Help! thumping sound on braking . . .

["Richard Tang" <richy@iastate.edu>]

Hi there Audi lovers
	I drove my 1986 4000CS from Ames, IOWA to LA, CAL for Summer
school... have no problem with the car the entire trip..... until I hit
the Colorado mountains.... but that is another story....
 	But latey I noticed a low tone thumping sound when I sometimes
apply my brakes, sometimes it thumps when I apply it hard or soft,
sometimes it thumps when I am turning into a side road while the brakes
are depressed.
	I have brought it to a dealer in Long Beach, Cal to have it
checked, what he told me was my -- steering control bushings; 4 pcs of
them has to be renewed-- 2 pcs on each of my front wheels.... 
	Now what does a steering control brushings do?
	Could I drive it back to Iowa to have it repaired there without
anything else breaking down??? 1,800 mile trip......
	The dealer here wants $400 including parts.... dealer sells each
brush for $21.... didn't look around for othere parts sources yet.... 
is this price reasonable?
	Thanks in advance......

        ________________________________________________________
       | Richard Tang       ...A little bit of Tangy taste      |
       |                                    Is a bit of life... |
       | richy@iastate.edu                                      |
       |________________________________________________________|