My New 1990 AUDI 200T With 32K

[Jmac]

Ah brings back memories, looing forward to seeing it in the flesh
Jmac

[Jarred]

Cool as. I look forward to seeing the beast at the Nats :d

[evorobin]

States is where to shop for recon parts.

[V8quattro]

Ah... been there done that with my ol' V8 quattro. Still miss it, but gawd it was expensive to keep healthy...

Saw your car on carsales and it looks a minter. Yep, even mint old cars deteriorate, but take heart in knowing that while you can replace or repair mechanical stuff, you can never get a car to look as new cosmetically as yours does without major cost, and even then I reckon a resto would never quite get to that 'original' look of the real deal.

May be able to help you a bit, but my info is a bit outdated now. Sold my car in 2006.

The pwr steer rack, if like the V8q, is susceptable to seal failure, and I was quoted $500 to repair the rack out of the car in 2005 by a bloke Audi Australia actually uses. based in Gladesville,, I think. The big pain with th e V8q is getting it out.

The cluster is famous for having cold solder joint problems, light failure problems and odo drive failures. All 3 happened to mine, and I was able to get it all fixed.

The RHD 200T and V8q clusters are very similar, if not structurally identical, as I was shopping around for a new replacement for mine - on my (outdated) Audi ETKA5 the price for the cluster was something like $3300!

Anyway, it can be repaired for much less than that. It is a pain to get out, a really tight fit, but can be done easily enough if you take your time.

If you have a look on the Net, there are a few US-based forums with pictorial guides of how to take the cluster apart and where they fail. I fixed the cold solder jooint probs myself (symptoms: backlighting not working, coolant temp gauge not working) but I had the damn thing out abt a dozen times. I could do it blindfolded now!

I ended up getting the speedo serviced and a blown backlight bulb replaced at a gauge repair place up on the north shore, but was not happy with their efforts. Cost me $350, the backlighting bulb they chose was too bright and the speedo stopped working a few weeks after. So don't know which instrument specialist to recommend, but if you find a good one you should be able to get it sorted if you cant repair it yourself.

I miss my V8 quattro but they are an old luxury car now that require a lot of fettling. I think the 200T is a better car to ownnow because there are fewer, unque hard to get parts than the V8q and it's a quicker car, I think...

Hey do you mind me asking, what colour was that V8q you saw the other day? Haven't seen one on the road for ages.

Also replaced fuel pump, have pics of the updated pump and basket set-up if you need it, and also of the cluster apart. have you heard of VAGparts in the UK? Dunno if they are still in business but that's where I got most of my new OE parts from, 1/2 price of Audi locally. EG: new heater matrix: $250 incl postage 5 days to my door vs $500 here, 'come back in two weeks' to get it!

[superfly.nn]

v8q

Hey,

That V8 Quattro I saw in Stricker was dark grey and looking the worst for ware. It has a lot of cosmetic damage but must have still been road worthy if it was being repaired.

Funny you mention the PWR steeting rack as mine needs to have the seals replaced on it now. The brake light has started flashing and I can stop that by topping up the power steering fluid (which is slowly leaking).

The fuel pump is a little noisy and that after changing the fuel filter so I will be looking for one soon.

VAGparts are out of business as far as I have read on ClassicAudi.co.uk

I got some luck with the instrument cluster as the guy who works on my car sourced a box load of them (think 3 complete Audi 200 instrument cluster) and is going to sort out the trip computer and system check by changing the circuit board (is that going to be a tough job?) also the speedo has started to bounch at very low speeds. I found and article on the web that describes a fix using a rubber to remove carbon build up in some pins.

Any info you have is always much appreciated. Did you ever get the exhaust replaced on your V8 as I'm looking to get an ss Mufler replace the worn out existing one and need suggestion on who to use.

Cheers,

[V8quattro]

My pump was noisy and tho it didn't actually fail, been there done that with a B3 Passat GL 16v I used to own. I trusted the advice of the dealer service manager who said that a noisy pump can go for ages before they die. The next week, it died, had to get towed.

So I replaced the V8q's pump with a new OE replacement before it had a chance to quit, but then had to order a new cage as the old style cage won't fit the new pump. I also had to change a connector, from memory. If you're interested, I'll dig out the pics I took as I was going to write a how-to but never got the chance. I don't have a step-by-step but I think I have baskets new and old and it will make sense once you see the pics.

Yes you're right abt VAGparts - I didn't realise. A real shame as they were the one sure way of making an old Audi half-way affordable to run. I reckon you could establish contact with an Audi dealer thru Ebay UK and get a similar deal on parts.

If you can get those clusters, hang onto them, they are like gold - and I assume they are for the late 200T - as they are completely different to the early type 44 dash.

They won't be worth much as the 200T and V8 q are not exactly collectors items but they are rare in RHD. I looked on eBay UK and rang wreckers and had no luck back in 2005 trying to source one, and even trying to use elements of the LHD cluster is difficult because of the transposed layout - and LHD V8q dashes are different anyway.

I think I has speedo bounce too (I had a few problems random in nature, that's why I became an expert at pulling the cluster out) and those pins were pretty fragile, as was the circiut board itself. I fixed the speedo pins by adding some solder to the contact point on the board, I think, as well as lightly sanding the pins to ensure good contact, plus I bought some contact cleaner from Jaycar to get contacts plugs clean.

Make sure you take pics every step of the way, as even though pulling the cluster apart isn't rocket science it will be if you can't remember how the various layers go back together! If you are a bit ham-fisted I'd say hand the whole assy over to a instrument specialist, but if you are half way handy with a soldering iron and are patient, you can fix most if not all of it yourself.

The exhaust on my V8 was the original and I think it was stainless. It didn't look like it needed replacement anytime soon, and I was under that car a fair bit to see it! I'd look on Ebay in Germany and the UK for a NOS rear muffler to get the original look - that is exactly the sort of thing you see often in an online parts shop on Ebay, but the shipping might be expensive. Any exhaust shop could sell you a replacement though, it depends on how much you want it looking original.

That grey V8 you saw might be the one I've seen a few times on the north shore and eastern suburbs - it belonged to a doctor judging by the parking passes on the w/screen and yeah, even when I first saw it in 2005 at POW Hospital it was beginning to look sad and when I saw it abt a year a go it was very tatty.

[V8quattro]

Have a look at audifans.com too. Good stuff there for older cars, esp in the archive and also FAQ . Takes time to wade thru, but useful.

[superfly.nn]

If your keen

There is a really nice example of a 200T on carpoint at the moment but would probably need an engine rebuild. I see what you mean about the exhaust looking original based on the photos of this one:

http://www.carpoint.com.au/used-car/AUDI/200T/Queensland/csn6994627.aspx