[urq] Trunk release update

[John S. Lagnese]

Happy endings are great! Inexpensive happy endings, while rare, are even 
better!
John
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Hopton" <Michael at siliconoptix.com>
To: "colin cohen cco" <ccohen5 at compuserve.com>; <urq at audifans.com>; "qlist" 
<quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 12:00 PM
Subject: RE: [urq] Trunk release update


Colin
Interesting, is the part still available?

.... and how much for the sport one? :|

Cheers, Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: urq-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:urq-bounces at audifans.com] On
Behalf Of colin cohen cco
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 10:48 AM
To: urq at audifans.com; qlist
Cc: audijim; packley at bellatlantic.net
Subject: [urq] Trunk release update

Many thanks to Jim F, Jim H, Louis-Alain R, Paul C, John L., Huw P.,
Kent M., Martin D., Phil A. - I hope I have not omitted anyone -- for
all your prompt and helpful suggestions.  I thought I would use the site
to update you all and leave the info for the archives.  When I searched
Audifans and Audiworld as well as Huw's site and what I have of Phil
Payne's stuff, I could not find any references to this problem.  The
hood, yes, many have seen that release break, but not the trunk.

Firstly I was wrong in relating this problem to the 4K or 80, no
similarity there.  So the only common denominators are the Urq and the
SQ, which makes sense.  Also unlike the Urq, there is no rubber bung on
the trunk floor above the muffler, which is strange but the trunk is
smaller than the Urq so perhaps this was another Bauer design change.

Anyway to the result - I removed the rear driver side trim panel and
could clearly see the Bowden cable extending from the scissors like
release device at the bottom of the door jam.  But it was partly
obscured by the seat belt reel, which I then removed.  The cable had not
detached from the release and a piece of the inner wire was visible
attached to the lever.  This told me that it had broken somewhere
between the toggle lever and the trunk catch.
So before ripping anything else apart, I grabbed the outer sheath of the
Bowden cable as close to the trunk as I could reach with long needle
pliers and pulled.  This released the trunk latch and I was able to open
it.

It turns out that the cable broke about 2 inches into the Bowden outer
sheath from the toggle lever.  Snapped!  this is unusual because on
removing the entire inner cable I discovered that this is serious
aerospace grade stainless 0.078" steel - the same as we use for throttle
actuators etc.  Its stiff strong stuff, not that flexible mutistrand
that you usually find in these cables and I have on some of my other
cars.  The breakage appears to have been caused by a bend in the wire
forced by the way it was routed immediately after the connection point
to the release toggle where the cable was jammed against the outside
fender and then had to make a right angle turn to be routed over the
rear mud guard.

So the moral of the story to other Urq owners is pull your trim out and
take a look.  A simple rerouting of the cable to relieve the tension
caused by misrouting after the toggle lever would avoid this breakage.

Again thanks everyone for the help.

Colin


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