87 5KCSTQ Odometer/Temp guage repair

[DH5481@aol.com]

The temp guage repair was effected after not paying attention while
troubleshooting...

When your odometer quits, the problem is likely to be the gear drive
mechanism.

Remember - Nothing on an Audi is like a normal car, so your Speedo and
Odometer are actually synchro-receivers.  The Bentley gives complete
procedures through removal - the only comment I have here is to pick up a few
of the plastic dudes that hold the horn pad on before you start - they tend
to break during removal.  The Bentley shows the hidden screw under the
plastic circuit board, too.

Two screws hold the motor/circuit board to the speedo.  After removing these
two, some finesse is required to move it out of the way (the wires to the
speedo synchro remain connected). There is a small yellowish gear that will
likely have stripped teeth. This is on the large white gear, alongside the
grey 1/2 gear. This must be replaced.  Junkyard part easy to find - any 5K
with a hall sensor.

Of course you could just replace the entire speedo mechanism, but I'm
particularly proud of the 167K miles on my 87 tq, and I don't want to hassle
with the state over a speedo replacement (in FL we report mileage yearly as
part of plate renewal).

Getting the 4 circuit connectors reconnected can be a pain during reassembly.
 
I bent the needle assembly on my temp guage, not paying attention - bent it
back, and it failed to work.  After looking in the junkyard and finding the
earlier Audis have a different face/needle I decided to tear it down.  The
linkage had popped free of the bimettalic spring (original problem), and in
bending it back I had twisted it.  I simply put it back and retwisted it back
into alignment (hooray - VDO makes something virtually impossible to break).
 Downside - If you see the construction/simplicity of this thing you'll
realize the accuracy sucks (easy to see why there's no numbers on the guage
face!).

Dave Head
87 5KCSTQ