Sorry to cram these together, but :

How do I know if/when I need new suspension components (struts, bushings, ?) ? There's aome bounce/float in the front end over bumps, and (for an Audi) I think handling could be more secure. I had tires and 4-wheel alignment done recently, but nobody suggested shocks.

Other than the ability to use a search tool, is there any advantage of CDROM to the printed manual ? Which is most useful ?

And one cold day last week, both front door handles on my 97A6QA wouldn't open the doors in the morning. There wasn't much resistance except a spring feeling. After things warmed up (1 hour drive to work) they were both fine.
Anyone have any suggestions ?

Thanks,

My front door did the same thing to me last year after a car wash. It seems to be a design flaw with the front door mechanism. I haven't found a fix other than trying not to wash my car if it is going to dip below freezing at night. Things just need to stay dry inside the door. I was thinking of trying to blow some compressed air into the locks after a wash....

I need a Bentley too, and I've heard that the search feature on the CD-ROM can be difficult. This site has the best price I've found, other than EBAY: http://www.alloemaudiparts.com but it seems that they might be out of stock, might be worth a call....

1. Shocks are responsible for bouncing. Try to bounce one corner of the car with your waight. Push it down several times in resonanse with the spring (do not bend the sheet metal). After you stop pushing it should bounce 1-2 times. if It bouces more than two times - shocks need to be replaced.

2. CD ROM saves trees, more easy to search, cost less and you can make a backup copy. Downside - you need computer to read it. Also many tables in the CD ROM manual stored as a GIFs so you cannot search through them.

Thanks, I did wash the car the day before but assumed it wasn't that because I could get the key in the door (usually it's the lock that freezes...)
It's been colder since, and it hasn't happened again. You must be correct, thanks.

I'll probably get the CDROM because the price is better, but I get the feeling the book would be easier to refer to.

Thanks.

I tried the bounce test and it seems fine. I know conventional wisdom is typically if the struts don't leak, they're fine, but I have 120,000 miles....

I don't mind needing a computer to read the CDROM, but I've used CDROM manuals before (not Bentleys) and found the searches to be nearly useless (as you mentioned, if they're scans, searches don't work).

I think I'd rather get the book for ease of reference, but if there's more info (schematics, ODB-II details, troubleshooting flowcharts, etc.) I'd get the CDROM.

Of course, the cost of the CDROM is much cheaper than the book, so I'll probably go with the CDROM.

Thanks,

While it's a worthwhile test, it wasn't very successful on my car. When released, the car only "bounced" one and a half times. However, I knew something had to be wrong, because the car "floated" through dips and rises in the highway, and clunked pretty bad from the front right side when going over a bump on side-streets.
The reason the "bounce test" didn't work, I found out later, was because the strut was only partially shot.

When I changed out the struts, I saw that the "bad" one was so bad that it had torn the boot, blackened the bump-stop with oil, and destroyed the lower boot holder (plastic piece around the strut that holds the boot down in place). I took out the old one, and noticed that it had no compression damping left to it, but still had some rebound damping left. The remaining rebound damping is what prevented me from an accurate "bounce and release" test.

Of course, my car has only 70k miles on it. I bought it a month ago with 67k. The previous owner must not have been too car-savvy, because that strut was blown before I got it. I should have had the dealer replace it before I got it, but I wasn't sure that what I was feeling on the test drive was a bad strut. Now I know.

If you're unhappy with the "float", then I'd suggest replacing the struts. The 97 A6 shouldn't float... The fronts are easy enough to do yourself (it's posted around here), but the rears require a lot more effort, and are probably best done by a shop, from what I understand. Let us know your next course!

-John (97 A6 q)