PierceTheOrganist

Hey, y'all,

My name is Pierce Phillips. I'm brand new to these forums, so I want to tell you about my limited experience with Audis.

My friend Robert bought a 1986 4KCSQ from another friend, Nic, this past year. The price was $200, seeing as how the car was in *crummy* shape. It fires on only 3 of the 5 cylinders (it'll do 4 on a good day), the frame is rusted, the parts are rotted, the brakes are *gone*, the shifter is "vague", and the rear windows don't work. And that's just the start of the problems.

Anyhow, I drove the car once and decided that I absolutely, positively had to own one for my next car. Even though Robert's 1986 was in really bad shape, I could see the POTENTIAL that this model car has to be awesome.

I got into a near-fatal high-speed rollover accident in my pickup truck recently. My insurance company cut me a check, and I put it in the bank. What I did next was to go on eBay and buy the 1987 Audi 4000-series sales brochure. I looked it over, and it affirmed that I really wanted a 4000CS Quattro.

So I went back to eBay and spent that insurance money on a 1987 4000CS Quattro, in *immaculate* condition. $3061.11 (plus shipping) later, my car is on its way. It should arrive at my door on Monday the 16th or sometime soon thereafter.

I'm 17, and this is my second car. I've always loved Audis, and I never learned how to drive an automatic transmission--so this car seems perfect for me. I find the 4000CS Quattro to be very attractive, both inside and out--and I know quite a bit about cars; I do most of my own service work. I've been told that these cars have a CIS-E fuel injection system, which is reputedly very complicated...but it seems like a cool challenge.

I have more pics of the car, both inside and out, that I can email to anyone who wants them. I have a dial-up Internet connection, so I didn't want to take the time to post them all here.

Anyhow, I'm very excited to be the proud owner of a 1987 Audi 4000CS Quattro, and I'm glad I found this forum.

All comments are, of course, welcome. I'd like to know, from you guys, what I should know about this model car. What problems/trouble areas should I watch for? What are the eccentricities? What would you tell a newcomer to the 4KCSQ world?

Thanks for reading,

-Pierce<ul><li><a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&amp;rd=1,1&amp;item=2300304 50854&amp;ih=013&amp;sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT"> My Audi on eBay</a></li></ul>

PierceTheOrganist

Hey, I forgot to ask a question I have.

I bought a set of Piaa's "Extreme White Plus" 9004-type headlight bulbs. Has anyone used these in their 4KCSQ? Any thoughts?

PierceTheOrganist

So, my quattro has the charcol-colored seats that say "QUATTRO" fifty billion times. What's up with that? Was it part of a special package or something?

AudiSport4000

I had seen that car on ebay, looks pretty nice. We would love to see more detailed photos when you get a chance.
As for the headlights, they are a weak spot on these cars. I wouldnt put any high wattage bulbs in without adding some relays. The real solution would be to get some Euro headlights.

Weak spots on the car? Door handles break, window switches are flakey, odometers rarely work, map pockets (front doors) break easily, lifters tick at will.

You will find alot of great people on this forum, as well as alot of useful information.

AudiSport4000

Just an interior the car came with, some of us have it (myself included)

PierceTheOrganist

So, about the relays for the headlights,

The headlight package says "HB1 12v 65/45w --&gt; 120/95w". So I take it that these new bulbs are 120/95 watts. What do you mean by relays? Sorry, but I'm not good at figuring things out on my own, so it would really help me if you could be wayyyy over-specific and explain what to do about relays for this car and this wattage bulb.

BTW, the bulbs also say "4000L (Kelvin)" on them. WIll that be too hot for anything?

austinado16

That is one FINE 4kq you just landed. Wow! Good for you for stepping up and buying a nice car to start with.

A word of advice based on your previous driving experience. With Audi's, the rubber side goes down and the shiny side goes up ;-)

Save your money on headlight bulbs, they won't help. The DOT US headlights are junk and you'll want to replace them with the German Hella's or Cibie big one piece H4/H1's that you'll see on many of our cars. They're a bit spendy, but well worth it.

If I was going to try bulbs in a set of DOT's, I only use Sylvania Silverstar's.

When it comes time to recharge your A/C, you can use a new receiver/dryer, a few ounces of Ester 100 synthetic refrigerant oil, and then charge her up with "Freeze 12" that you can buy on ebay and install using standard R12 manifold gauges and charge fittings.

So again, welcome!

PierceTheOrganist

Haha thanks for the advice on what goes where :-P

Well, I already bought the Piaa Extreme White Plus 9004 bulbs, and I at least want to test them out and see what they're like. But if I should decide to go for the Hellas, where do you suggest getting them? eBay?

austinado16

Check out www.danielsternlighting.com for the real scoop on all the wiz-bang light bulbs out there.

If the Pia's are 55/65's, then that's at least safe for your wiring. Anything more than that and you'll smoke the contacts in your headlight switch and you'll burn the sockets up that plug into the backs of the bulbs.....unless you relay them that is.

The slant front Euros are on ebayUS once in a while, but more commonly on ebay Germany. Make sure you get the slant (or sloped) front version, and make sure you get a pair with perfect reflectors inside. The reflectors love to rust up, or the mirror gets eaten off the plastic ones. Then you're screwed.

If you do buy a pair, get them from a German seller with good feedback. I bought a set from a guy jerked me around on the payment, then took forever to send them. When he did finally send them, he just tossed them into a box with some paper. 2 months later, I recieved a box full of $300 worth of broken glass. And of course got told tough luck, even by the US Post Office.

AudiSport4000

The stock headlights on these cars are horrible. Tossing in higher wattage bulbs will only make things worse, believe it or not, heres why. With the stock setup and stock bulbs, the headlight switch gets hot, which is sorta normal for the car, but kinda crappy. Tossing in "hotter" (brighter) bulbs with higher wattage will increase that temperature and actually MELT the switch and OR headlights connectors! Ive done that once, its nof fun. You can add relays to alleviate this, but the higher wattage bulbs with the stock 4000 headlight housings wont do much. The beam pattern the DOT lights have are bad. So no matter how bright a bulb you toss in, the output wont be much better.

The european headlights austinado is referring too are found overseas but can be bought here. They offer superb beam pattern and utilize H4 or H1/H4 headlight bulbs. A definate upgrade. Wait until its night and its rainy and you drive with the stock headlights, you will know what we all gripe about .

And IF you decide to get Euro headlights, you will need some sort of wiring harness with relays for them. I purchased mine online.