RE: My 86 4000 CS Quattro

["Iain Atkinson (ETL)" <iain.atkinson@etl.ericsson.se>]

Greg,

I think your mech is pulling your leg on the strut housings, have you asked him why they need replacing? Be interested to know what his reply is. With regards to the other bits like ball joints and tie rods, these do wear out and with 150k on the clock (assuming they haven't benn done before) it's about time to replace. I have a similar car to yours (Coupe Q 1985) and that's had rear ball joints and tie rods with mine only covering 105k. If you are mechanically minded the ball joints and tie rods are not too difficult to do, you will need to invest in a ball joint seperator and maybe other tools as well depending on your tool box. I mean if your mech is charging $420.00 I think for that money you could buy all the tools needed to do the job and still have some cash left over for a couple of beers afterwards. Without wishing to add to your bill, you may want to look at the A arm bushes, subframe and rear diff bushes. All are worth replacing if they haven't already been done.

Good luck

Iain 

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Greg Wolters [mailto:GJWArch@95959.com]
		Sent:	13 July 1999 01:11
		To:	quattro@audifans.com
		Subject:	My 86 4000 CS Quattro
		Importance:	High

		Hi group!

		I'm the guy who asked about my front CV joint and my car not tracking
		properly.  I appreciate the responses.

		Unknown to me at that time, my CV joint is fine... all it needs is a new
		boot.  I'm planning to have all 4 done at once.

		Now for the bad news.  When I went to see the mechanic he showed me the
		left rear wheel, the front of which pointed away from the front of the
		car. The car has been to an alignment shop which discussed to problem
		with my mechanic.  I just received the related costs and as soon as I
		picked myself off the floor I thought I'd share it with you out there in
		Audi land.

		I apparently need (2) rear strut housings, tie rods, front and rear ball
		joints.
		The cost for parts is $1450.00.  The total price with $420.00 labor, a 4
		wheel alignment and tax is $2070.00.

		My car is a 1986 4000 CS Quattro with 152,000 miles.  Is this something
		"normal" for an Audi this age?  Does the price seem reasonable?  The
		mechanic does not want to use used or rebuilt parts because he feels we
		are dealing with critical safety components of the car.  I wonder if
		rebuilt would be fine, given that I don't expect to put another 150,000
		miles on the car, as much as I love driving it!

		Thank you all.  I plan to have a meeting tomorrow, July 13, with the
		mechanic to discuss.

		Greg