Re: My '92 Quattro is a piece of #$$%^#@!!/think so? Try a Dodge

[Wolff <wolff_b@ix.netcom.com>]

John Graham wrote:
> 
> Steve Spurlock wrote:
> 
<Snippage>

> Audi is not the only car maker that does that crap. And that one reasonI
> only drive a manual.
> 

Went camping in the Sierra Nevada's last month. I drove a VW Eurovan
(ugly, but has an I5 ok) with my wife, baby and mother in law inside. My
folks drove their "new" 1996 Dodge ram 1 ton dually with Lance Camper on
it. We were at about 8 thousand feet elevation on a dirt track using gps
to find our way to old mining towns. Going up and down when I noticed
fluid on the ground comming from the Dodge. Stopped the Eurovan got out
and poked my finger in the stuff. Red auto trans fluid. Got back in and
started chasing the Dodge. By the time I got to where they had stopped
there was a lot of fluid on the ground. 17 quarts I'm told. I got under
the thing (at least you don't need jack stands). The leak is at a 1/2
inch hydro line going into the trans. Get out the 1 inch spanner and
turn. Very loose. Tighten up and still major leak. Look closer: The damn
thing has a nylon compression sleeve! Just plain melted. To make a long
story shorter, I found a tow truck driver and just by telling him what
kind of truck it was, he knew what the problem was. I hadn't mentioned
the transmission at all. Turns out there is an update for the
transmision. Brass compression fittings. Go figure. Good planning on my
folks part that they have AAA plus and an extended warrantee. 

They went and did the same trip. Crazy I know (where do you think I get
it from?) and had no problems.
Wolff
I-5 driver

BTW, the Cummins is a good engine, but way detuned from Dodge. My dad
took it to a specialist who literally doubled the fuel economy and got
more power at the same time.

> > I've never owned
> > an Audi before and assure you I never will again.  Is this indicative
> > of
> > the quality of these cars?
> 
> No. It's the risk of buying a used car. Just because the service book
> had all the stamps does notmean it was done right or done at all. I've
> seen cars go in for sevice and come out with  not so much
> as the transmission pan droped.
> 
> >
> >
> > The dealer (who happens to be a friend) has so far gotten the factory
> > to say they'll contribute $2,000 toward the cost of the transmission,
> > since I had it in twice for suspected problems, and each time they
> > plugged it into the computer and reported "no problem."
> >
> > Any ideas?
> 
>   That's better than what a lot of car makers will do for you.
> 
> John
> 1990 CQ