found a TQW

["Lawson, Dave" <dlawson@ball.com>]

Last week we bought a 1990 200 TQW, clearcoat black with grey leather
interior and somewhere in the neighborhood of 135k miles. This is a real
nice car. Thanks to everyone who provided info on what to look out for
when purchasing a 5000 turbo/200 series car. The example sitting in my
driveway definitely passes the test.

The exterior of the car is in very good condition, there is evidence of
paintwork, but you have to look very close, the color matches are
perfect. No rust. All door handles work. The interior is grey leather
with heated barcalounger seats. All the seat heaters work front and
rear. Power seats work, but I can't seem to get the seat position memory
to work. The leather is in good condition, no loose stitching, rips or
tears, and even the side bolsters of the barc seats still have their
shape. All the window regulators work and the sunroof works. Climate
control works, the A/C blows cold and the heater blows hot, the only
problem is the outside air temp display is not correct. All the interior
lights work, even the rear tailgate light. The delta radio works fine,
speakers sound good, radio display shows up in the info area above the
speedo. The wood has cracked near the passenger are outlet, but is not
fogged over. Power mirrors work. The info display works and so does the
trip computer stuff, haven't calibrated it though. Owners manual was in
the glovebox in the leather pouch. Two odd things I have noticed are the
air bag and check engine light never show up. A friend who has removed
this type of instrument cluster says these lights are stuck in their
holes by some goo and they could have fallen back behind the instrument
cluster. The passenger seat heater switch does need a new LED. The rear
cargo cover is missing, if you have a light grey one gathering dust,
please let me know.

The car drives great, new struts up front and all the
subframe/suspension rubber looks to be in good condition. No clunks when
driving. No howling wheel bearings. The emergency brake works and the
cables look good. The power brakes work fine, but the rotors do have
some rust on them. All 4 calipers had the dust boots on the bleed
screws. The exhaust system could use some new hangers. ABS turns on and
off and the rear diff lock functions as expected. The hydraulic system
seems to be a closed system, steering rack boots are all intact and no
green stuff is visible on the rack or top of tranny. The hyd pump does
seem a bit moist around the X screws. New coolant expansion tank and
overflow hose. Radiator outlet hasn't yet broken. Coolant gauge works.
Radiator fan turns on and off after shutdown, injector cooling fan turns
on and off. The engine pulls 1.4 bar consistently. Idle is steady at 800
rpm. The lifters make a racket at start up for up to a couple of
minutes, depending how long the car has been sitting. The valve cover
gasket is leaking by the intake manifold, running down the side of the
block, onto the alternator bracket and onto the case of the alternator.
There seems to be some clear RTV in the area of the valve cover, more
investigation is needed. The timing belt looks in good condition, but
the V belts have some cracks. Air ducts for alternator, oil cooler and
motor mount are all intact. The engine code matches up to the build
dates on the fiche. Four brand new Bridgestone Potenza RE930 tires were
fitted, they seem OK, and much better than the Pirelli P4000 which were
on two of the other TQWs I drove. The car needs 5-7 seconds of cranking
before it starts, both hot and cold. 

One thing I have noticed is that with the car parked I can rotate the
driveshaft through a small angle by hand, where on my 83 ur-q, I can't
rotate it at all. Is this a trait of the gen II Torsen quattro system or
a sign that further investigation is needed?

I'm sure I will have many more questions as I get into this car, but I
think this example is in pretty good condition and looks like a keeper.
-
Dave Lawson
90 200 TQW
86 GT, parts car
83 ur-q