Re: AUDI 80

[Sam Massey <samm@asysa.demon.co.uk>]

>
>I recently brought an AUDI 80 GL, March 1985.
>. . .  I occasionally get a
>small knock when steering on full lock. What problem is this
>leading to, and how much will it cost?
>
>Thanks for your time,
>
>Sam

As one of the rare contributors to quattro, I think I can offer some 
advice here.

If, on full lock, you get continuous clunks, then it is almost
certainly a worn/broken outer CV joint.  You can get somebody outside 
the car to listen to diagnose which one.

If, however, you only get one clunk, then it could be any of the  
following:
worn wheel bearing, worn wishbone rubber bushes, broken spring,
incorrectly seating spring, worn strut upper bearing.  I have had all 
these problems on my 1984 Audi 80 quattro.

Jack the car up, hold the wheel at 12 and 6 o'clock, and rock.  a
movement of 1mm or so at the extremes of the wheel is ok, anything more 
means the bearing is worn.  Lever the wishbone back and forth with a 
crowbar and inspect the rubber bushes for wear.  An alternative
approach is to ask an MOT station to do an inspection on the suspension 
- they will probably charge a lot less than the usual MOT fee.  They 
will then tell you what's wrong and you can fix it yourself.  The
Haynes manual has all the details - The Bentley manual is supposed to 
be much better, but is difficult to obtain in the UK.

Let us know how you get on.

Paul Heneghan




Thanks for the helpful advice....

It is definitely not a serious of clunks, else I would have been  
worried.

I dont think it is the wheel bearing as I tested them before I  
bought the car.(I only paid 800 pounds and it is immaculate).

It also only passed the MOT 4 weeks ago, so it probably is  
something reasonably minor, but unexpectedly difficult to cure!

I will have a dig about around the suspension and steering rack and  
have a good look at the weekend.

Thanks again..

Sam