Big Grin Part II: Murphy Rides Along (long)

[Steve Jensen <sjensen@mindspring.com>]

Hello Listers:

Made it to Ohio w/out incident.  Went to pick up new-to-me 5KCSTQ with big
grin firmly in place.  Hit the starter and heard some grinding, like the
starter bendix was sticking.  Owner says "I thought that starter was making
some noise".
Decide to pull the starter, its a long walk back to Georgia.

Found the bendix to have been making improper advances to Lady Flywheel,
luckily minor and no teeth gone.  Hit the yellow pages and found an auto
electric shop open on Saturday. Yee-hah! They close at noon, so we grab and
go.

Get there at 25 till twelve.  Guy sez she's got a toasted solenoid, which
caused the bendix to remain engaged and fractured the planetary gear. Yes
they can do it before they close - thank you Audi gods!  Thanking them
profusely, we put the starter back in...

However, they were in such a hurry to rebuild the drive they forgot to
replace the solenoid.  D*mn! Oh well, push starting ain't so bad (huff,
huff, huff, huff!)

First impession: she rides like a dream!  Very responsive and *stable* at
speed.  I'm sure those of you who have driven q's for awhile can remember
the comparison to whatever you were driving before.  One thing's for
certain - I'm a convert!

Nine and a half hours later, she's safely in the carport.  In goes another
starter and she's purring like a kitten.

Thank you for being here, 'Listers.  You are the reason I didn't get scared
off by the horror stories about "them dang unreliable Aaowdees".  The
hey-lets-get-it-done attitude and  sense of community is what attracted me
here to Q-Land.  Yes, I will be ordering the Bentley manuals later this
week (is Amazon the cheapest?).  And I will try to keep the stupid newbie
questions to a minimum.

Now, can anyone tell me where to find the list of monthly sacrifices to be
made to the Audi gods?

-Steve Jensen
Proud owner of a gorgeous pearl white '87 5KCSTQ just waiting to be driven.