RE: Hi

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.com.pl>]

Shane wrote:

	>I am the new owner of an '86 Audi 4000 CS Quattro.  This is my
first Audi,
	>although I have always desired to own one.  I am a graduate
student, so atleast
	>I am getting closer.  The car seems in great shape and I am
trying to restore
	>it as best I can.

Congratulations on purchase of a very fine automobile :-)

	>It runs like a new car, but requires a muffler and front
	>springs.  I was very dismayed to find the cheapest muffler
price to be $470.
	>Does this seem realistic?

What??? Jeez, Shane, someone is really trying to rip you! Check the
http://coimbra.ans.net/quattro/tech/parts_vendors.html for a recommended
parts vendors. You should find a muffler for a $100 or less.

	>The front springs will cost $240 plus $150 for new
	>strut cartridges.

You don't tell us what brand/model are the shocks you are going to buy.
Beware, there is a lot of stuff on the market that will make your car
handle like sh*t or/and go bad after couple thousand of miles. Otherwise
the price seems OK.

	>I have been told that the differential locking was never used
on this car.  The
	>owner told me he would not recommend locking them since they
had sat so long
	>without use.  Could I get some opinions on this?

If it has never been used, the vacuum actuator can be seized. In better
case it will not work, but in the worst case, it will lock, but won't
unlock. I remember reading couple of posts regarding diff locks that
were difficult or impossible to unlock. I don't know if there's any
simple method of unlocking a seized diff lock actuator.

	>I paid $1300 for the car, yes, the poor grad. student story
helped.  But, I am
	>now looking at $1100 for repairs.  Did I do alright?  The car
has 95,000 miles
	>and seems VERY clean.  A bit of surface rust in a few normal
areas, and the
	>leather is split in one location in the back seat.  The power
antenna no longer
	>works and the stereo seems weak in general.  Otherwise,
everything is great.
	>It has new brakes all around and a new fuel pump.  I have all
the receipts from
	>the time the car was purchased.  The oil was changed every
three months or
	>three thousand miles.

$1300 for a car in good condition and $2400 after you fix everything
that needs fixing? You guys in US are lucky, very lucky, hey, how to get
this "green card" stuff? ;-)
Of course you did right.

	>So, what do ya think?  Anything I should check or do before
driving it
	>regularly?  Also, does this thing have a timing belt or chain?
If a belt,
	>should I get it replaced soon?

It has a belt and it's condition is vital to the correct operation of
the engine. Ask the previous owner when did he replace the belt and how
many miles has he put on the currect belt - if more than 50K miles,
replace it _now_. Mind you, this is a PITA job to replace the timing
belt on Audi 5cyl engines, as all the pulleys and crankshaft gear have
to be removed.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.com.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)