Re: Crypty Enduro Update for Russ
Dale, I have a story for you. My Daily driver is an 87 Audi 5000 Turbo Quattro wagon. Not a common car here, but I like it. At around 150K miles on of my front wheel bearings went bad, noisy etc. So, being a good car dad, I ordered one up, tore the whole left suspension off(required to do the job )Manhandled the strut/hub assembly to the press, and changed the bearing. The bearing cost about 50 bucks, and was an SKF, made in Spain (uh oh!). Drove the car about 1K miles commuting, and guess what, the same bearing failed again. Oh Poo!. Ordered one from the Audi dealer. 125 bucks, and guess what?? In the Audi box was a Made in Spain SKF. Oh Dear. So, I went thru the whole mess again, and figured that I had just gotten a bad part. So, a couple of days later I drove to the beach to spend some time with the aged parents and other family. On the way to the beach, the very same bearing failed. It got noiser and noiser. So, 125 miles from home, with no tools.... I tried to find someone there that would fix the car. No dice. I had to have MY OWN Car towed 125 miles at great expense.I called everyone I could think of, and the local NAPA got me a GERMAN made bearing. So now for the 3rd time, I changed the bearing. (It takes 3 to 4 hours each time) I have almost 3K miles on the german part. So far, so good. The Audi part has a 12/12 warranty, so I went to return it and get my 125 back, and they told me that all they would do was exchange it. Just what I wanted, another bad part. No thanks. I finally found a contact at SKF Corporate, and I complained about the quality of their parts. They secured me a refund for both parts, and I sent them "back for testing". I have heard nothing else. See, it happens to "real" mechanics too. They are just cars,and despite our best efforts, they can still put us through the wringer. I like the Audi because it has character, but it doen not have as much as the average British car. Ya just gotta roll with the occasional displays of temperment. It is just part of the charm....