Paul C. Waterloo wrote:
>
> > > You are skating on thin ice. Audis are like English cars. Any attempt to
> fix
> > > Yeah, but at least English Electrics work . . . mostly . . .
> > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >
> > WHAT?!? Based on my experiences, the electrical systems in Audis are FAR
> > SUPERIOR to that of any Engligh beast that I've come across. I've owned too
> > many TRs that were possessed by the "Prince of Darkness"...
>
> You know why the English drink warm beer, don't you, it because they have Lucas
> refrigerators.
>
> Paul
>
> 91 200 Q
> 87 5KSQ
>
> **************************************************************
> Paul Waterloo TEL: (860) 267-7714
> HydroAire Incorporated FAX: (860) 267-7387
> 875 Old Hartford Rd
> Colchester, CT 06415 EMAIL: 74543.407@compuserve.com
> **************************************************************
I never imagined that while asking about whether I could fix the last few Bugs on my Audi by
recenting my shifter I could generate a debate on the relative merits of automobiles,
refrigerators, and folk customs that could an serve as an historian's preface to World War III.
When the Bombs fall, I'll still have greasy fingers, I guess. Next time, I'll contain myself and
just write:
Yo, homeBoys!! -- '84 4KQ. Shifter's Sloppy. Needs Recetnering. How? Help Please! Don't care
if your shifter was Built in Brussels Belgium, Bolivia, Baltimore, Burbank, somewhere in Burundi
or Bombay, is Bolstered by Benetton or Ben-Gay, and your name is Bruce, Borg, Barbara, Beatrice,
Bhavachakravarthi, or Bentsworth, or if your Brain's Bombarded by Bourbon and therefore you
Babble Bombastically, as long as you answer my Boring !@#$#@! question!
BTW -- I'm replacing the entire shifter assembly because I can get one not too expensively. I am
also sorry for having bolstered the confidence of anyone who maintains that a main Audi wiring
harness is not well thought-out.
As I've said in a previous post, my family has logged about 350,000 miles on five, already
100,000+ mile Audis (all I-5's, one Turbo) with no serious electrical or engine problems until I
encountered my corrosion as a result a truly idiotic previous owner, who nearly immolated me and
the car and is now probably setting homes alight throughout suburban Maryland.
These miles were in the rain and snow and sun and salt and hail of the Northeast, as well as the
the general Hell that can be dished out by someone running their own business (for example,
periodically carrying 2,000 lbs-or-so lbs of computer-printed Tomes in the trunk and backseat
without regard to the weather or season). Also, my dad used to cart my pregnant mother around in
an old MG and on the back of a Triumph, as well as an early Suzuki two-stroke (those late 60's
Hopkins Engineering graduates thought they could do Anything...now we have Rollerblades?!?), so I
can gather from anecdotal reports what Iron-Age electrics work like..."I'm here to remind you",
as Alannis Morisette says).
>From my own recent experience, the wiring harness is a little hirsuite, but works very
predictably, is easy to understand given a few basic tools, and doesn't deteriorate unless
somebody does something stupid, (maybe including thr Audi Gods) which is why you have to be
doubly suspicious about someone selling a used Audi whom you regard as having a reason for
duplicity (I wasn't, because I was Youngstruck, and fell in love with the idea of the Car and
Her, and all I could think was how good it would feel to drive Her to work with Her safe as a Bug
in a Rug in the Snow...which it did on several occasions prior to recent mishaps) I have to say,
now, though, that Her Toyota ('85) has been more reliable than My Audi ('84), all things
considered. I still plan to keep the Q until everything freezes so solid that even it doesn't
work anymore.
These cars (IMO) are not normally hard to fix right, just ridiculously easy to botch.
That's why they're both a pleasure to own and satisfying to work on, if you do it right.
Best Wishes,
Alex Kowalski
'84 4KQ
P.S. -- She was, however, totally Wowed by the spread of the A8 in an older issue of "Der
Spiegel", and reacted with shock (THAT'S an AUDI!?!) when I pointed out to her the graceful form
of the new A4Q on the streets of Chicago. Maybe we'll get one, no? Of course we will, sooner or
later....