HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mlcole@nevada.edu (Michael L. Cole)
Subject: Re: Driving Cars to the ground
Organization: SCS-DataComm
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 17:34:53 GMT

In response to the individual that was curious at the high mileage by some VW
owners ...

I have an 85 VW Golf with 162K miles.  I drive an average of 425 miles per week
for goods and services as well as to and from work--15 miles, one way.  I aver-
age  $2500  a year in repair and repalacement of old and worn parts as well as
insurance for the year.  If I were to purchase a new car, the monthly payments
and insurance rate would double what I'm already paying for periodic maintena-
nce.  Also, if you look at the MPG ratings on the new cars today, you will see 
that it is lower in order to accomadate an increase in horsepower--my MPG rat-
ing has been a steady 30 MPG since the day I bought it so ask me if I care
about an extra 50 cent a gallon gas tax--I could easily drop my errand runs to 
275 miles a week if I needed to.  I prefer to keep my Golf until it suffers a
major and costly malfunction, after all, its resale value is zip!  The way I 
see it, the only way to get any real value out of any purchase is to disregard
its resale value ( after all, I bought it for transportability, not financial
security) and use it for a long, extended period of time.

                                                     regards -- mlcole
 
_______________________________________________________________________________

      Good work is alway done in defiance of management -- Bob Woodward
From: sylveste@ecs.umass.edu
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: Audi questions
Date: 7 Oct 92 11:39:30 GMT

In article <1992Oct6.214014.17551@morrow.stanford.edu>, ari@leland.Stanford.EDU (Ari Ollikainen) writes:
> In article <18671.2ad15917@ecs.umass.edu> sylveste@ecs.umass.edu writes:
>>In article <1992Oct06.000627.1511@wes.on.ca>, tomh@wes.on.ca (Tom Haapanen) writes:
>>> carl@neocad.com (Carl Stern) writes:
>>>> Interesting that while other carmakers, ex. Honda, Volvo, are now
>>>> embracing 5 cyls, Audi is phasing it out.  
>>
>>> 
>>> Anyway, Volvo and Mercedes have been selling five-cylinder diesels for a
>>> long time (does Volvo have a five-cylinder gas engine now?), and Honda's
>>> reason for introducing a five-cylinder is clear: marketing.  The Acura
>>> five-cylinder is no smoother than an Accord four, but they didn't want
>>> to risk eating into the Legend market with a V6 Vigor (hey, shouldn't that
>>> be "Vigour"? :) )...
>>> 
>>
>>       The 5 cylinder that volvo was using was made by Audi.  It was the same
>>engine that was in the 5000 diesel.
>>
> 
> BZZZTTTT!!! Both of you are wrong about the Volvo "5 cylinder diesel"!
> 
> The diesel engine used in Volvo passenger cars was (is?) a 6 cylinder 
> engine first used in the VW LT72 cargo van. The engine design is derived
> from the VW 4 cylinder and is a direct lineal descendent of the Audi
> 5 cylinder with an extra cylinder and different crankshaft. These 
> engines (at one time) had the per cylinder displacement in common.
> 
> The Audi 5000D used a 5cylinder diesel engine in non-turbo and turbo 
> form.
> 
> Volvo designed a new, "compact" 5cylinder engine for the 850...
> 
> Ari Ollikainen
> (an old VW fan(atic) and ex-Volvo owner: 122S/123GT, 142E, 242DL, Diesel)
> 

  I have to admit that I don't know much about Volvo (Audi is my speciality)
but Volvo did use an Audi 5 cylinder in one of their models in the early
eighties.  I believe that it was the 240.  I have seen one.

                                         Mike Sylvester  Umass
                                         sylveste@ecs.umass.edu
From: gmorales@frankenstein.dsd.es.com (Gary Morales)
Subject:  SLC- reliable?
Keywords: Corrado 
Organization: E&S
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 92 21:05:44 GMT


-- 
Gary in Utah

Greetings !  I have a dilemma.  I have read all of 
the info and opinions on the Corrado SLC-VR6, and have
driven the car. It lives up to the praise.  My main concern
is the VW track record for lemons (#1 of all cars in U.S.),
the horror stories (breaking, unreliable) I hear about VWs .
 
 There is a guy that I work with that feels that VWs 
are great for the first year, then turn into FIATS. (Fix It Again Tony)
I need a car that is RELIABLE and fun. I don't want annoying problems 
no matter how trivial.  I have owned a Toyota MR2 for 7 years with no 
problems.  Is this SLC any better than the embarassing reputation above,
and if so why?  Is it reliable?  
                                 Thanks for your help,
                                     Gary in Utah
Organization: University of Maine System
Date: Thursday, 8 Oct 1992 07:56:22 EDT
From: Robert A. Sobczak <SOBCZAK@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: WANTED - Gl/Gti/Gli instument cluster 85-91.

In article <ZBi9RB1w164w@cellar.org>, blu@cellar.org (Dan Reed) says:
>
>Ok, Im tired of looking at this broken clock, and now my temp gauge is
>failing, and my speedo is sticking at "0" in my 89 Golf.  Im looking to
>upgrade the existing instrument cluster with a cluster from a golf/jetta
>Gti/Gl/Gli, or one from a Sirocco.  Ive been looking around?  Do *you* have
>an extra working one?  I couldn't care less about the milage on the "new"
>speedo, just as long as everything works.
>
Try your local junk yards.  I have recently been looking through them for the
gear that drives the  1/10 number on the O-dometer due to my need to keep
track of the mileage.  A new speedo runs $198.00.  The new cluster from my
local vw yard was $20.  Great condition and the mileage was about right for my
car.

Rob
From: michael@maine.maine.edu (Michael Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: Neuspeed suspension upgrade
Date: 7 Oct 92 14:56:51 GMT
Organization: University of Maine System
To:      NETNEWS@MAINE

One other thing.. on the rear shocks there is a spacer tube which is longer
on the Bilstein replacements than on the OEM shocks. This is probably because
the Bilsteins are really for an Audi model.

Anyway, this can result in the shock mount rattling because of insufficient
pre-loading of the top shock bushing. According to APS, the way to fix this
is to cut the sleeve down by 3/8 inch, then insert the extra piece just
under the top nut. This pre-loads the bushing by reducing the sleeve length
to stock size, and takes up the slack on the top side so that the nut
doesn't bottom out on the threads. It supposedly can be done without even
jacking the car up. You can cut the sleeve with a hacksaw, though you would
want to be careful to keep your cut straight.

APS is planning on making up their own installation instructions for these
shocks, but I don't know how soon they will have that done.

Michael Johnson, VM Systems Group                     michael@maine.maine.edu
"I will choose the path that's clear. I will choose Free Will." -- Neil Peart
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: gajewski@ug.cs.dal.ca (Andy)
Subject: talk about sensitive alignment
Organization: Math, Stats & CS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 21:30:46 GMT

I just got my alignment done to the specs that were described in European car
a year or so ago. It is so sensitive that if there is an uneven surface or
the road is not totally level, it will pull to the side. It takes a while
to get used to that. But on the turns, WOW! It seems like the car is making
a natural arc all by itself. You hardly have to steer, it goes by its self.

So in general, if you want to secrifice straight road stability for major
cornering stability, change the alignment.

BTW, I sometimes get a thump-thump sound when I turn gradually when going
over 60 Km/h. Is that the bearings? Are they damaged in some way? The
wheels do not have any play in them. Or is it something else.

Thanks,
ANdy
-- 
---....-------------****----*******-) GTI FUN-atic                      o  
--. \/ .-----GTI---******--*********)         Don't forget to bike:     ,-\
--.\/\/.-----------******--*********)  (and sail and windsurf and ski)  0\-0
---....-------------****----*******-) gajewski@ug.cs.dal.ca,goaway@ac.dal.ca
From: rslau@usc.edu (Robert Lau)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: New Passat
Date: 11 Oct 1992 23:15:00 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: tarazed.usc.edu
In-reply-to: pebi@aem.umn.edu's message of Sat, 10 Oct 1992 19:56:27 GMT

In article <pebi.718746987@sirocco.aem.umn.edu> pebi@aem.umn.edu (Peter A. Bidian) writes:

   I got yesterday my C&D and there is an ad for the VR6 Passat (GLX) so
   it must be coming soon!

Back in Sept, my local dealer said late Dec/early Jan for the VR6 Passat

-- 
Robert Lau - Systems Programmer, Unix Systems     213-740-2866
--  University Computing Services                 Internet: rslau@usc.edu
--  University of Southern California             Bitnet:   rslau@uscvm
--  1020 W Jefferson, LA, CA  USA, 90089-0251     UUCP:     ...!uunet!usc!rslau
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: rll@frieda.mitre.org (Roberto L. Landrau)
Subject: Re: Driving Cars to the ground
Organization: Research Computer Facility, MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 11:48:30 GMT

In article <8OCT199212343313@cc.utah.edu> mgb5528@cc.utah.edu (Beck, Michael Gregory) writes:
>It seems to me that all of the problems on the cars that are talked about are 
>just driven to the ground.  100k miles and only 4 years old? WOW!  Where do you 
>guys drive?  Across the country every year?  Please for those of you who are 
>about to flame the hell out of me I AM NOT CRITICIZING! I wish that I had the 
>time and the bucks to do the kind of driving you guys do.  But it seems to me 
>that alot of these problems that you talk about arise not from general bad 
>design of the car but pure and simple wear and tear that comes with 100k+ miles 
>of driving the car.
>
>My apologies to any that I have offended or hate me for my comments.

I know someone who used to own an '80 Diesel Rabbit.  He bought it
new in 1980.  In 1986, he had to get rid of it. In 6 years, he had to
have installed

-  head gaskets (twice)
-  clutch (twice; second one lasted only 90k)
-  tires (quite a few sets, but they were cheap)

all other repairs were minor.  

He used the gas (I mean, accelerator... oops! how about ``fuel
control pedal'') as a binary switch: on or off.  His highway cruising
speed was always ``as fast as the car will go'', which was usually
around 80mph.

By the way, the car had about 275k miles when he sold it.


--
The opinions stated above are not necessarily my employer's.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Roberto L. Landrau    KC1YP    landrau@mitre.org  rll@linus.mitre.org
The MITRE Corporation  Bedford, MA 01730          rll@linus.UUCP
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: atekant@wimsey.bc.ca (Argun Tekant)
Subject: Clunk?
Organization: BC News and Mail
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 04:33:11 GMT

I have a '91 GTi which started a scary sound recently.
When I am pulling off the curb and the car is cold, there comes a _clunk_
from under the car. It does not happen when I am turning the wheels, but
when the wheels are all facing left and I start moving and after I move 
about 3 feet. It goes _clunk_! 

Does not happen when I am cornering during driving, even with 90 degree
left turns. I don't know if it would happen if I parked on the left curb
and pulled out to the right. And this happens nearly every time I pull out.

Could anybody please relieve me of this nightmare?

Argun Tekant.
From: tref@bcrka450.bnr.ca (Francois Tremblay)
Subject: Re: Audi questions
Reply-To: tref@bcrka450.bnr.ca (Francois Tremblay)
Organization: Bell Northern Research, Ottawa
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 20:52:51 GMT

In article <18691.2ad2cc73@ecs.umass.edu>, sylveste@ecs.umass.edu writes:
> In article <1992Oct6.214014.17551@morrow.stanford.edu>,
ari@leland.Stanford.EDU (Ari Ollikainen) writes:
> > In article <18671.2ad15917@ecs.umass.edu> sylveste@ecs.umass.edu writes:
> >>In article <1992Oct06.000627.1511@wes.on.ca>, tomh@wes.on.ca (Tom
Haapanen) writes:
> >>> carl@neocad.com (Carl Stern) writes:
> >>>> Interesting that while other carmakers, ex. Honda, Volvo, are now
> >>>> embracing 5 cyls, Audi is phasing it out.  
> >>
> >>> 
> >>> Anyway, Volvo and Mercedes have been selling five-cylinder diesels for a
> >>> long time (does Volvo have a five-cylinder gas engine now?), and Honda's
> >>> reason for introducing a five-cylinder is clear: marketing.  The Acura
> >>> five-cylinder is no smoother than an Accord four, but they didn't want
> >>> to risk eating into the Legend market with a V6 Vigor (hey,
shouldn't that
> >>> be "Vigour"? :) )...
> >>> 
> >>
> >>       The 5 cylinder that volvo was using was made by Audi.  It was
the same
> >>engine that was in the 5000 diesel.
> >>
> > 
> > BZZZTTTT!!! Both of you are wrong about the Volvo "5 cylinder diesel"!
> > 
> > The diesel engine used in Volvo passenger cars was (is?) a 6 cylinder 
> > engine first used in the VW LT72 cargo van. The engine design is derived
> > from the VW 4 cylinder and is a direct lineal descendent of the Audi
> > 5 cylinder with an extra cylinder and different crankshaft. These 
> > engines (at one time) had the per cylinder displacement in common.
> > 
> > The Audi 5000D used a 5cylinder diesel engine in non-turbo and turbo 
> > form.
> > 
> > Volvo designed a new, "compact" 5cylinder engine for the 850...
> > 
> > Ari Ollikainen
> > (an old VW fan(atic) and ex-Volvo owner: 122S/123GT, 142E, 242DL, Diesel)
> > 
> 
>   I have to admit that I don't know much about Volvo (Audi is my speciality)
> but Volvo did use an Audi 5 cylinder in one of their models in the early
> eighties.  I believe that it was the 240.  I have seen one.
> 
>                                          Mike Sylvester  Umass
>                                          sylveste@ecs.umass.edu


FACT : there is no such thing as a Volvo 240 with a 5 cyl. gas engine. 
(who cares about diesel? )


==========

Francois Tremblay                 B.N.R. Ltd
tref@bnr.ca                       Ottawa, Canada
(613)-763-3272
==========
My thoughts, My words -- Let BNR make its own mistakes.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: shade@chdasic.sps.mot.com (Douglas Shade)
Subject: Re: Ghia Goes Topless!
Reply-To: shade@chdasic.sps.mot.com
Organization: Motorola SPS ASIC, Chandler, AZ
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 16:05:15 GMT


>
>                            Ghia Goes Topless!
>  This looks cool!  Picture this, a Ghia, that now has no roof, and the
>front windshield looks about 6" tall.  The car looks much longer and
>sleeker.  We got to thinking...  what if we made this a "summer" only
>car, a car with no roof.  Has anyone out there done this?  I know the
>roof is(was) a important part of the car, as it kept it from flexing.
>Does anyone make a roll bar for Ghias (for rollover AND anti-body flex)?
>
>
>----- 
> Dan Reed (Blu-Max) blu@cellar.org - AutoCad Geek - VW Lover - InlineSkater 
>68 Cougar XR-7, 89 VW Golf, 72 Honda CL360Twin, Ti/99/4a, Vextrex, Timex

Check the last 12 month's worth of Hot VWs.  I seem to remember a much
molested ghia (lots of f-glass work) that was set up as you're suggesting.
The doors were welded shut (I suppose this helped the pan flex problem
somewhat) and the windshield chopped to around 5 inches.  Looked like a 
heck of a lot of fun (although I personally didn't care much for all the
fancy glass work).

As for flex....  I just cut the top off a similarly hopeless (withing 
reasonable $ limits) baja bug.  Guess what, the doors are already having
alignment problems, and I haven't driven it anywhere yet!  I'm going to 
buy some "L" channel this weekend.  My plan is to replace the body to pan
bolts with some longer ones while bolting on the L channel underneath the 
car.  I don't expect it to be race ready or anything, but it should keep
the car from folding in half at the first speed bump it encounters :)

Good luck, please keep us posted on what your flex solution is.  I will do
the same.  (I didn't use a 6-point roll cage, too much $... besides its
tought to weld to RUST!) 

---
shade@chdasic.sps.mot.com                        \/
602-821-4096                                    \/\/...its not a car 


Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: christos@wucs1.wustl.edu (Christos Papadopoulos)
Subject: Replacing the radiator
Organization: Washington University, St. Louis MO
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 22:21:25 GMT

	I went ahead with my first half serious job, replacing the radiator and the
hoses. The radiator is still out of the car. I got new hoses and a low temp thermostat
and thermoswitch from Techtonics to replace the old ones. I will let you know how the
car behaves with these after I am done. Techtonics claim that these will keep the temp
indicator around the 1/2 mark.
	A word about antifreeze: I found that there was deterioration on the aluminum
connectors from the previous antifreeze. I had used Prestone over the last 2 years,
and I don't know what was in the car before. I bought a gallon of Autobahn antifreeze
($14, brrrrrr) and I think I will stick to this one from now on.
	I have one question: is there anything I can apply between the hoses and the
connectors to prevent them from sticking together? I had a hard time with some of the
hoses. I guess what I am thinking is some kind of anti-seize compound, similar in function
to the one put on bolts. The Bentley manual says that an anti-seize compound should be used.
What have you people out there have used?
	Thanks a lot. If you feel you have any advice to offer about the whole venture
please go right ahead and email me or post!

Christos.
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: jah@slc.slac.stanford.edu
Subject: Ghia question
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 00:18:24 GMT

Hello there,

        I've got a question for all you air-cooled types. Well, actually it's
for a friend of mine. She would really like to get a Ghia but claims to really
dislike the sound of the engine. I know this is foolish, the sound is actually
pretty cool. But does anyone out there have any suggestions to make the engine/
exhaust sound a little more (excuse the word please) "tame". Any comments or
suggestions or (gulp) flames would be accepted.

Thanks,

        Josh

************************************************************************
*              /|\|/|\       helpfull hint- ROADKILL DEGRADES TRACTION *
*          \\  \|/|\|/  //       _____________________________________ *
*           \==/|\|/|\==/        |Josh Hadler                        | *
*       /====  \|/|\|/   ==/-\   |Accelerator Operations             | *
*      //====  /|\|/|\   ==\-/   |Stanford Linear Accelerator Center | *
*      /    /==\|/|\|/==\        |                                   | *
*          //  /|\|/|\  \\       |jah@slc.slac.stanford.edu          | *
*              \|/|\|/           |hadler@slacvm.bitnet               | *
*              /|\|/|\           |___________________________________| *
*                                                                      *
*   Anything expressed in the above is the opinion of the idiot that   *
*   wrote it... ME. And any problem you may have with that is yours    *
*   and yours alone.                                                   *
*   My employers, Stanford University, The Department of Energy,       *
*   and HEPAP do not neccessarilly share the same views as I do.       *
************************************************************************
From: gajewski@ug.cs.dal.ca (Andy)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Some EUROPEAN VW info
Date: 16 Oct 92 18:56:03 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Math, Stats & CS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

I got a ADAC Special from europe. This is a german magasine that tests cars
available in europe. It is not sponsered by any factory. Here is some 
info from that magasine. I'm not going to copy everything, but if someone
wants additional info, I look it up (like price in DM, diff specs, etc)

(NOTE: all specs in european standards, like Km, not miles)

15 different types of POLO's. The best one has a G40 and it goes from
0-100km/h  8.6 secs. It has a top speed of 196 km/h

16 different GOLF's, such as CL 1.4L (0-100 is 16.3, top speed is 155)
Then they got the CL and GL 1.8L. The best one goes from 0-100 in 11.7 secs.
top speed 180. The GTI 10.1 secs, 198 top. The VR6 is 7.6 secs, 225 top.
And then there are the Turbo Diesels and Diesels.

There are 9 VENTO's, the fastest is 7.8 secs, 225 top.

The CORRADO's are 16V, G60 and VR6. The VR6 is 6.9 secs, 235 top. The 16V
9.3 secs, 210 top. The G60 is 8.5 secs, 225 top.

The PASSAT's range from CL/GL 1.8L, Cl/GL 2.0L, GL/GT combinations with 
16V, 2.0L, G60 synchro, Synchro 2.0L, 1.9L Diesels And Turbos too, VR6.
The VR6, 16V 2.0L and G60 Synchro go to 100 in 8.8, 9.9, 9.6 and top is
218, 206 and 215 respectively. Then they got PASSAT VARIANT's with 
the same cmbo's as above.. The specs are just a tad faster.

Then they also got the KOMBI's and CARAVELLE. Total of 11 diffirent types.

They also got the GOLF 16V GTI which goes 9.6 secs. These are the new types
(III's). If you ask me, these 0-100 times are pretty bad. My '85 does it
in 9.1 secs.

I forgot what they changed the Jetta name to for the new types.

If I read something else that is interesting, I'll post it.

ANDY
-- 
---....-------------****----*******-) GTI FUN-atic                      o  
--. \/ .-----GTI---******--*********)         Don't forget to bike:     ,-\
--.\/\/.-----------******--*********)  (and sail and windsurf and ski)  0\-0
---....-------------****----*******-) gajewski@ug.cs.dal.ca,goaway@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: cole@rtsg.mot.com (Timothy Cole)
Subject: Fuel Pump Going?
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 02:38:57 GMT


I thought in past postings it was mentioned that a way to tell if your fuel pump
was going was that it would get progessively louder.  Kind of a "whirring" noise.
The problem is, when I get under the car, it doesn't seem to be that noisy. 

What are the warning signs of a bad or failing fuel pump?  BTW, I have an 82 
Rabbit, with 96,000 on it.  Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks-






-- 

	Tim Cole
	Motorola Inc.
	Cellular Infrastructure Group.........GO PACKERS!
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: mark@wdcwdc.sps.mot.com (Mark Shaw)
Subject: Re: Fuel Pump Going?
Organization: Motorola Western MCU Design Center, Chandler Arizona
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 23:21:36 GMT

In article <1992Oct15.023857.13702@rtsg.mot.com>, cole@rtsg.mot.com (Timothy Cole) writes:
|> 
|> I thought in past postings it was mentioned that a way to tell if your fuel pump
|> was going was that it would get progessively louder.  Kind of a "whirring" noise.
|> The problem is, when I get under the car, it doesn't seem to be that noisy. 
|> 
|> What are the warning signs of a bad or failing fuel pump?  BTW, I have an 82 
|> Rabbit, with 96,000 on it.  Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome.

Heck, I don't know!  I have 144K on a '79 Rabbit, 87K on a '70 Scirocco,
and 116K on an '84 GTi and haven't failed one yet!  Once heard the one on
the '79 Rabbit screaming it's head off on the freeway at 80 mph, but that
turned out to be a clogged fuel filter making it work too hard in the 100
degree heat.  

I would also like to know what the warning signs are.

Mark