86 4000 CSQ advice

[Tony Hoffman]

Rory, comments inserted
 

Rory <armodis at speakeasy.net> wrote:
 
>Hi quattro folks,

>The lights for the temp gage and locking diff switch don't work. I switched the 
>center and rear diff switch, turned the steering wheel to lock, and accelerated 
>and the car definitely felt different. The front wheels sort of pushed straight 
>instead of rolling. Does this confirm the diffs are locking, or should I get a 
>bulb and see if I can get the lights to come on?
 
It definately sounds like they are working. The other way to tell is jack up the rear. Try to turn the wheels. If they turn, but together, the rear diff lock only works, If neither turn, both of the locks are working. Either way, it's usually a simple fix such as a vacuum line or actuator. 


>The biggest concern I have is that the car has 200k miles on it and its 
>difficult to shift into first and second gear. The master cylinder was recently 
>replaced and there isn't very much resistance when stepping on the clutch pedal. 
>Is this typical of a quattro or should I have to put a good amount of pressure 
>on the clutch pedal to shift? Is it likely the clutch cylinder has air trapped 
>in the line? Would this cause a problem shifting into first or second gear? Is 
>there any way for me to confirm a problem with the fluid vs the tranny? I have 
>heard the trannys on 4k quattros are bulletproof, but what's the normal life on 
>them? Is 200k miles pretty much the end of the syncros or a specific gear?

My daily driver 4k now has 196k, and I have the same problem, In my case it's the slave cylinder. It's not so bad that I can't use it, so I'm waiting for the clutch to need replacement. 
Anyhow, it could also be so simple as the shift linkage being worn. There is a ball and socket joint on the drivers side of the trans where the shaft gois into the trans. The ball is cast into another piece of steel. Pretty common wear item. I've worked on a lot of 4000q's, and only ever seen two bad tranny's. One was due to being run out of fluid (had a leak). The other wasn't determined, just that it made horible noises. If the synchro's are bad, it'll grind going into gear.
 
Tony Hoffman
 

>If there are any other trouble areas I should be checking for please let me 
>know. I am pretty set on getting a 4k quattro as a snow/rally cross car and any 
>advice would be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks again,
Rory

		
---------------------------------
 Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page