[V8] Audi faith shaken? Need to vent!

[Scott DeWitt]

I can get 077260803AD for $495.00 brand new.

Scott



On Thu, June 27, 2013 10:02 am, Roger M. Woodbury wrote:
> Bad news.  I suffered the loss of my a/c a while back and the preliminary
> diagnosis was the clutch in the compressor was bad.  We decided to order
> in a new clutch and yesterday the surgery was performed.  Nope.  The
> clutch was not the issue as the front end of the compressor is gone, so it
> the V8 will need a new compressor will be needed.
>
> Now new compressors are long NLA from Audi.  Despite a considerable search
> yesterday by John the shop owner (which I witnessed), there appears to be
> only one source for remanufactured compressors in all of the firmament.
> My cost?  Eleven hundred dollars, clams, shekels, rupees, baht....no
> matter:  it’s just not happening, at least not right now.
>
> So, plan B yesterday was to replace the scorched bearing in the old
> compressor housing that would at least enable the old compressor to remain
> in place with the big accessory belt going round and round so I could
> drive the car.  Part of Plan B was to keep the car in limited service
> depending on the ambient temperature and await a more cash heavy day for
> the remanufactured compressor.  Or something else, perhaps.  At the least,
> time to think on the subject and consider All Things Audi V8, perhaps.
>
> There was an appropriate bearing available in the Carquest warehouse in
> Bangor, and at ten o’clock it was shipped down to the shop. First it had
> to come to Ellsworth, then to Lamoine for installation.  Meanwhile, John
> decided that it was high time finally, to get the Loaner Piece of Junk
> registered and on the road, so we went off to town hall to pay the excise
> tax, then to Ellsworth to the Registry of Motor Vehicles to get plates for
> the Loaner Piece of Junk, arriving back at the shop around one in the
> afternoon.
>
> Shortly thereafter, the new bearing arrived, and of course, it did NOT fit
> the pully housing of the old compressor.
>
> Another telephone call to Force 5 Automotive, probably the worlds best V8
> recycler in New Hampshire.  Yup. They have a compressor.  $175 plus
> shipping.  Thirty day warranty.
>
> So what we did was order that compressor in and it should arrive perhaps
> late this afternoon for installation perhaps tomorrow....or Monday.
> Meanwhile I drove the Loaner Piece of Junk (aka Volvo V70 mt 200,000+
> miles) the seventy miles home and the ugly Loaner Piece of Junk (which
> actually rides and runs pretty well) is sitting outside my garage in the
> rain as we speak.
>
> Last night I had a brainstorm....well a “brain-something” anyway...and
> shot off an email to Shokan in New York to see what they might have.  Used
> compressor for the V8 is $485 plus shipping, six months warranty.
>
> So, it’s more than a little like The Highlander when it comes to a/c
> compressors:  in the end, there can be only one that will probably last
> more than ten minutes with the original wears out.
>
> Pretty grim.  Replacing a transmission would have been easier and
> rebuilding a fried one, only a little more expensive....well, actually a
> LOT more expensive, but not impossible.
>
> So, I’ll just hope the Force 5 a/c compressor works for a while, and I’ll
> keep reminding myself that for what I have invested in total in the V8,
> there is nothing and I KNOW nothing I could buy that would even think of
> being its equal.  I’ll keep telling myself that over and over again, even
> when the new old compressor fails and once again, I face the prospect of a
> thousand dollar compressor.
>
> Then later last night, I was looking at a very, very nice looking Ford
> F150 on eBay.  It was a 1979 regular cab with really low miles and the
> iconic 300 cubic inch six cylinder engine.  It even had air conditioning.
> I had a truck not unlike that back in the day. It was rugged and reliable
> and simple.  I found myself wondering how much an air compressor might be
> for like that.
>
> Roger
> _______________________________________________
> Audifans V8 mailing list
> Send posts to: mailto:V8 at audifans.com
> Manage your list connection: http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/v8
>
> You can help keep the audifans site running by shopping at
> http://audifans.com/shop/
>
>


-- 
Thanks!
Scott DeWitt
Advanced Automotion
Ph:  720.4.GEARS.1 (720.443.2771)
Fax: 361.288.8030
Any price quoted in this email is valid for 15 days, and subject to
availability.
Http://www.advancedautomotion.com
Shipping, Return, and Warranty policies
http://www.advancedautomotion.com/shipping.php
http://www.advancedautomotion.com/warranty.php