More UFO rambling.....

[Kneale Brownson]

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I have had very little "old car" noise in my 200q20v.  No persistent
squeaks.  No rattles (other than the snowbrush on the rear window shelf on
bumpy roads).  Almost no wind noise.   I've had a squeal in the past from
the dashboard temperature sensor aspirator fan, but it has not returned in
the last year or so.

However, this summer I've noticed that some days there is a kind of moan or
groan from the steering column when turning the wheel slightly.   Seems to
depend upon the weather, kind of like the pain in my knees.   And I've
begun to get the rear suspension groan occasionally, along with a slight
"clunk" sound if the rear wheels hit a bump while accelerating.

My car's just under 200K miles and I've put about a fourth of them on it.

At 01:00 PM 09/28/2002 -0700, Martin Kuetzing wrote:

>Hi CL -
>
>There was something you mentioned in your post that interests me:
>
>Snip>>>>
>
>Besides the rattles and squeaks (and potential
>reliability concerns) there is little to pull me
>towards a newer car.
>
><<<<
>
>Just how many "rattles and sqeaks" does your 200q20v have?
>
>When I bought mine, I had it modified (before I actually drove it the first
>time) to include Yokohoma AV4S tires, Koni Sports shocks, H&R springs and a
>front-end strut conversion from an S4 (removing the UFO's).
>
>The car performed remarkably - especially on the open highway, but was
>always "rattly" (is this a word?) and harsh.
>
>Eventually, I switched to Eibachs, Bilsteins & Michelin MXV4 for a more
>civilized ride.
>
>But, the rattlyness (wow, is this also a word?) has always persisted
>
>This rattlyness is always present to one degree or another.  It is
>particularly noticeable in the door seals.  I replaced the door seals with
>new ones, which more or less reduced the magnitude of the noise for a short
>time, before it returned in full force.  Someone suggested talcum powder on
>the seals.  This works great (except for the mess) for about a day. .  It is
>noticeable everywhere execpt on the smoothest roads.  And, when driving the
>car through a dip or over a driveway where the car is "tweaked" diagonally
>for a moment there really is the sense that there is some movement of the
>door frames relative to the doors - showing the direct cause of the noise.
>
> >From time-to-time on this list I have seen posts about body stiffness, front
>strut-tower creep, etc.  However, my car is near perfect, except for its
>age, mileage and only moderate certainty how the previous owners actually
>drove it.
>
>But the bottom line is - and this is a question for all 200q20v readers -
>how many others have this issue?  Is this a common characteristic of these
>cars?  If so, has someone found a method to deal with it?  (Other than
>either buying a new Audi or stripping this one to its chassis & re-welding
>every spot weld??)
>
>Martin
>
>
>
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