Mittelmotor 914 Update!, Had a talk with Ingo on Saturday... Options

[stephenaki]

OK, I went to Cologne this weekend and on the way up stopped by to see Ingo at Mittelmotor to see what the deal was...I was prepared for the worst based on his email.

Well, based on his email, and some information from this forum, it is not near as bad as I feared. Let me summarize this and get to the point and, I will need some input from the group on some issues.

1. Diesel problem, fixed. They changed out 3 of the plugs, one was stubborn so they decided better I break it than them, and fuel filter. Runs fine now.

2. Front axle not a problem, he thinks the shocks should be changed. Otherwise the tierods and A-arms were solid.

3. Brake lines. Fairly well worn and the lines from the metal tubing to the brakes definately need replacing.

4. Engine and Gear Box leak. Need to replace some seals, nothing that requires the engine to be dropped.

5. Lights and wipers. still inop and the lower right fog?driving light? is busted.

6. Engine mounts need replacing. All four are worn and the rubber cracked.

7. Rear axle (this had me worried). It IS attached to the car. What he was refering to was that the trailing arms had lateral play and he said that the pin that runs through it was bad and the entire trailing arm should be replaced on both sides.

So, here are my questions, most serious concern first.

1. Trailing arm lateral play, whats tolerance? Can the pin be replaced or do I have to replace the entire trailing arm? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) From what I can see, the whole unit must be replaced. This would be the most expensive problem.

2. Lights, what are common problems that people have experienced that would cause the headlights and driving lights to shut down? All the other lights and turn signals work.

Bottom line, not that big a problem, the cost was going to be the labor, they charge A LOT!! Needless to say brakes are PITA and I didn't feel like messing with the seals so I had him fix those two problems. If I had my Mityvac I would have done the brakes but I don't and I hate bleeding brakes!

I go back next Saturday to pick up the car, I will put her on a trailer and bring it back to Stuttgart then drop it off at the on-post auto craft shop and work on it there. Barring any significant issues with the trailing arms, need your input on this one, I should have it up and ready for inspection before the end of March. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

Of course this could all come to a screeching halt if they send me on another lovely trip somewhere else for a few weeks but I don't think that is in the cards right now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[stephenaki]

Ya know, the Army has a saying, "no plan survives first contact." Yeah, the plan to bring the car back didn't go as...well...planned. But it did get done.

Picked up the rental car and trailer yesterday. First problem, the car has a hidden hitch, it was a full size Audi station wagon, and the rental car girls can't figure out how to make it reveal itself. Well after about 10 minutes they decide to read the manual. TA DA!! They got it to work, hmm wouldn't the manual be the first place to start?

So, go and pick up the trailer, get there and they first have to figure out how to use the Value Added Tax (VAT) form (this negates me paying the high German taxes) and then they tell me the don't take credit cards. So off I go to find an ATM and come back. OK were ready, back the car up, hook her up, check the lights, look at the guy, "It's OK?" He says yes, now mind you, he hooked everything up but didn't explain anything. No problem, had a trailer in the states...

Take the car and trailer to post and park it; will ride my bike to post in the morning and take off from there. The rental car place is right outside the gate so when I drop the car off, I walk onto post, get on my bike and ride on home.

So I wound up getting on the road at 0600 this morning, all is good. around 0730 I am in the middle lane and getting ready to get over. German flashes his lights at me from behind. Hold on bubba, I am moving over but there was a car in that lane a bit ago! As he pulls past me he slows and matches my speed, I look over anticipating him yelling at me through his closed window, not quite. He is signaling that something is wrong with the trailer. Crap; drive another couple hundred meters till I can pull over onto the shoulder then pull off and stop.

Put on my hazards, get out and look at the trailer, what the hecks the problem? Can't see any problem, uh oh, found it. You know the front wheel on the trailer's third leg that keeps the tongue from resting on the ground? GONE!! Evidently knucklehead at the trailer rental place failed to wind it up into the fully locked position and the jostling bounced it down until the wheel was running on the road at 140 km/h. So I wind the wheel all the way up until it is locked; should have checked but I figured the guy said everything as good. No other problem.

Get to Mittelmotor, rather uneventful, got some pictures of their racer that I will post later. Load up the car, strap her down and away we go back home. By the way, the full size Audi diesel wagon? Great car!

So I am on my way, I don't make it but 10 kilometers on the autobahn when the polizei pulls in front of me and has the little scrolling words in between his lights that say, "Bitte, Folgen." Mein Deutsch ist Nicht gut, but I figured that out. So I follow him and we pull over. What the heck is wrong?!

I wind up getting out of the car and going back with him to the trailer where he shows me this wire that is looping around the lever to lock in the trailer receptacle to the ball hitch. OK, so what? It is evidently the emergency safety wire that triggers the trailer emergency brake in case it breaks away from the vehicle. Again, so what? It is improperly routed. Remember earlier about not getting anything explained to me...

Normally, this is a 50 euro fine but after some discussion they both come to realize I had no idea that this was a problem and I explained to them that the trailer guy said jack and squat about the set up. So, the guy decides he is going to fine me only 30 euro and did I have 30 euro on me.

For those that haven't been to Germany, the Polizei can fine you on the spot. You pay them and they write up the ticket and a receipt. Well, I happen to have 30 euro; no big deal beats 50.

So the guy goes back to the squad car and gets his ticket book then comes back over to me to see if I have 30 euro, I tell him yes. He pulls out the book and his partner walks up. They have a discussion. Evidently they can't figure out how to write the ticket so, decide to just give me a warning but, before they go, I have them check to make sure nothing else was wrong.

No more issues the rest of the trip but I didn't make it home until almost 1800 today. I did call the trailer guys about the wheel and told them I would come see them on Monday to talk to them about it. I don't want to be charged for something that they did.

The car is now at the autocraft shop and I will head over there tomorrow to do an assessment. The one guy that works there thinks the cylinder head is loose which is why she is blowing a lot of smoke. I don't see any way to tighten and check torque WITHOUT dropping the engine; anyone got any suggestions?

Now the work really begins.