'89 200TQ heater box adventure

[Igor Kessel <e6941tb@ix.netcom.com>]

Hello, club!

I have finally gotten around to replacing that chirping blower motor.
Yesterday I pulled the unit out of the car using the method described by 
Dave Michael: made a steel twisted hook as per his drawing and used a couple 
of precision Audi tools named a *twobyfour*  and a big friggin' pry bar. 
Worked very well, thanks, Dave.
One note, though. Those contemplating using it should lengthen Dave's hook 
to at least 10", would be much easier to work with.

Took the clam shell apart, pulled the blower out. It looked like sh*t, as 
expected. The brushes were almost non-existant, and the collector sported a 
visible groove in it.

Also, while at it, I replaced the heater core. No more dumb penny pinching!

Replaced all the gaskets on the heater box. Started to put the clam shell 
together. Ooops, need to align 5 deflector blades with their 10 axel holes 
simultaneously.

A tip: 3 out of 5 have large axis shafts (~10mm) and they travel in runners, 
so they more or less find their position automatically.
2 remaining ones have ~5mm shafts and are free-hanging. They are a real 
b*tch to feed thru the opposite half-box hole. I drilled a 1,5mm hole ~5mm 
deep in the butt end of each shaft. Cut two ~10cm pieces out of my other 
favourite universal tool - a coat hanger. Inserted those two pieces into the 
shafts. Fished those wires thru their respective holes first, by hand (they 
allow doing it while still having the clamshell 10cm apart). The rest was 
easy. Now I am waiting for the RTV silicon to cure in the gap around the 
heater core outlets, before I'll be able to continue with the project.
Since I have the old coolant drained anyhow, I have also removed the 
radiator, the aux pump, the thermostat, the heater valve, the expansion tank 
and all the hoses for inspection.
I have also flushed the block, the head, the expansion tank and the 
radiator. 
Tomorrow the cooling sys will go back in.

1. I'll probably keep my 79°C thermostat (the OEM was 87°C, but I replaced 
it with the coolest one, I could find). Some knowledgeable people on the 
list advise that it's best to run the engine hot (cylinder bores not being 
round when not at a speced temperature etc.). I belong to an old school, 
which likes to run it as cool as possible (relatively speaking, off course).
2. Zero Pressure Evans coolant goes in. Let's see what happens.
3. A ventilated expansion tank cap goes on for the Evans coolant.

George Baxter measured the temperature of my engine with an infrared 
pyrometer after a fast run :

exh. mfld - 560°F
intake mfld - 220°F
thermostat housing - 240°F
intercooler - 140°F

Bottom line - I have more boost than I need. Now it's time to look into 
reducing the intake charge temperature. Right, Scott?

Let's see if Evans will deliver as promised. Stay tuned.

BTW, the hood of the car appears so HUGE when standing upright against the 
wall in the basement.
 
-- 
Igor Kessel
'89 200TQ - 18psi (TAP)
'98 A4TQ - on order
Philadelphia, PA
USA