Head gasket and state of affairs

[Sean_Ford@idx.com]

To:   quattro
Q-list,

I know, I know, this is one hell of a long and drawn out head gasket
replacement. In my defense, my wife and I have purchased a new home and
sold our current home, and those two events have taken up a large part of
our recent free time.

Anyway, I just got off the phone with the owner of Excel Auto Unlimited in
Weymouth, MA, and immediately scheduled the replacement of: 1) the head
gasket, 2) the valley pan gasket, 3) the timing belt (tensioners to be
determined, though highly probable), 4) the water pump, and lastly 5) the
serpentine belt. I've also left instructions that the vacuum hoses should
be inspected.

Steve, the owner, seemed extremely open and informative and came at me with
an estimate of $1200 - $1300. The estimate and the conversation sealed it
for me and my car will be on sabbatical for 2 days next week for the
repairs. I was quite pleased with the V6 knowledge that Steve seem to
possess off of the top of his head; good thing or bad thing depends on your
perspective.

So, why am I bothering you all with this? I thought it would be nice to
keep everyone appraised of my experience throughout this repair, just in
case one of you follow in my footsteps. Consider this a rather intense
mechanic/garage test, seeing as how this will be my first visit to Excel,
though I must they has come highly recommended.

I'll bore you all with the outcome next week. Extreme wallet lightening to
follow....

Sean Ford
'92 Audi 100CS 5-spd 41k mi
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/5528