[V8] Self immolation for The Black Mariah!

Thu Jun 1 19:20:06 EDT 2006

Well the 4000SQ that I had went to 236,000 and never had a issue like 
that it got retired as a rally car heh.

Roger M. Woodbury wrote:
> The only reason that I can think of for the failure, was that the rubber
> mounting pieces on the top  of the strut assembly were of exceedingly poor
> quality.  This car has only had "on road" work, and not terribly much of
> that since the struts were installed.  Now, the 1989 200 Avant that I had
> had a differing service history.  That car popped off an alternator belt on
> fine day when I drove out into the field where they were plowing up and
> removing loam.  The alternator belt came loose when I bounced up and over a
> freshly made loam berm....
>
> But the damned shock struts didn't fail in that car EVER.  
>
> And for that matter, the stuts didn't fail in the 5000CS Avant that I had
> and that car was retired finally with 220,000 on the clock!
>
> GRRRRRRRRRRRR
>
> Roger
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ingo Rautenberg [mailto:i.rautenberg at waratap.com] 
> Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 11:15 PM
> To: Roger M. Woodbury
> Cc: 'Tony and Lillie'; v8 at audifans.com
> Subject: Re: [V8] Self immolation for The Black Mariah!
>
> Hmm.  Bilstein?  Sounds like when I've (twice) had Bilstein front  
> strut cartridge failures, though usually in winter, where the strut  
> cartridge fails in the fully-extended position.  However, even then  
> it didn't bust through the mount.  Roger, just because it's AWD  
> doesn't mean you can go off-roading with it ;-)
>
> Ingo
>
> On May 31, 2006, at 10:47 PM, Roger M. Woodbury wrote:
>
>   
>> Ah, not quite.  The failure was the rubber structures that form the  
>> top of
>> the strut unit when it is placed into position.  This is a  
>> catastrophic
>> failure of the strut assembly itself.
>>
>> R
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Tony and Lillie [mailto:tonyandlillie1 at earthlink.net]
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 8:44 PM
>> To: Roger M. Woodbury; v8 at audifans.com
>> Subject: Re: [V8] Self immolation for The Black Mariah!
>>
>> Roger,
>>
>> Not the first I've heard or seen. Quite common on older Rabbits and  
>> Subie's
>> when they start to rust where the strut towers are welded on top. I  
>> actually
>>
>> helped one (Tank trails in Missoula, MT) to the point of punching  
>> the hood
>> up about six inches on the passenger side!!! Boy, was it fun  
>> though! Oh,
>> that car cost me $50, and I was 17 at the time.
>>
>> Tony Hoffman
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Roger M. Woodbury" <rmwoodbury at adelphia.net>
>> To: <v8 at audifans.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 4:44 PM
>> Subject: [V8] Self immolation for The Black Mariah!
>>
>>
>>     
>>> Well, it's done it again.  The Black Mariah has returned to the  
>>> wrench.
>>>
>>> For those who have been living under a rock for the past couple of  
>>> years,
>>> The Black Mariah is my 1991 Audi 200 20Valve Avant the  
>>> rehabilitation of
>>> which has been forced down the throats of the V8 listers because I  
>>> am a
>>> closet V8 afficianado who constantly threatens to return to the V8  
>>> fold.
>>>
>>> Anyway, I was driving down to the village a week ago Saturday  
>>> morning when
>>>       
>>> I
>>> noticed a certain sponginess in the front end, and then noticed  
>>> that there
>>> was a strange bump on the top of the hood vaguely in front of the
>>> windshield.
>>>
>>> Stopped the car, opened the hood and lo and behold!  The left  
>>> front strut
>>> had completely penetrated the upper shock mount and was impacting the
>>> bottom
>>> of the hood.  Wow!  Can you imagine what it might have been like  
>>> had that
>>> happened at, say 75 miles per hour on the Interstate when making  
>>> some sort
>>> of emergency move?
>>>
>>> Now back at the wrench, he confesses that he has never seen  
>>> anything like
>>> it
>>> in twenty five some years of wrenching.  Neither have I, in forty
>>> something
>>> years of driving!
>>>
>>> Worse still the upper shock mounts on front and rear of this car are
>>> new...less than 10,000 miles or two years of use.  Worse news  
>>> still while
>>> the front uppers were aftermarket, the rears were OEM, and the  
>>> right rear
>>> is
>>> gonzo, too.  The rears were installed less than two months ago.
>>>
>>> I am seriously thinking of buying a Yukon.  At least I KNOW where the
>>> nearest dealer is, and that parts will be available.  Maybe the  
>>> Type 44's
>>> are really over the hill after all!
>>>
>>> Roger
>>>
>>> NEVERmind...I am just cranky.  I had to drive to Portland last  
>>> night, and
>>> then to Moosehead Lake today.  Almost six hundred miles in twenty  
>>> four
>>> hours
>>> with nearly a full day of work too.  And all my driving during  
>>> those six
>>> hundred miles was NOT in my Audi, but was in the Chevrolet Silverado
>>> extended cab 4X4 with 454 cu.in. engine!  I dunno what was worse, the
>>> pounding high miles in short time in the truck or filling the tank!
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Audifans V8 mailing list
>>> Send posts to: mailto:V8 at audifans.com
>>> Manage your list connection: http://www.audifans.com/mailman/ 
>>> listinfo/v8
>>> Have an Audi V8 question?  Check the Audifans Knowledgebase!
>>> http://www.audifans.com/twiki/bin/view/Audi/V8
>>> Have a V8 answer? ... Please help others by adding to the KB ... all
>>> contributions welcome!
>>>       
>> _______________________________________________
>> Audifans V8 mailing list
>> Send posts to: mailto:V8 at audifans.com
>> Manage your list connection: http://www.audifans.com/mailman/ 
>> listinfo/v8
>> Have an Audi V8 question?  Check the Audifans Knowledgebase!
>> http://www.audifans.com/twiki/bin/view/Audi/V8
>> Have a V8 answer? ... Please help others by adding to the KB ...  
>> all contributions welcome!
>>     
>
> _______________________________________________
> Audifans V8 mailing list
> Send posts to: mailto:V8 at audifans.com
> Manage your list connection: http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/v8
> Have an Audi V8 question?  Check the Audifans Knowledgebase!
> http://www.audifans.com/twiki/bin/view/Audi/V8
> Have a V8 answer? ... Please help others by adding to the KB ... all contributions welcome!
>
>   