the 200 tqw saga continues

[Samir Shah <gofast1@home.com>]

Well, tried to take apart the engine compartment this evening. What a
PIA! Whoever designed the air filter housing was fired from Team
DoorHandle! It took almost a hour to get it out, and I had to remove
the  battery terminal and the washer reservior! From the condition, it
was the original air filter that was still in the car.

Then I decided to try and take out a couple of hoses to get to the O2
sensor. Had to remove every hose, because of the way the clamps were
screwed on! Then the o2 sensor would not come out. After 1hr of
struggling with a hammer and a 22mm wrench, I gave up, started calling
around and found a car parts store that closed at 9pm. With 5 mins to
go, I got there, and bought an o2 sensor socket. It took a 3ft pipe
attached to the breaker bar to get this thing to turn - must have been
the original o2 sensor too!

Every screw, clamp and bolt on this car is rusted. And some of the
breather hoses have the feel of chewing gum, they are so soft!

The good news - the cam looks great. The 70k miles on the odo must be
real. Can't explain the distributor - it took a '300' rotor, which sold
older Audis use, instead of the '350' rotor. Any thoughts?

Anyway, off to the dealer to order hoses tomorrow! If anyone has any
tips to put this car back together, or wants to come over to help, feel
free - I have a ton of beer at home!

Question: There is a cover over the wastegate with a sensor atteached.
Any idea what this is? Also, the valve cover has a nipple on this that
looks like a sensor attachment, but I cant find any wires for it.

The valve cover and timing belt covers are gonna get sandblasted
tomorrow!

Thats it for now. Samir.