Just bought a 90Qs 20V with a "few" issues.

[theringmeister at triad.rr.com]

Tyson,
Did not have time to fully answer these yesterday, but hey, it's Sunday 
morning now!
Answers interspersed below from 13 years of 20v 7A ownership experience 
below.

Message: 7
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2006 02:37:16 -0700
From: "Tigran Varosyan" <>
Subject:To: <quattro at audifans.com>
Message-ID: <137601c6e9f4$2d90e380$0411030a at tyson>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi guys,

I just bought a beautiful '91 Audi 90Q. It has every option but came 
for a
low price due to a bunch of minor issues.

I have driven the car bout 50 miles now and I got a list of 
questions/issues
that I hope the group can help me with...

#1 Driver side door lock does not work. I hope that this is the same 
problem
as described in this article:
http://members.aol.com/c1j1miller/body.html#Door%20Lock%20Repair

>>does it not work from turning the key, or does the plunger not go 
down with the rest via the central lock?  former: broken pot-metal arm 
most likely...latter, could be a host of things. check the door and 
wiring at the jamb

#2 Engine coolant gauge does not seem to be working - it is always 
showing
low. However, at the same time, the car heater is not very hot. The 
radiator
and engine get *warm* but not as hot as I would expect. I bought a new
thermostat - something tells me that the one in there is stuck open...

>>thermostat most likely bad, but could be the Multi-Function 
Temperature Sensor sending a false reading to the gauge (not likely 
since you claim little heat) If the temp gauge gets up to the middle at 
idle, but drops quickly when you drive the car, it's the thermostat.  
replacement is not "easy" because of lack of access to the housing, but 
it's not a daylong job either.  once you have normal op temps again, 
your oil temp gauge should be "fixed" as well....these are closely 
related in these cars.

#3 The oil temp gauge is also showing 60c and does not move. I refuse to
believe this number - must be broken - please instruct how to test/fix.

....see answer to #2!

#4 Driver side rear window does not roll down. Please advice on common
causes.

>>>regulator/cable ass'y, or something as common as a bad swich either 
in that door or in the driver's door.  can you hear the motor running 
when either switch is tested?

#5 Driver side headlight cracked - please advise a good source for a
replacement. Are there any improved "euro" or other headlights that I 
should
look at getting?

>>>definitely, and usually available at the normal sources - see 20v.org

#6 One of the foglights is also cracked - where should I get it?

>>force5, dads auto dismantling, shokan, or dealer....check p/n though 
first

#7 I might need to post a picture of this as it's hard to describe...
Between the front bumper and the grill there is a molding stripe that is
held down by two screws located behind the headlight washers. The covers
that go over these screws are missing - where do I get them?

>>dealer only, unless you can find a wrecker that happens to have them

#8 I own a pair of Audi 4000's nether of which I have driven much 
lately. It
may be that I am just spoiled by my VR4 daily driver (Dynoed at 380hp 
420tq
on the ground), but My Audi 90 is feeling a bit under-powered to me. The
engine feels and sounds strong, but the power is just not there... I 
checked
the air filter... Seemed ok... I have driven a 90 a few years and I 
remember
it having quite a bit more power... Any ideas?

>>>this car is not a drag racer, and behaves well above 3500rpm, 
otherwise, it's not going to match your VR4 for hp or torque at 162hp!  
the 90 is also heavier than the 4K and doesn't feel nearly as lively as 
a well sorted 4K.  It can be "helped" though.
See 20v.org for more info.

#9 It seems that by design, the rear diff lock disengages at a certain 
speed
around 20mph. This is very annoying! I would like to keep the diff 
locked
when playing in the gravel at 60-80mph. How to I override 
this "feature"?

>>>>correct on the speed-disengaged rear diff lock.  Not sure if anyone 
has tried overriding this.....check the archives of the 20v list

#10 The E-brake completely does not work. When pulling the handle, I 
feel no
resistance. Common possible issues?

>>>>depends on the where the car is from, but rust-prone areas have the 
same detrimental effects on ebrakes on these cars as they do on all the 
other cars we love

#11 The Oil pressure gauge gets pegged at 5BAR at around 3000RPM. Is 
this
normal or is the gauge not working properly? The gauge response also 
seems
very slow. I have Greddy gauges in my VR4, which seem to react much 
more in
tune with RPM.

>>>>normal

#12 Again, maybe I am just not used to it, but this motor seems to have 
an
issue with running momentum - as if the flywheel is REALLY heavy. When
hitting the clutch, it takes it quite a long time to rev down. I am 
used to
downshifting when getting off a freeway or coming to a red light. In 
this
car it does not work so well as the engine tends to want to keep 
running and
does not slow the car much for 2-4 seconds... Is this normal?

>>>>check the Idle Stabilization valve, check for vacuum leaks, and 
lastly, your CO mixture could be off.  I've had that problem, as well 
as stalling with clutch engagement, and it's usually related to the 
ISV, or a vacuum leak allowing air to get in and keep revs up after you 
let off the throttle.  CO mix was also slightly off according to my tech

#13 The back of the passenger headlight seems to have a hose that leads 
to
the header heatshield. Could someone please explain to me what the heck 
this
is and what's it for?

>>>faster warm-up...it's actually going to the bottom of the airbox

#14 Although they worked on the test drive, my high beams do not work at
all. When turning them on, the low beams cut out and I have no light.
Tapping the passing light switch does nothing. I will check fuses and 
relays
tomorrow. Any description of where to locate them would be of much 
help...

>>>>>probably the headlight switch. known to fail, melt, whatever,since 
they carry the load for the lights.  can pull the top of the column 
cover off to see if you see evidence of overheating at the wiring 
connection, and may be able to clean up and fix, otherwise, a new 
switch may be in order

#15 The driver side front seat has seen better days. What's the 
solution? 

>>>is it ripped, torn, splitting, or just fading?

#16 I already bought the car, but I would not mind having a CarFax for 
it.
Does anyone have an account?

>>>>no help there!

Thanks,

Tyson Varosyan
Technical Manager, Uptime Technical Solutions LLC.
tyson at up-times.com
www.up-times.com 
206-715-TECH (8324)
UpTime/OnTime/AnyTime 


hope that at least gets you started. a Bentley, as someone's already 
suggested, is a big help, but there's tons of info at 20v.org as well, 
and a couple of us that are long-in-tooth (at least in terms of 
ownership of these cars (cq and 90q20v)) who've just about seen it 
all...

Wylie Bean
theringmeister at triad.rr.com
90 cq
99.5 A4 Avant