5kcstq new to me.....temperature gauge, boost pressure?

["Evans, Nicholas" <nevans@geology.state.va.us>]

Hey Folks--I'm about 2 weeks into an '87 5kcstq (110K,  clean car);
first Audi for me.  I'm a wrench by avocation, do all my own work & some
for other folks; about the only thing I've ever farmed out over the past
30 years is front-end alignment (just had a good 4-wheel job done on the
Audi).

The first thing I do when dealing with something new is to get a good
shop manual to add to the shop library; just received my Audi goods from
$$Robert$$$Bentley$$......so far my reviews are mixed (regarding the
books, not the car)....

Anyway, the car runs great, but there are a couple of gremlins I'd like
to take care of:

1) the temperature gauge barely moves off of the peg on the cold side;
thermostat seems to be working properly; the engine warms up promptly at
temperatures below freezing & ultimately the cooling fan cycles on and
off if the car is not moving.  Plenty of heat through the HVAC system.
Well, it shouldn't be rocket science to check out the temperature
sending unit, right?  That is, if you can find the damned thing!
According to Professor Bentley & his book, there should be a 2-wire
connector going into a garden-variety temp sensor on what looks in a
picture to be the end of the cylinder head.  What I find instead are a
number of sensors that have to do with engine management, and a fat
appliance with a 4-wire connector that is threaded into a cooling system
flange that is attached to the head (drivers side, near the front of the
engine, above the thermostat housing).  Does this thing (which does not
appear in Bentley) incorporate the sender for the gauge?  If not, where
is it????   (and/or is there something special about Audi temperature
gauges that I'm not privy to?) 

2) The back-up lights don't work, which is only a problem if I back over
someone's bicycle when backing into the garage; haven't yet devoted my
full attention to that one....

3) Driver's side heated seat doesn't work (never had one in any other
car, so I guess I can live without it in this one, except I'm into
fixing things that don't work); relay is OK; are the elements (I guess
there are at least two) connected in series so that one break takes the
whole thing out?

4) The computer on the dash says I'm getting 1.2 bars of boost max (.9
bar ignition on, engine off; I'm at about 500 feet above sea level); it
spools this up readily from maybe 3/4 throttle to WFO in the top 4
gears, and the car pulls smoothly, but no kick in the pants like some
other turbos I've driven.  My reading of professor Bentley implies that
this is within spec, but it seems low to me.  I've checked all the
connections on the run from the intake side of the turbo to the intake
manifold & everything seems tight & leak-free.  I haven't determined
whether or not it's pushing the wastegate open at max boost, but I've
been assuming that's the case..... The car hasn't used a drop of oil in
about 1500 miles, and the intake runner wasn't full of metal or other
crud indicative of impending turbo self-destruction.    If this level of
boost is normal, what options are out there in the way of getting more
performance out of these engines?

Other than the above, this is a great car.  All the running gear is
tight; new steering rack, flawless body inside and out.

Regards & TIA

Nick Evans
Mayflower Garage
Barboursville, Virginia

'875kcstq
'91 740 Volvo wagon
'92 Probe GT (this turbo will kick you in the pants)
'77 F250 4x4
'56 Studebaker E-series pickup
'66 F600 flatbed
'66 P1800S
'83 R80G/SPD
'74 850 Commando
'95 JD5400 4x4