Re: Cracked EM...How do you tell?

[quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk (Phil Payne)]

In message <010a01bf172e$371d6130$3c27020a@hknorthamerica> "Kurt Wesseling" writes:

> My mech told me serveral months ago that my EM has a hairline crack in it.
> He didn't know if it went all the way thru or not.  So far there doesn't
> seem to be any change in sound or performance.

> What are the symptoms of a cracked EM?  If it is cracked, why not just braze
> or weld up the crack?

The first symptom is a kind of 'tick'.  It's hard to describe, but
different from the myriad other ticks that Audis produce.

Welding just doesn't work for long enough to be economic, at least on
the turbos.  A weld that lasts longer than 20k miles is unusual, and the
cost of getting back in there considerable.

You can, however, run for a considerable time with a ticking manifold.
It does no real harm - just check that the crack isn't directing hot
exhaust gas onto the engine mount.

--
 Phil Payne
 UK Audi quattro Owners Club
 Phone: 07785 302803   Fax: 0870 0883933