Common parts failures on older Golfs?

The tires are also new, I know that one can be a rather ugly problem (road safety)

Spark plugs, distributor cap and rotor seem to be really too old... al.

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:09:46 -0500, Jem Berkes wrote: What was the outcome of your power lock / remote key situation?

Be prepared for a water pump, shocks/struts, ball-joints and axles. Maybe an alternator, but a bit young for that yet. Brake-fluid flush every two years like religion... One of our kids got 224,000 miles from her Golf City with no faults at all until she simply got tired of it. But it was well cared-for and the maintenance intervals respected. She (and I) believe that the lack of AC had something to do with that life, but her next (and present) car still has AC.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" wrote in news:1174495181.046342.66460 @l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

Thanks for the replies. I guess in hindsight I should have had the water pump replaced while the timing belt replacement was being done. As I understand it the Golf's water pump is hard to reach, timing belt driven?

When the water pump fails, what happens? Will I observe the engine oil temp gage increase or will it just go - BOOM - engine explodes?

I don't have ABS, does that make a difference for brake fluids?

I think it's an intermittent electrical problem. The weather is awful and I don't have a garage, so I am waiting for dry weather then I'll open up the vacuum pump in the back near the tail light (is that where it is?) to see if I can clean the contacts.

I have no clue where the pump's located , sorry - but a repair manual for your golf could be a real help with the pump location as well as a great help should a failure happen later on. A good place to store the manual is in the trunk as it provides good entertainment along the park- way whilst waiting for the tow lorry. :-o Usually waterpumps fail slowly , the bushing between the impeller and the pulley wears and the impeller of the pump then starts to rub against the housing . Noise from the pump along with weeping at the housing are good first indicators. When the timing belt is replaced the v-belt running the pump has to be removed so pump relacement at the same time just makes since. ( thermostat too ) Water pumps also can fail because the impeller spins on the shaft and stops pumping coolant then the engine will over heat. Yeah , first full day of spring and I still have a half foot of sno in the yard.

Water pumps fail any number of ways, seizing is what you don't want. My experience with Golfs of 'older' vintage is that the water pumps will run nearly indefinitely if the antifreeze (with the appropriate lubricants) is managed properly. Most do not. Typically, they begin to leak at the main bearing. The millisecond that happens, change the pump. Or, the next time you are after the timing belt.

Changing the brake fluid is simple common sense. With ABS it is possibly deadly and extremely expensive consequence avoidance. Without ABS, it is merely possibly deadly consequence avoidance.

You pays you money, you takes you chances.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

OK so for the water pump, assuming it is not possible to look at directly (I think this is the case for me) would this leak be noticeable as the coolant level in the expansion tank dropping? Wouldn't that look like any other coolant leak?

I'm just trying to understand what symptoms to watch out for, since I don't have the expertise to look at these parts directly.

This is a tough call, as your vehicle is relatively young, less than

100,000 (160,000km) miles anyway, and that is about when I start to worry over water pumps. Just listen well, and when there are new and strange sounds, pay attention to them.

Coolant leaks (slow ones) show a whitish powdery streak at the leak point. The material will smell sweet. If you see such a streak not near anything obvious but in the general vicinity of the pump, then pay attention as above.

One additional note, rubber products such as tires, belts, hoses and so forth must be replaced based both on use *AND* age. Generally, I try to draw the line at 6 years on any rubber item (others say 10, others say if it is a non-safety item let it fail), less on an actual wearing item such as a belt or tires. Rubber simply degrades over time.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

I don't remember anyone mentioning the A3's door wiring harnesses, particularly the rear ones. At least on the versions with power windows, the wires in these break in the hinge area, causing problems with the windows and the alarm system. This can disable the car if they wires fail in such a way that the alarm continuously arms.

I almost got stuck once with this condition, but 'fixed' it long enough to get home by repeatedly opening and closing the rear doors until the wires rearranged enough to allow the car to start.

The newer harnesses seem to last better, or maybe it's just because the rear doors don't get used on it as much anymore.

Mark '95 Jetta GLS

Brake fluid absorbs moisture and the moisture destroys your braking system from the inside out, usually the master cylinder goes first. (Not sure how moisture would even get in there to begin with since your braking system is pretty much sealed so unless you're taking the cap off a lot for some reason, the only moisure to absorb is from what little bit of air is above the "max" line on the reservoir.

That said, the OEM M/C went out on my Mk2 GTI after about 8-9 years and I didn't change the brake fluid every two years. After a new M/C, I had the fluid replaced religiously every two years and my second M/C began failing on me after 7 years. Go figure.

Not quite sure I'm ready to call it all a bunch of B.S. but given that it's not that hard or expensive to flush/replace brake fluid, I'd say do it anyway. But I'm also not convinced it's effective insurance against M/C failure either.

Matt:

That is the MC failure-mode problem. The "OH-SH*T" failure-mode is when the brakes fail on the downhill due to boiling fluid... THAT is the primary reason to flush the stuff, not to protect the master or slave cylinders. As it happens, they fail for any number of reasons mostly well before rust becomes an issue. Now, water does attack ABS pumps, and way before average-failure mode, so for ABS, flushing is both OH-SH*T and major $$ avoidance-behavior.

Brake fluid is strongly deliquescent. The brake reservoir is necessarily vented and breathes with expansion and contraction, as well as brakes self-adjust and/or are replaced. So, each general temperature change will pull fresh (usually moist) air into the reservoir. It takes time (a couple of years or so, as it happens), but it happens.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

OK this sounds just like the kind of required maintenance that I have accidentally neglected. Many thanks for the heads up, will have the brake fluid changed ASAP.