable people) about Audi 5-spd transmissions. By now however, 
I believe '91 200q and S-car owners have become very wary of that 
word. It's true, however, that the Eye5 engines are extremely 
long-lived if reasonably well maintained, but let's not be too 
glowingly optimistic...:-)

As to the trip computer: the boost level accuracy is certainly not as 
good as from an analogue gauge, but it surely can give reasonable 
indication when maximum boost level is inadequate because of a 
leaking hose or defective component. The MPG output can be adjusted 
to with about 5% of true value, so error can be reduced to less than 
1 mile per gallon. Not bad accuracy for most purposes.


>As for that stinking auxilary cooling system, I have had it fall off 
>twice now (its a small electric piece), and my mechanic advised me 
>just to leave it off.  It cost around $150 each time to replace.  He 
>just suggested letting the engine cool at idle for a minute or so 
>before shutting off.  Also, where is the car?  If it is someplace in 
>Arizona, or a desert climate where it gets very hot, then it could 
>be a problem if adequate cool down time was not alloted.

Yes, as stated earlier, careful attention to idling before shutdown 
is the key thing--even when the auxilliary pump is functional. But 
prolonged use of the vehicle with the pump removed is a possible 
indication that the owner might have had a tendency to take shortcuts 
in other (even more critical) areas --just a little red flag, IMHO. 
That's just a gut feeling, and not intended to be a flame. As you 
state, there should be other indications to give some confidence that 
the car was treated well.

BTW,  you cited Arizona as the kind of location where climate can be 
a problem for achieving proper cool-down time, yet you live in Tampa 
FL. I got a chuckle out of that. I was raised in the southern Arizona 
desert and know that for about 5 months of the year the daytime highs 
rarely get above the mid/hi 70s, while throughout the year, the 
desert overnight lows will range from 30 to 50F. So IMO, Florida 
(especially So. FL) may have an even-warmer  year-round (24 hr/day) 
average climate than Arizona.  In fact, as I write this the current 
temp in Tucson is 47F while Tampa is 72F. In the summer, Tucson will 
frequently reach highs of about 105F (and Phoenix even hotter), but I 
don't think Florida lags  far enough behind to matter much as far as 
our Audis are concerned.

That said, I'd be leary of choosing an older car that's from either 
of those states--mainly because of  damage from intense sunlight. But 
I'm also not thrilled with cars from my home state of NY because of 
salt. Now I've gotten way off-topic.

Phil
-- 

Phil Rose
Rochester, NY
mailto:pjrose at frontiernet.net