1987 - 5000 Quattro Turbo Ventilation Question - 329K

Having owned four T44s I have seen a lot of the issues.

Fogging is a sure sign that the outside air recirculation flap is not working right.

The improper direction of air to the vents may also be related to this same problem.

Fix: Remove the glove box (two screws and quite easy to do).

On the fire wall up behind the glove box is the recirc door. With the engine off it should default to a closed position against the fire wall. I bet yours is hanging part way open.

If you pull it open there should be a spring attached to the center of the door. It is probably gone or broken. Feel around inside the door (bi the condenser) and you might find the spring. If you find it and it is not broken then the attachment points are probably broken. One is a plastic ring in the center of the door. The other is up inside the door in the center of two plastic struts. If that is broken it is easy to bend a coat hanger in the shape of the letter 'M' that will be a mount for the spring.

After you have resolved the spring issue you will also fine a vacuum servo inside the plastic pillars. This is used to open the door and override the spring. You can almost bet that the vacuum line that goes to the servo has fallen off. Dig around in there and re-attach it to the servo from the front. This is a tight fit and very awkward to do. Try to borrow someone with small hands.

While the glove box is out you will also see a black box in the same area. That is the climate control actuator that controls all the vacuum to the flaps and operates the heater control flap by the blower by operating a cable with a stepper motor. That might need some TLC as well but the recirc door fix may be all you need.

Have fun.

T> Hello everyone!

Hi Tony! Thanks for taking the time to read the message and for sending me in the right direction.

As you speculated, the faulty flap/spring apparently was malfunctioning... The spring was disconnected from the interior arm (but not from the flap). I temporarily repaired it and i think it should be ok. I will be testing it for sure in the next couple of days, but I think it's fine. (It's too damn cold to work on this crap with the doors and windows open.)

As far as the ventilation being directed through the proper vents goes.... well, let's just say I made some improvisations and it looks stupid, but it seems to be sending air through the front vents. If you would like to know what I did simply let me know. (I also busted up something I shouldn't have touched to begin with, but that's a whole other story.)

My brakes are grinding now, so tommorow it looks like I'm bracing the NY weather and try to get some new pads on. Hopefully, it's smooth, but if it isn't I know what group will help me now.

Once again, I do appreciate you taking the time and making the effort.

Best wishes

Paul

Hi Paul. I'm glad my suggestion led you in the right direction and to a warmer ride.

I'll bet that your temporary fix for the vents is a long stick through the dash vent to hold the flap open. BTDT in one of the '84s.

On your brakes you should look to see if the pads are actually low. The Audi rotors have a tendency to get surface rust if they sit for a while. In that case , a few aggressive braking runs from highway speed might clean them up and eliminate the grinding sound. Of course you might just have worn out pads.

Have more fun.

T> Hi Tony!

Yeah, no doubt, the fogging is almost inexistent. :o) As far as the stick through the vents goes; you're damn close. It's actually 2 pieces of string tied to the flap lever (one to open, one to close) and they come through the space next to the defroster button. (I guess it's supposed to be an option for a coin holder of some kind). Works great! My girlfriend likes it (thinks it's "cute") and finally I can feel my fingers in the morning while steering.

Just did one driver's side of the breaks and it took a while because I had never done it before and I'm not exactly THAT car-mechanically inclined. The piston in the caliper took about a friggin' hour to turn back into the cylinder and it was pretty frustrating because the wrench kept slipping and I kept banging my head on the wheel well. (Proves how good I am with this stuff). The pad on the interior was worn down to nothing and the one exterior had maybe .020 of an inch left. The rotor should have been cut, but maybe after the winter. It'll do for now. ( I know it's half-assed, but I found it to be a pain in the ass and I needed the car, so I just had to have the car operable regardless of the condition of the rotor) After replacing the pads I took it for a test drive and I pushed the breaks hard, which may not have been a good idea. I'm going to keep an eye on the break fluid but I think I may have helped cause a leak due to the hard breaking. I could probably ask a million questions about this car and you'd probably be kind enough to answer. I'm going to attempt to determine most of the answers myself, but I'm sure I'll have some other stuff to ask. When I get around to it, the power door locks system is next. I took the doors apart and I was surprised by the system. Very interesting with the vacuum line running to the actuator! So German and so efficient if it works, but it's irritating when it doesn't so that may be the next project. Thanks for all your help. Have you always been a fan of these cars? My brother and I sort of have had a family feud for the last 5 or so years and we keep busting each other's chops; me about his Audi; he about my Volvos. If I don't speak to you soon have a Happy Holiday and thanks again.

Later Paul

They have to stop when you want them to so hard braking shouldn't be a problem. Maybe pushing the pistons back in the calipers made the reservoir on the master cylinder overflow (no biggy).

Be sure to visit the T44 forum at AudiWorld. Lot of very helpful guys that love these cars and have a ton on information. Searching the history will answer almost any question you have.

Since the late 80s. I have owned four of them. Now I have the 98.5 A4 1.8 TQM with APR chip.

Ah, we got you now : )

Your welcome and Happy (and warmer) Holidays to you too.

Tony