[s-cars] Latvian hatch struts (and oil temp gauge)

[Eric Rechlin]

I can second the recommendation of the Latvian rear hatch struts that were 
mentioned a few weeks back.  I got mine ($48 shipped) last week and 
installed them on my S6 Avant over the weekend.  Now my hatch no longer 
comes falling down on my head in the cooler 60 degree weather!  It's a 
5-minute job and well worth the price.

Only disadvantage is it now takes a lot more force to close, but it's sure 
better than the alternative.

Unfortunately, now my car is begging for more attention.  For the last few 
weeks, my oil temperature gauge has been "fluttering".  When I'm 
accelerating, even lightly, it's accurate.  But when I hit the brakes hard, 
it jumps to full-scale, and under lesser deceleration (and sometimes when 
idle), it flutters all over the scale, going as far left as the accurate 
temperature and as far right as full scale.

Has anyone seen this before?  I replaced my oil pressure sender a week ago 
(it suddenly started leaking oil pretty badly), but it's been doing this 
since before I messed around in there.  At first I suspected a loose 
connection in the instrument cluster, which I took out in January to replace 
the ignition switch, but after removing it again and checking everything 
seemed tight.

Thanks,

Eric Rechlin