Valve spring longevity ...

[MHLIGGINS <MHLIGGINS@aol.com>]

<<They made a pretty shocking statement in there ... that valve springs are
often out of spec withing 40K miles of use. >>

     I would believe that about Chevy and certain other U.S. made vehicles,
not sure it would be as valid for high end euro cars, though.  Had some
communication with Graydon Stuckey re: welding exhaust manifolds.  The Audi
manifolds are high grade, very high grade.  We both found this out through our
respective certified welders who tested the stuff.  We also found out that
just about any e.m. from General Motors is made of cheap material that is
almost impossible to weld.
     While I agree the quoted statement is shocking, and acknowledge that it
is probably true for some springs, I do not think it would be the general case
for Audis, especially turbo cars.  If Audi figured out enough to put in sodium
filled valves, I expect they knew a bit about tempering valve springs as well.
So I recommend you worry more about the water pump, t-belt, p/s, bomb, and
other known problems.

     Later.
     Marty Liggins
     Imperial Potentate, Bucksnort Quattro Club (Un-Inc.)