Re: Buying 86-up turbo questions

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

At 14:48 21.04.98 -0400, Sachelle Babbar wrote:

>I am planning very soon to buy an 86 and up fwd 5000/200 turbo 5spd.

Why not a quattro?

>I have question on a few things and what to look for.
>1. How do I tell if the turbo afterrun coolant pump is shot?

They usually simply leak coolant. You may want to pull the wires from the
thermoswitch (the one with two spade connectors at the back of the upper
coolant flange) and short them together. The fan should operate on low
speed and the coolant pump should run. It is impossible to hear the pump
running unless the fan motor has been disconnected, though.

>2. How do I tell if the abs is not working properly? (symptoms of
>different failing components)

The ABS warning light should show up after starting the car and disappear
soon after you start driving. Making a couple of panic stops to see if the
ABS engages properly doesn't hurt either :-) Remember that on ABS equipped
cars it is more important to have a working bomb, since it serves as a
pressure source for ABS modulator as well.

>3 .                     clutch is bad?

Make a couple of full throttle runs through 1st and 2nd gears. See if the
clutch slips. With the engine idling engage 1st gear and gently release the
clutch. It should be possible to get the car moving without touching the
accelerator pedal and the clutch should engage without noise or vibration.
Noise with the clutch pedal fully depressed means worn clutch release bearing.

>4. How do I tell if the transmission is no good?

It should be quiet in all gears (a loud pitched whine in reverse is normal)
and the gears should engage easily without any grinding noises. It may be
necessary to briefly release the clutch in neutral before engaging reverse.

>
>On 86-90 mc's is starting off from a stop a slip or spin thing. I mean do
>they have a good amt. of low end torque? I have a kh with more bottom end
>than an mc, so I just wanted to know. Can a kh be bolted up to an 86 and
>up manual tranny. Just for reference...

But why would you want to install an inferior engine? The MC has more
horsepower, more sophisticated MAC-11 ECU, there are many performance
products readily available for the MC and the watercooled turbocharger can
last the life of the car. I don't think the low end torque is that much
important with manual tranny, where you can drop the clutch at high revs.


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 :-)