tomk
08-29-1999, 08:45 PM
(be forewarned: this account is long, but who knows? It may come in handy someday)
So I was in Monterey today, driving back from the Historics at Pebble Beach. I got on the freeway at around 4pm, just moving along, when I hear this sudden rhythmic sshhhhsssh sound. After figuring out it wasn't the music, I pulled over, got out, and found that the entire front edge of the air dam under the engine was no longer attached to the car. End result: if I drove over 30mph, it became a huge air scoop which forced the huge plastic piece to skip off the ground and grind down the plastic.
I tried some bungee, clipping one end to the bottom of the grill, and another to the air vents in the air dam. Drove another 1/2 mile -- sound started up again. Got out to find my bungee cord much thinner in the middle :-)
At this point, a CHP found me in my predicament. He couldn't help, but did escort my 30mph sports sedan off the freeway.
I called Audi Assistance, and asked if they could send someone to help me either bolt the thing back on or rip the whole thing off. No can do -- this apparently voids the warrantee (which makes sense, I guess), so the only thing they could do is tow the car to the nearest Audi dealership. Of course this has to happen while I'm 120 miles away from home...
I decide to try and fix this again. I dig through the Costco emergency auto kit (best damn $20 I've ever spent at Costco) and find DUCT TAPE!!! That's right -- if you can't fix it with duct tape, then it just can't be done.
So I tape the whole front edge back onto the car, cover up all the holes where the airflow might try to rip it back down, and test it at 40, 50, 60mph. So far so good. Even took a picture, I was so proud of this ridiculous fix :-)
Well, I had to tape it back up again two more times within the next 30 min. -- was even fortunate enough to randomly pick an exit with a hardware store where I picked up more duct tape. The last time was the charm: duct tape and the bungee combined with a leisurely sub-65mph drive up Rte. 1 all the way to San Francisco did the trick.
And all this coincides just perfectly with my upcoming 15k service. I guess I could be annoyed, but then again, when you've got a story this ridiculous, you just can't help but laugh a little.
Moral of the story: always carry duct tape in your trunk :-)
So I was in Monterey today, driving back from the Historics at Pebble Beach. I got on the freeway at around 4pm, just moving along, when I hear this sudden rhythmic sshhhhsssh sound. After figuring out it wasn't the music, I pulled over, got out, and found that the entire front edge of the air dam under the engine was no longer attached to the car. End result: if I drove over 30mph, it became a huge air scoop which forced the huge plastic piece to skip off the ground and grind down the plastic.
I tried some bungee, clipping one end to the bottom of the grill, and another to the air vents in the air dam. Drove another 1/2 mile -- sound started up again. Got out to find my bungee cord much thinner in the middle :-)
At this point, a CHP found me in my predicament. He couldn't help, but did escort my 30mph sports sedan off the freeway.
I called Audi Assistance, and asked if they could send someone to help me either bolt the thing back on or rip the whole thing off. No can do -- this apparently voids the warrantee (which makes sense, I guess), so the only thing they could do is tow the car to the nearest Audi dealership. Of course this has to happen while I'm 120 miles away from home...
I decide to try and fix this again. I dig through the Costco emergency auto kit (best damn $20 I've ever spent at Costco) and find DUCT TAPE!!! That's right -- if you can't fix it with duct tape, then it just can't be done.
So I tape the whole front edge back onto the car, cover up all the holes where the airflow might try to rip it back down, and test it at 40, 50, 60mph. So far so good. Even took a picture, I was so proud of this ridiculous fix :-)
Well, I had to tape it back up again two more times within the next 30 min. -- was even fortunate enough to randomly pick an exit with a hardware store where I picked up more duct tape. The last time was the charm: duct tape and the bungee combined with a leisurely sub-65mph drive up Rte. 1 all the way to San Francisco did the trick.
And all this coincides just perfectly with my upcoming 15k service. I guess I could be annoyed, but then again, when you've got a story this ridiculous, you just can't help but laugh a little.
Moral of the story: always carry duct tape in your trunk :-)