[s-cars] Choosing a mechanic

[Tom Green]

Floyd,

Sorry, I don't have a personal recommendation for someone in the  
immediate
area to do maintenance.  You are in the enviable position to have  
2Bennett in
the area in Davis and Dad's salvage for parts in the Sacramento  
area.  You
won't find a more competent and honest outfit than 2Bennett for  
routine stuff
or performance work.

There are many parts that are still best obtained from the dealer, so  
a good
relationship with one can be handy.  Several offer discounts and do a  
brisk
internet or phone order service that may meet your needs. You are  
probably
already finding that a ready supply of parts down the street probably  
doesn't
exist so you will need to order parts before the repair is performed  
if it is to
be done in a timely manner, even at the dealer.

You are the most trusted mechanic for your car, and even if you  
aren't doing
the work yourself, the better informed you are about the problems the  
better
any service will be performed.  Much of the diagnosis is just basic auto
repair to start with then some of the FAQ advice for specific areas  
before you
ever need the repair manual.

All that said, are there any suspects for your smoking problem?  Any  
problems
with performance?  Smoking on start?  Continuous?  On hard acceleration?
Oil use?  Type?  Embarrassingly large cloud?  In danger of failing   
CA smog?

After answering all those questions and a thorough troubleshooting  
with a
compression and leak down check, you may be no closer to pinning down
the actual cause between the usual suspects of turbo or internal engine
valves or rings without a look (disassembly) because at higher  
mileage, all
these will contribute some oil use that is unnoticeable individually,  
but shows
up in the aggregate.

You may be lucky enough to find the turbo shaft wobbles so much that  
oil would
surely get by the seal and a replacement would eliminate most of the  
smoke.
Hopefully you will find a straightforward solution to your problem  
and a trusted
tech to do the work.

Tom

> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:39:49 -0800
> From: Floyd Noel <floyd.noel at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Choosing a mechanic
> To: s-car-list <s-car-list at audifans.com>
> Message-ID: <79916A66-B010-4838-9E08-46B7D2F6328C at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;	charset=US-ASCII;	format=flowed;	delsp=yes
>
> I'm in Santa Rosa, CA, which is in the North Bay of SF. And I'll make
> sure to stay away from the dealers, I've run into a few people that
> tried to tell me that my car doesn't exist, or think that it must be
> small (since it's an S4). Thanks
>
> R/S
> Floyd Noel
> Sgt/USMC
>
> On Dec 10, 2007, at 12:25, chris chambers
> <fastscirocco_2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Floyd,
>>
>> Stay away from the dealer, odds are they won't have a mechanic
>> that is familiar with your car. In fact they might claim no such
>> car ever existed!
>>
>> Where are you at, it'll make it easier for informed listers to
>> provide a recommended mechanic if they know where you are.
>>
>> Regards
>> Chris
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --- Floyd Noel <floyd.noel at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Listers,
>>> I am in need of a mechanic for my urS4, and was wondering if anyone
>>> that's BTDT had some advice on choosing one for these cars, or if I
>>> should just take it to a dealer. There's a lot of smoke coming  
>>> out of
>>>
>>> the tail end these days.... TIA
>>>
>>> R/S
>>> Floyd Noel
>>> Sgt/USMC