strut bearings

["Dan Bocek" <dan@di.com>]

Hey, all:

    I just got an 83 Turbo Quattro Coupe, and I jacked the front end up for
the first time last night.  What I noticed was that if I grasped the strut
tower and shoved a little, I could move the top of the strut about 1/8 of an 
inch in any direction.  Is this normal?  At first, I thought my strut bearings 
were shot, but on closer examination I noticed that there weren't any bolts
holding the strut bearing to the sheet metal on top (like in every other
McPhereson strut suspension I've ever seen!)  It looked almost as if the Audi
engineers had intened the strut to center itself by virtue of the weight
of the car on top of the bearing centering the bearing due to its shape and
the shape of the sheet metal around it (kinda dome shaped).  It's important
to get to the bottom of this before the weekend, because I'll (hopefully!)
be taking the car on its first rallye, and I need to know whether or not
to call Avis.
    BTW, while I'm on the subject, have any of you ever taken out the front
struts on a TQC?  I was looking at it last night, and it actually looks like
you need to disconnect the axles!  Is this true?


                                             aTdHvAaNnKcSe

                                             -Dan-
-- 
Dan Bocek
dan@di.com