RE: 200Q Exhaust Leak

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

What dealer is this?  If what you have posted is really what they told you,
they're the ones who've blown an exhaust gasket!  If in fact there was a
problem with the gasket it would be easily possible to remove the intake and
exhaust manifolds (or just the exhaust if we were talking about a '91 20v)
and leave the head in place ... BTDT.  

Could it be that what they told you was that some of the studs that hold the
manifold in place have broken?  While it is often possible to repair them
with the head in place, I would think that for anything other than a DIY job
it would be cheaper to pull the head.  Find out how much they are charging
you for the rebuilt head ... we've seen several posts both here and in the
UK that Audi's prices for the factory remanufactured heads are pretty
reasonable ... check the archives.  

If you don't hear any exhaust noise due to the problem you may want to leave
it alone until it gets annoying.  If you can't hear an exhaust leak at the
manifold, it isn't likely to be affecting the performance of the car at all
... the thing is that having the exhaust manifold not held properly in place
might promote it warping ...

HTH!
Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)

> -----Original Message-----
> 
> Seems like I have an exhaust leak at #1 and 5 at the 
> manifold. The delaer
> says the gaskets have been blown out? Is this common? Is 
> there any harm
> leaving it the way it is? There is no additional noise from 
> the engine and
> the dealer fix is to RR the head for 1300$.........