[V8] Self immolation for The Black Mariah!

[Roger M. Woodbury]

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!