SIMPLY SHOCKING!

["Mik Tip" <miktip@surfnet1.net>]

I began work Friday evening on a "routine" changing of my two front
strut inserts, on me 86 CGT. Pretty simple, straight forward. Just a couple
hours of work.

Upon closer inspection I learned the manufacturer of the particular brand
of shock(Bilstein) had physically changed the upper portion of their shock!
On a "stock" suspension this wouldn't cause any problems, on my "coil-over"
setup, however I had a problem!  The upper "hat section" no longer fit the
new shocks, they needed to be machined.  This I accomplished with some
delay.

On Saturday, while putting the Coupe back together, I found the left wheel
bearing making noise!  That needed to be changed.

Saturday afternoon, while reassembling the upper strut brace, I glanced
a crack on the firewall just above the clutch master cylinder!  About 2
inches long, and in the oddest of places!

Well, now what am I going to do????

The only alternative was to weld it...........

Sunday morning, I practiced a couple of welds on some sheet steel of
the same thickness and found it burns through rather easily!
So I'd better be careful!  I inspected the area under the dash to see
if the welding would set anything a blaze, that would be the crowning
touch to the weekend, and I had ample room.

I wound up "spot" welding the crack, by touching the MIG tip for about 1.5
seconds
each time, and allowing the previous weld to cool, before moving onto the
next.
Plus after each weld I ran to take a look under the dash for small fires!
This operation took about an hour, and the welds appeared to be sufficient
enough to have arrested the crack?  We will see...........

All in all, it wasn't a bad weekend, just very "Audi-maintenance-intensive"!


                        Mik