Survey: type 44 break down frequency

[Ray Rollins]

I have only been stuck once so far and had one near breakdown.

1. On the first drive home after I bought it the fuel pump died on 93 South.
(The PO told me that the pump was really loud lately and I should have it
looked at)

2. I lost an alternator belt at night at the halfway point on a trip to New
Jersey from Boston. I lucked out because it happened 5 miles from my
mother-in-law's. It did make it to the local NAPA store in the morning where
I got 2 belts on sale.

Ray
90 100Q
Attleboro, MA



>From: Wallace White <wallace at stanfordalumni.org>
>To: Quattro List <quattro at audifans.com>
>Subject: Survey: type 44 break down frequency
>Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 08:08:33 -0700
>
>How many times have you wound up stuck on the side of the road in your
>type 44 (5k, 100/200, V8)?
>
>As you might surmise, I just chalked up another one. In my four years of
>5k ownership, I've had four (hurray for towing coverage):
>
>(1) Clutch throw-out bearing, June '98.
>Some of you will remember this one--I'm still thankful for the quick
>help from the list! One day into a cross-country road trip. Took five
>days to get the clutch replaced in Albuquerque. Lesson learned: don't
>buy a car and drive it on a 7000-mile trip the next week. (One might
>think I would've known that... ;) And don't be surprised if the clutch
>pedal breaks a week later!
>
>(2) Ignition switch, Jan. '99.
>Luckily this happened at home. Relatively painless, since I was biking
>and taking the train to work at the time. Lesson learned: replace the
>switch now if you have to turn the key hard before the starter engages.
>
>(3) Heater control valve, June '99.
>Created a nice big steam cloud but no apparent lasting problems.
>Happened with four people in the car. Lesson learned: use metal heater
>valves or replace regularly, and carry a Prestone flush-and-fill kit for
>emergency fixes.
>
>(4) Fuel pump, three days ago.
>Once again, four people in the car (family this time). Lost power while
>on the freeway, made it to the shoulder. Frustratingly, I pre-emptively
>replaced the pump two years ago with a noisy Bosch unit, probably Czech
>built... Embarassment compounded when our second car had problems the
>next day. Lesson learned: TBD.
>
>Looking back, I've done pretty well after the initial sorting-out. But
>with both of our cars breaking down over the weekend with family in
>town, and the 5k's recent A/C troubles when 300 miles away, it didn't
>take long to wonder if we need at least one car we can really count
>on... we're planning to go from here (SF area) to Utah in a few months
>and my confidence in the 5k is shaky. Even if I had a mechanic go over
>the car thoroughly, I doubt we'd catch things like this fuel pump.
>
>That said, I still enjoy driving and working on the car and being part
>of this list, and even with the recent bills for A/C, it's a cheap total
>cost of ownership compared to a new car. I spend less on parts than I'd
>pay just on insurance on a new WRX.
>
>I'm curious to hear how other folks' experiences and decisions have been
>in this regard.
>
>Thanks,
>Wallace
>'87 5kcstq 190k




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