How Much can i get???????
2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 761
From: Swamplands of NJ
RE: How Much can i get???????
No need to disclose your financial situation! I think most of us here have been through that stage in life that you are about to enter. After playing around with chips, headers, cams, throttle bodies, filters, etc, I find the extra money spent didn't give me that noticeable difference other than derivability problems. I will leave it up to you to learn from your own experimentation and mistakes.
Audi's are not cheap to maintain, one repair can easily reach into hundreds of $$$ and that's US dollars for parts alone. If you are going to have somebody else do the work than you are working on a very limited budget. I suggest that you give your car a good thorough going over to make sure all your maintenance items have been addressed. A car this old can have many parts that need replacing, timing belt, radiator, water pump, heater core, struts, blower motor, injector seals, hoses, etc, etc, etc!
You can start by going to one of the links above and get a chip with a spring. This alone should give 50-60 hp then you can decide if the extra cost was worth it.
Audi's are not cheap to maintain, one repair can easily reach into hundreds of $$$ and that's US dollars for parts alone. If you are going to have somebody else do the work than you are working on a very limited budget. I suggest that you give your car a good thorough going over to make sure all your maintenance items have been addressed. A car this old can have many parts that need replacing, timing belt, radiator, water pump, heater core, struts, blower motor, injector seals, hoses, etc, etc, etc!
You can start by going to one of the links above and get a chip with a spring. This alone should give 50-60 hp then you can decide if the extra cost was worth it.
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 368
From: SW PA
RE: How Much can i get???????
If you are at all mechanically inclined, and if you shop smart, repairs are less than you might expect.
Most parts, bearings, CV shafts, belts, etc, have wild variations in price, depending on your source. I have been quoted 55 to 135 bucks (US) for front wheel bearings, 28 to 65 for timing belt, 250 for used transaxle, as opposed to 11 to 1700 for tranny rebuild.
Just bought 2 remanufactured front drive axles, CV joints both ends, at 49.99 each, was quoted 208 for ONE outer CV joint, new, for my 85 Turbo 5000. Hell, it costs damn near that 49 bucks just for new boots, at Audi, and I was quoted 300 for installation..
They are no different than anything else. You have to shop, and get over the idea that "You get what you pay for." You can be screwed at every turn, if you do not know what to look for, or stop looking too soon.
And, too, if you are mechanically inclined, there ain't no better car to learn the esoterics of auto repair than an Audi. You can fix one of these things, you can fix any car. Electronics, aside, that is. Everybody is so damnrd proprietary.
Dig in, lad, they are damned well fun to work on, even though we all bitch a little. They DO have a few idiosyncracies, such as the older diesels, that had the rear emergency brake cables that ran THROUGH the fuel tank. No bull!
Cheers,
George
Most parts, bearings, CV shafts, belts, etc, have wild variations in price, depending on your source. I have been quoted 55 to 135 bucks (US) for front wheel bearings, 28 to 65 for timing belt, 250 for used transaxle, as opposed to 11 to 1700 for tranny rebuild.
Just bought 2 remanufactured front drive axles, CV joints both ends, at 49.99 each, was quoted 208 for ONE outer CV joint, new, for my 85 Turbo 5000. Hell, it costs damn near that 49 bucks just for new boots, at Audi, and I was quoted 300 for installation..
They are no different than anything else. You have to shop, and get over the idea that "You get what you pay for." You can be screwed at every turn, if you do not know what to look for, or stop looking too soon.
And, too, if you are mechanically inclined, there ain't no better car to learn the esoterics of auto repair than an Audi. You can fix one of these things, you can fix any car. Electronics, aside, that is. Everybody is so damnrd proprietary.
Dig in, lad, they are damned well fun to work on, even though we all bitch a little. They DO have a few idiosyncracies, such as the older diesels, that had the rear emergency brake cables that ran THROUGH the fuel tank. No bull!
Cheers,
George
2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 761
From: Swamplands of NJ
RE: How Much can i get???????
I have been working on my and other people’s cars for almost 20 years. There are ways to make your repairs inexpensively and then there are ways to make them cheap. The bottom of the price list parts are not worth the hassle and quite often are inferior to the OEM. The cheap parts often don't fit properly requiring you to do extensive modifications to make them work. Some might say “OK the part is under warranty so I will get it replaced.” Often I hear people going back to the same store to get their 5th starter in 6 months because they think that the $29.99 China special will save them money? Now how much time have they wasted doing the stupid job? Time is money and I value my time! Also warranty replacement is of little relevance when you are stock in the middle of nowhere! For the same reason I will never buy a remanufactured CV joint. The reman is nothing more than a new boot and grease. I don’t even think that the reman shops completely taken it apart just washed in solvent and checked for looseness. Hell, for $15 I can get a new boot kit and do it myself. I worked as an account manager at local reman shop and for that reason will not buy reman parts. You don’t want to know how and where the industry gets their cores. Also the cheap CV boots last about 2 years before they crack open. The grease that they use also sucks, over the years I found that the original Lobro is the best, never had any fail, price, about $3 per tube, cheap insurance. The same goes for wheel bearings. Take your chance with $25 Chinese bearing or OEM for $50. I’ll take the German one for $50 knowing I wont have to do the job again for the next ten years and won't have to worry about the wheel falling off because of poor inconsistent heat treatment or cheap grease. It’s your time and your money. Audi’s also require some special tools for doing certain jobs. Try doing the timing belt without the special crank pulley lock?
Once you start modifying your car for extra power, you have very little choice of where you get your parts especially for and older Audi. The extra power also puts more stress and strain on already aging and worn parts. I have seen cases where people had put gobs of power into the motor only to have it overheat in traffic or have the rear end blow up!
Once you start modifying your car for extra power, you have very little choice of where you get your parts especially for and older Audi. The extra power also puts more stress and strain on already aging and worn parts. I have seen cases where people had put gobs of power into the motor only to have it overheat in traffic or have the rear end blow up!
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 368
From: SW PA
RE: How Much can i get???????
You're right in some of what you say, but off the wall is not what I mean by the difference in price for the SAME part.
As to front wheel bearings, the prices were all for name brand bearings, Bower, BCA, ***. And you don't know, even if you buy frrom Audi where the bearings were made. Most boxes nowadays will be marked "Contents made in one of the following countries.". China may be one of them.
My point is that no 2 dealers will have the same price on them, and the 55 buck bearing is identical to the 135 buck bearing, and the same bearing distributor will have supplied both houses.
I've known a few reman shop owners. They get most of their cores from the wrecking yards. They fill barrels with starters, alternators, brake shoes, CV shafts, etc., get 50 cents to a couple bucks apiece, more than they would for weight alone.
You are correct, though, on the failure rate for some parts. Carbs were a 50/50 proposition, according to one rep I know, half were returned as defective/bad rebuilds.
CV joints are marketed as reground and oversized ***** installed. Moly-disulfide grease used, new boots, and a new nut.
I've replaced my own with new Audi joint, and with reman, and had neither fail. However, it was genuine Audi failure that caused me to have to replace in the first place.
And genuine Audi plastic planetary gearing in the starter that shattered, causing me to have to replace those.
You have to remember that Audi does not make all those parts themselves. Outside suppliers do. And those suppliers keep making them and selling to the parts houses all over the world, to allow the cars to be kept running, without waitng for a part to be shipped from Germany. And, if there were no aftermarket parts vendors, you would pay OEM price for everything, and the brand would go back to rich man's playtoy.
Cheers,
George
As to front wheel bearings, the prices were all for name brand bearings, Bower, BCA, ***. And you don't know, even if you buy frrom Audi where the bearings were made. Most boxes nowadays will be marked "Contents made in one of the following countries.". China may be one of them.
My point is that no 2 dealers will have the same price on them, and the 55 buck bearing is identical to the 135 buck bearing, and the same bearing distributor will have supplied both houses.
I've known a few reman shop owners. They get most of their cores from the wrecking yards. They fill barrels with starters, alternators, brake shoes, CV shafts, etc., get 50 cents to a couple bucks apiece, more than they would for weight alone.
You are correct, though, on the failure rate for some parts. Carbs were a 50/50 proposition, according to one rep I know, half were returned as defective/bad rebuilds.
CV joints are marketed as reground and oversized ***** installed. Moly-disulfide grease used, new boots, and a new nut.
I've replaced my own with new Audi joint, and with reman, and had neither fail. However, it was genuine Audi failure that caused me to have to replace in the first place.
And genuine Audi plastic planetary gearing in the starter that shattered, causing me to have to replace those.
You have to remember that Audi does not make all those parts themselves. Outside suppliers do. And those suppliers keep making them and selling to the parts houses all over the world, to allow the cars to be kept running, without waitng for a part to be shipped from Germany. And, if there were no aftermarket parts vendors, you would pay OEM price for everything, and the brand would go back to rich man's playtoy.
Cheers,
George
2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 761
From: Swamplands of NJ
RE: How Much can i get???????
I think that we have hijacked Josh’s thread...
What I was actually referring to previously was about quality between various non-OE manufacturers. I agree about the price variation and all retailers are not created equal. Some sell at full list and then some while others have deep discounts. Believe it or not I have actually bought some parts for less from a local Audi dealer than form independent shops.
As far as China goes the quality has vastly improved and that’s no surprise considering how many plants were shut down, dismantled and shipped there. Also many of the new cars come with Chinese made parts. The problem starts when somewhere there is that fine print “universal fit some modification required!” There is actually an interesting link between Audi and China. Back in the 80’s Audi built a plant to manufacture 100 body style cars for the China market, it wasn’t profitable. Audi pulled out but couldn’t close or dismantle the plant because of the clause in the contract with the Chinese government and China continued to make the cars under a different badge.
The hardened surface is only a few thousands thick to what is sometimes refereed to as case hardened. Are the parts magnafluxed for subsurface cracks? Are the reman parts re-heat-treated? Whenever I asked this question at the local parts store, I get dumb looks which doesn’t surprise me. While these parts might be OK for the 100/5000 but I doubt the longevity especially in a 20V 200 turbo.
Not all grease is created equal! Ever see the solids separate from the oil or completely turn to something that looks like gear oil? I have.
Some rebuilds are better than others but lately it is becoming more difficult to find the good ones. While many of the suppliers for the aftermarket actually try to improve on the weak spots of the OEM’s. Others just make cheap parts.
After how many years of service? I don't expect the OEM parts to last forever.
What I was actually referring to previously was about quality between various non-OE manufacturers. I agree about the price variation and all retailers are not created equal. Some sell at full list and then some while others have deep discounts. Believe it or not I have actually bought some parts for less from a local Audi dealer than form independent shops.
As far as China goes the quality has vastly improved and that’s no surprise considering how many plants were shut down, dismantled and shipped there. Also many of the new cars come with Chinese made parts. The problem starts when somewhere there is that fine print “universal fit some modification required!” There is actually an interesting link between Audi and China. Back in the 80’s Audi built a plant to manufacture 100 body style cars for the China market, it wasn’t profitable. Audi pulled out but couldn’t close or dismantle the plant because of the clause in the contract with the Chinese government and China continued to make the cars under a different badge.
“CV joints are marketed as reground and oversized ***** installed.”
“Moly-disulfide grease used…”
Some rebuilds are better than others but lately it is becoming more difficult to find the good ones. While many of the suppliers for the aftermarket actually try to improve on the weak spots of the OEM’s. Others just make cheap parts.
“However, it was genuine Audi failure that caused me to have to replace in the first place…
And genuine Audi plastic planetary gearing in the starter that shattered, causing me to have to replace those.”
And genuine Audi plastic planetary gearing in the starter that shattered, causing me to have to replace those.”
