Re: '90 200TQW wisdom sought

["Fred Munro" <munrof@isys.ca>]

-----Original Message-----
From: GNaas@aol.com <GNaas@aol.com>
To: quattro@coimbra.ans.net <quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Saturday, December 19, 1998 8:01 PM
Subject: '90 200TQW wisdom sought


>  Help!!!   I love my car with 123,000 miles on it. Everything works well
>except
>2 things, neither which I can tolerate:
>          1) Almost every time the clutch is released, a metallic clunk is
>felt from the
>rear end area. I've had the car in the air at my dealer, who admitted there
>was indeed a clunk but could not pinpoint anything except that " they all
do
>that". Now I know it is not a new car but can the rear diff be worn or have
>lash, or is it more probable that it is something more reasonable like an
axle
>or mounts? I checked the drive shaft universal joints which appear tight
and
>well packed. HELP ME IT MAKES ME MORE CRAZY!!!

    George, take a good look at the CV joints on your driveshaft. These
usually have about 1/8" play in them - hold the end flange and turn the
driveshaft back and forth to check them. This play can result in a clunk if
it is all taken up at once when you let out the clutch - my car does this
occaisionally. Since the driveshaft rings like a bell when you tap it, mine
is more like a clank than a clunk. The problem could also be bad rear diff
mounts - take a good look at these.

>           2) My passenger door started to make the worst creaking noise.
I've
>lubed the hinges and squirted oil on the check strap. The same dealer even
>bashed the hinges ( before I could stop the mechanic ), figuring that was
it.
>Any guesses? This is almost as obnoxious as item #1 above.

    The check strap can make tremendous creaking noises if it is not well
lubed and the door is not used often. I have found a liberal coating of
engine oil or similar lube works better than grease and the door has to be
worked back and forth many times to eliminate the noise. Lube the strap
hinges and cover the strap itself with oil. My right rear door seldom gets
used and still has a bit of a creak.
    BTW, bashing hinges does not seem likely to solve the problem - kind of
a brute force, no brains approach. Time for a new mechanic?

HTH

Fred Munro
'91 200q  264k km