Couple of questions for you

[rgt@lanl.gov (Richard Thomsen)]

Here are a couple of questions I have for you out there.  I have a
1987 5000 CS Quattro, and have noticed some problems.

1)	There is a squealing noise when I have started the engine and
	then step on the gas.  It sounds like a belt slipping, but did
	not happen at idle so I could not check it.  I sprayed some
	belt stuff on the belts that I could get to, and tightened up
	the belt to the hydraulic pump, and it quit for a while but is
	now back.  Yesterday, it happened at idle, and I looked into
	the engine compartment, but all belts and pulleys were moving.
	I had assumed that, if the belt was slipping, the pulley would
	not be moving, but I suppose it could be moving slowly.

	If I rev up the engine, it gets loud and then goes away.  When
	it gets wet, it resumes each time the engine idles.  I thought
	it may be a bearing for the alternator or something, but it
	goes away with higher speeds, so it seems like a belt.

2)	My temp guage works intermittently (more not than working).
	I took off the connector and tried to clean it, but it did no
	good.  What part do I ask for when getting a replacement?

3)	We had our first big snow here last weekend, and my tires are
	a bit too wide for it, I think.  I suppose I should get narrower
	tires and wheels.  What recommendations do you have for winter
	tires (and spring mud, as I live off of dirt roads that become
	muddy during the spring)?  How do I find the wheel rim size to
	ask for if I want to get steel wheels?

4)	My front shocks are weak, and I understand that Boge gas struts
	are the recommendation.  When I called Stranos and Carlson about
	them, they could not get them.  Any ideas where I can get them
	at a low cost?  Someone also suggested Monroes as a cheap but
	good alternative.

Thanks for all the help.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Thomsen				  Embryonic, zoonic,
Los Alamos National Laboratory		  Tectonic, cyclonic,
Network Engineering (CIC-5)		We humans are never humane.
rgt@lanl.gov				  Explosion, erosion,
In case you did not realize,		  Corrosion, implosion -
I speak only for myself.		And back into Chaos again!