80's quattros problems to look for?

I'm thinking of getting a cheal '87 5000 quattro which seems to be in good condition. But I don't know anything about the 4wheel drive system. should I stay away from this?

What kind of problems should I look for? If the 4wheel drive develops a problem is it possible, depending on the problem of course, to disconnect either the front or back wheels so that the thing becomes a 2x4?

Thanks in advance for any help! cp

Reply to
cp
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No; you should stay away from the FWD ones.

It's possible; one moron who used to frequent this group did it because he was:

A) Dumb enough to manage to break it in the first place and

B) Too cheap to fix it.

The rest of us, some of whom have put upwards of 300-400K miles on '80s Quattro drivetrains have had, and heard of, *no* AWD-related failures. I've had 5 Quattros, 1984-1990, with 132,000-266,000 miles on them without an AWD failure *of any kind* - and I tended to drive them over 100 mph (BMW & Audi club driving schools - I'm an instructor) and autocross them using 4000-rpm launches. Others here have rallied them to excess. Even when treated that way, they simply don't break.

Maintenance issues are the same as for any FWD drivetrain, including torn CV boots, wheel bearing failures at well over 100K miles, and the occasional seeping rear differential seal. Notice that all 3 of these 'problems' are progressive in nature and, with proper attention, will never keep you from getting anywhere unless you've actively neglected a symptom for far too long a time. I daresay you'll find *no one* here who has ever been *stranded* because of a Quattro AWD driveline failure unless they did that.

-- C.R. Krieger (Been there; drove that)

Reply to
C.R. Krieger

My experience driving only quattros and my encounters with Audi repair specialists over the last 15 years tell me that the quattro system is danged near bullet-proof. If anything, the quattro is has a longer life expectancy than the 2wd's for reasons I won't bore you with here.

Gene

Reply to
Gene

The AWD of the 80's quattros will be the LEAST of your worries in that car. I had ONE minor problem with the quattro drive train in my 86 4000 at the

140,000 mile point when my clutch got changed and somehow a differential lock got engaged and refused to disengage until the tech cleaned it up and lubed it - at least that's what I was told. Oh, and once I let the CV boots go too long without inspection and then I began to hear a funny noise on sharp turns - ooops.
Reply to
Ian S

Quattro it is then.

I insist! :-) cp

Reply to
cp

I'll be watching out for that! Thanks! :-)

cp

Reply to
cp

I'm sold! Thanks for all the advice! I had a FWD, no problems but I didn't keep it long, quattro sounds mighty fine though.

cp

Reply to
cp

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