4kq shifter & grease

[Tom Nas]

Huw Powell <audi at mediaone.net> wrote:

>I think pretty much all the 4kq shifter linkages out there - and I do
>mean all - are shot, pure and simple.  They shift like tanks.  When they
>were new they shifted smoothly and precisely.  The problem is that they
>are terribly complicated and hard to get to, unlike the 2wd cars of
>their era or the type 89 Q's.  I don't think it is the trannies or the
>final drives, although as they wear the complex running gear of the
>quattro certainly introduces some play and "uncertainty" into the whole
>driveline.  If you have new bushings, struts & bearings, decent rubber
>and a good alignment the shifter is going to be the worst part of the
>car.
>
>Maybe it is time for a massive group purchase and replacement effort of
>all those clunky old linkages...

I second that. I thought it was a feature of quattros that they didn't 
shift as smoothly as FWD Audis...

But then again, my FWD 80 shifts like new and I find it hard to believe 
that someone's maintained the linkage... that car's had NO maintenance for 
at least four or five years (before I got it, that is).

And I noticed that the new S4 shifts really bad, straight out of the box, 
compared to FWD A4s. Might be the 6-speed transmission, though. Anyone else 
notice this on their new S4? It was mentioned in at least two magazine tests.

Tom