'83 urQ problems

[raf40@oes.amdahl.com (Richard Funnell)]

Gentlemen (& Ladies?),

I am new to this list.  I am the reasonably happy owner of a black 1983
ur-Quattro which I have owned for about 5 years.  I use the car for daily
transportation, and enjoy its handling and highway power, especially for a
car that will carry four people.

The paint and interior have held up very well for the car's age.  I have
only rubbed out the paint by hand and it looks quite good (certainly not
perfect).  I did have to do some minor fixing and reattachment of interior
items, recovered the steering wheel and had a leather hand-brake boot made,
but it looks great for the age.  The leather is still excellent, but I put
skins on the front seats to protect the leather and make them more
comfortable (sometimes, a definite mixed blessing).  I use Lexol on all the
leather (when I get around to it), and PB2 on the plastic.

I have pretty much given up on the dealer.  I now use M&M Audi House and I
am very satisfied.  I used Auto Dynamics for the interior work and I am
pleased with them as well.

My biggest gripes so far include a new clutch due to a bad throw-out
bearing, a head job due to a broken stud that couldn't be drilled out in
place (by the dealer!!!), a new air conditioning compressor, a new brake
booster and the requisite list of minor electrical problems which have cost
me almost nothing for parts and a lot of time and frustration.  I have also
replaced other items such as rear struts (Boge), brakes, accumulator
(twice), power steering hose, tires, battery, stereo etc. that I consider
more typical for the car's age and mileage (@ 90,000, but tough to be sure
since the odometer was broken for a while).  The turbo is still original
and tested fine when the heads were done!

I have some immediate questions that I didn't see answers to in the archives.

1-      The oil temperature seems very high, often 135 deg Cel and as high
as 145.  This seems very high, especially since I'm using synthetic oil
(Castrol Syntec 5W-50).  I'm not sure how accurate the gauge is, but I'm
still concerned.  Has anyone found a similar problem, and an appropriate
solution?  Water temerature is steady at 80 deg Cel give or take a few
degrees as the fan cycles.  I have thought about adding electrical fans at
the oil cooler.

2-      I would like additional documentation on the car.  I have the
Bentley manual for the car, and the Bosch book on fuel injection, as well
as Alan Henry's "Quattro" and some old articles.  I have heard of out of
print manuals that were very informative.  Does anyone have any information
about these or other books or manuals?

3-      When the car gets very hot after running for a while on a hot day
in traffic or on the highway, the shifter gets very heavy.  I had the
transmission fluid changed to synthetic but it made no difference.  My
guess is the shift linkage but I see no procedure to lubricate it.  Does
anyone have a diagnosis and hopefully a solution for this?

4-      The air conditioner seems not quite cool enough.  The shop says the
expansion valve isn't right but this is an expensive job and I haven't
heard of these going bad before.  Any comments?

5-      I have the ABT gauge panel, and I would like to double up on any
two gauges to make room for a voltmeter.  Has anyone seen double gauges?  I
seem to recall them from a few years ago but I can't find them now.  Is
there another neat way to add a voltmeter?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Richard Funnell,
San Jose, California
'83 urQ