RE: Finally...

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

Welcome aboard Marty!

I know you've gotten a few responses already, but let me chime in a bit as
well ...

> Owners' Manual
> 
> 	Is it possible to find one for my car from another source other than
> the
> dealership?
> 
You can get a brand new owner's manual from Audi's document service for a
very reasonable price.  I believe most owners manuals go for $5.  Dyment can
be contacted at 800.544.8021.  If you do call them ask them to include the
list of documents that are available from them.  The list is pretty
comprehensive ...

> 2.2 or 2.3?
> 
... the naturally aspirated '87 5000 has the NF engine, which is 2.3 liters
and uses the CIS-E III system.  Overall the engine is quite robust and
provides good power (especially with a manual tranny).  Perhaps the biggest
thing to be careful of is the oil cooler hoses ... if they go you can lose
oil pressure fairly quickly and it won't take too long to ruin your engine.
This happened to my brother-in-law's '88 5k non-turbo.  


> A/C 
> 
> 	My mechanic in MN (Diercks'), had an estimate written up to fix the
> A/C.
>  What was on the estimate is "Heater programmer motor".  What is this,
> and is this the correct title? The A/C worked fine for me in Minnesota,
> but it only pushes cold air out near th windshield vents, and on the side
> vents near the radio speakers.  Now that I have the car in Florida, I
> need the A/C to work properly, it doesn't blow air through the side
> vents, or the vents above the A/C controls.  Will fixing the "programmer
> motor" fix this problem?
> 
There are actually a couple common failure points for this.  Since the vents
need vacuum to operate, begin by making sure that the system is getting
vacuum.  The second possible issue is a failure of the vacuum solenoids in
the programmer.  The motor you describe simply controls the temperature of
the air, so if the air is coming out the defroster I would not expect the
motor to be faulty.  Complete A/C Programmers are available for a fairly
reasonable price from recyclers ... but you may have to mix and match parts
from yours and the donor to make a working programmer.  I've seen others
post that most of the components are obtained from Cadillac, so you also
have the possibility of getting parts from a Caddy recycler as long as you
know what you're looking for.  If possible you might want to poke around the
archives for more info on this ...

> Flushing the radiator...
> 
> 	My Hayne's book tells me that to flush the radiator, I should
> disconnect
> the hoses to the engine and drain my coolant.  My neighbor told me that I
> can cut the hose from engine to the heater, and insert a T-piece with a
> screw cap, for a water hose to flush the system.  This baffles me!!!  I
> only ask, because I need to drain and refill my coolant system with the
> proper mixture.
> 
If you had a 4000 or Coupe I would recommend that you do this because it is
likely that the heater hoses need to be replaced anyway and it is such a
PITA to access the heater core in these cars.  It turns out that the 5k is
much easier to access the hoses, so I don't think that it would be that
necessary to install the T-fitting ... just pull the hoses.  

If you really want to drain the block it is best to either remove the
thermostat or you can pull the metal line that runs from the t-stat to the
back of the engine to connect to the heater valve.  IME that short length of
rubber hose from the t-stat to the metal line gets pretty badly rotted, so
it is a good opportunity to replace it at that time as well ...

> Cruise control
> 
> 	Mine doesn't work, and I don't know why.  Anyone?
> 
There are a lot of possibilities here, most likely it will be an easy fix.
Most all C/C's I've fixed have either had a vacuum leak due to a rotted line
or broken T or simply needed readjustment at the vacuum/electrical switches
on the brake and clutch.  Another thing that is possible is that if you have
problems with your brake light circuit it can prevent the C/C from working
(are you brake lights always on or both bulbs burned out?).  Finally, it may
be a problem with the vacuum motor ... I've never had this, but I've heard
others have had good luck with cleaning out the pump.  Oh, one thing I
forgot is that there is a metal rod that connects the C/C vacuum motor to
the throttle body.  This rod has a plastic bushing that is notorious for
getting brittle and breaking on cars of your vintage.  If this is the case
for you don't buy the new rod (as Audi will tell you you need to do) ...
tell them that you have an Audi V8 quattro and you need the bushing on the
C/C rod and they'll get you the part you need.  I should actually have the
P/N somewhere here in my archives ... I posted the number, and there were
others on the qlist that confirmed that it was the right part for the 5k's
rod.  

> History
> 
> 	Is there any way for me to find out where my car has been before I
> got
> it?  I know it's been at a dealership in LaCrosse, WI and through
> Universal Motors in Rochester, MN.  Can I find out what dealership it
> originally came from?
> 
... perhaps the best thing you can do is to pay a company to research the
title (Carfax?).  Audi might be able to proivide some info from the
computer, but it would not be likely to be very much ...

You mention that you have a Haynes manual for your car ... I guess I've
never seen the Haynes for the 5k, but from what I've seen on other models
the manual from Robert Bentley has a lot more useful information for someone
who wanted to do their own maintenance.  The Haynes is also useful at times
too as they sometimes have slightly different pictures and perhaps a clue
that Bentley doesn't have.  If you plan to just do the "easy stuff" and pay
someone to do the rest the Haynes is probably sufficient ...

Good luck with your car Marty.  You will find that there are actually a few
q-listers in Florida, and I think there is one who is quite adept at keeping
older vintage Audis on the road for cheap ...

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)