New 1988 90q owner

[Marc Swanson]

> My shifter is very loose, and I read that my linkage may be about to fall
> apart.  I can lift the shift knob up a few cm and drop it, it falls
> freely.  I can find all the gears but second is hard to get to without
> some forethought.  Is this something I can easily get a look at from
> underneath?


easier to get a look at it from above.  Sounds like the same problem I
had with my 88 90q when I bought it.. the bushing that holds the shifter
ball tends to fall apart with age and you'll need a new one:  $40 at the
dealer.  It is a metal plate with a plastic-like material that spreads
apart when you shove the shifter ball in there.  You'll see what I mean
when you take the shift boot off.

> How does one remove the shifter boot and knob?


the knob screws off, turn counter-clockwise.  For the boot, there is a
small plastic cover at the base of the center console, sort of in front
of the e-brake lever.  pry that off and it will expose an 8mm bolt that
is one of the securing bolts for the center console and there will also
be a phillips head screw behind there.  If you just undo the screw that
will let you pull the shift boot off.

I'm not sure if you can replace the shifter bushing without removing the
center console.. but if you can then you can just get away with removing
the boot.

> I also want to check my timing belt, is there a writeup on this procedure?
> I have the 2.3l engine.

kind of hard to visually inspect a timing belt.  You really have to know
when it was last replaced (time and mileage) to know if you need to
change it.  I didn't know this on my car so I just went the safe route
of replacing it anyway.

here is Huw Powell's excellent writeup on the procedure:

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/tbwp-90.htm


> One more thing:  My temperature gauge does not work, it's always pegged on
> cold.  The car does warm up.  I found what appeared to be a temperature
> sender with a 2-wire connector (liek a fuel injector) on the water neck.
> I measured resistance across the sensor, there was some.  I also opened
> and shorted the wires to the sensor but got no response from the gauge.
> Is this the only temp sensor?

no

> The appropriate one for the gauge?

no.  That one is for the ECU.


> I'm
> worried the CIS will think the engine is forever dead cold and run rich.

The ECU and temperature gauge use two different sensors.  The one you
want to look at (and the one which VERY frequently fails) is the Multi
Function Temperature Sender (MFTS).  This is the big fat 4 pin sender
located on the BOTTOM of the coolant neck.  It has almost certainly
failed on your car resulting in the failure of your temp gauge.  They
cost around $40.  You might be able to get one for a little less from
someone like Rod at the Parts Connection:
http://www.thepartsconnection.com


Hope that helps!

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Marc Swanson, Software Engineer
Sonitrol Communications Corp.
Hartford, CT

Email: mswanson at sonitrol.net
Phone: (860) 616-7036
Pager: (860) 948-6713
 Cell: (603) 512-1267
  Fax: (860) 616-7589
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