What to look for in an ur-quattro

[Dave Eaton <dave.eaton@minedu.govt.nz>]

following is an updated attempt to provide assistance to those people looking
to purchase ur-quattro's  additions welcome....

hth
dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q

1) general

the ur-quattro should have a fully documented history, including service and
verifiable mileage.  you should be able to talk to some of the previous owners
if possible.  anything less, and you're talking risks which could prove
expensive.  a full motor recondition can almost cost the value of an early
model ur-quattro!

documentation with verification will provide evidence that service was
undertaken as scheduled, correct oil was used, and trained personnel worked on
the car.  for early (oil cooled) turbos, talking to owners about the 'cool
down' technique' is a good way of estimating the life of the turbo in your
hands!

2) motor. 

early quattro's have a propensity for wearing their valve guides due to
inadequate valve stem lubrication.  expect to be replacing guides at about 80k
miles.  can be a reasonably expensive exercise because you should do top end
at the same time.  rings and top end also seem to be strong so shouldn't be a
major point of concern, but have been known to falter at the same time as the
guides.  head cracking between valve seats is known, but not common.

bottom end is solid and just lasts.

motor mounts are hydraulic and give out from time to time.  you can pick this
due to the increase in noise and vibration from the motor.

manifold.  if the manifold on an older ur-q isn't 'ticking' it can't be an ur-q
;-)  expect to have to weld the sucker at some point.  usually the ticking is
noticed from cold (sounds a bit like noisy tappets).  replacement manifolds are
expensive, so welding is often the solution chosen.  check to see the presence
of welds on the manifold.  another solution is a replacement manifold from
suppliers such as dialynx.  20v manifolds don't give the problems of the
earlier ones.

exhaust.  very expensive for the lot, although there are cheaper alternatives.
rear box is the problem.  last quite a while though; expect about 50-80k miles
before replacement.  20v ur-quattro's have dual catalysts and require super
unleaded.  replacement of the 20v exhaust is very expensive.

buying.  remember that these engines are strong and will run ok with many of
the ailments mentioned above.  compression tests will show the strength of the
top end, checking for smoke on overrun will show valve seal wear.

3) turbos.

with the pre-1988 cars, expect to replace a turbo (kkk k26) during your tenure
with the car.  you simply can't know how the previous owners have treated the
turbo and whether they've religiously cooled it down after a long run, and
whether they've used synthetic oil regularly.  check intercooler hose and end
float of the turbo before purchase.  listen for excessive whine.  test the
motor at high revs.  hesitations in acceleration can indicate a blocked
wastegate (quite common on the early turbos) - the ignition cutout is caused by
the overboost control.  this problem will be obvious at high revs (misfires).

post 1988 turbos (kkk k24) are water cooled and much less trouble.  also more
responsive due to the smaller impeller and higher compression ratio of the
motor.  wastage's give no trouble on these installations.

turbos can sometimes be rebuilt, rather than replaced.

4) gearbox and suspension.

the gearbox is strong and should go to 150k miles without work.  diff locks can
freeze up from time to time.  nothing major. post 1988 and the torsen is a
better transmission, with better ratios, better driveability and less
understeer.

never heard of a broken ur-q gearbox.

the clutch should cause no particular problems.  beware the cost of replacing
the master cylinder on rhd ur-quattro's (lengthy and expensive).

suspension.  gradually improved over the life of the ur-q via various tweaks
and upgrades.  most quattros would benefit from replacing the suspension bushes
and dampers.  replacement is a reasonably lengthy job, the need for which is
indicated by tramlining or suspension noises.

tyres.  wear should be even.  ur-quattro are very sensitive to alignment, and
are difficult (expensive) to align.

awd system.  no cause for concern. the same system copes well with significant
increases in power (sport, rs2).  check for oil leaks at the rear diff. 
although the ur-quattro does 'shunt' a little at low speed (due to fuel
shutoff), excessive shunt indicates wear in the mountings.  cv's and
driveshafts are well spec'ed and don't generally cause any trouble.  check cv
covers for leaks.

5) body.

body strong and solid.  rust not a problem unless the body has been repaired. 
body's never galvanized though, although, due to the special attention given
them, corrosion protection is very good.  windscreen seals cause trouble in
older cars.

(grp) bumpers are difficult to repair well and get the colour matching right.

6) cooling.

radiators don't seem to give trouble.  early motors run hotter than the later
ones.  radiator shrouds will need to be replaced with the early ur-q's. 
after-run fan rarely works, so get this checked first thing.  it will improve
the life of the turbo in non-water-cooled applications (pre 1988).  cooling in
the 20v is trouble free.  early quattro's will tend to overheat on idle
(regular radiator fan activity), especially with air-con fitted.

air-con.  a difficult area as air-con was often fitted ex-factory by the
importers.

oil-cooler.  check the pipes to the oil cooler.  in countries which use salt on
the roads during winter, expect to see corrosion on these pipes.  replace if
you sport any corrosion.

7) brakes

early single piston brakes are not the ur-q's best feature.  most early ur-q's
would benefit from 'blue printing' the brakes.  later (post 1987-88) dual
piston brakes were better.  handbrakes can be a pain with binding calipers
causing the lever to skew.  to test the brakes, undertake a full emergency
stop.  any 'hesitation' before the brakes act is most likely due to a faulty
pressure system and means the accumulator will need to be replaced.

8) steering.  

the power pump (bomb) on the ur-quattro's serves a dual function, also
providing servo assistance for the brakes.  it generally doesn't cause problems
(unlike similar units on other audis).

9) interiors. 

cloth seats sag and look ragged after a time.  colours can sometimes be
objectionable.  leather is excellent.  creaks and groans from the dash are to
be expected.  air-con is a good idea because the early cars run quite hot, with
high under bonnet (hood) temperatures.  automatic radio aerial can get stuck.

central locking is hydraulic/air operated and should not cause any problem.

dash.  european quattros has the digital dash in all but the early (pre 1984)
models.  green with mechanical odometer pre 1988.  orange with electrical
odometer post 1988.  voice synthesizer in the post 1984 and pre 1988 models. 
often disconnected.  usa models had an analogue dash.  mechanical odometers can
be clocked.

10) recommendations.

best buy is the (euro) 1988-89 ur-quattro.  comes with the torsen transmission
with better ratios and torsen diff for better driveability.  brakes are
(improved) dual piston, and the turbo is water cooled and gives much better
low-end torque and response.  leaded petrol only.