Common parts failures on older Golfs?

I have a 1998 Golf which has 110,000 km on it and is generally in pretty
good shape. It has not suffered any major failures yet and I'm trying to
make sure I have maintained vital parts to prevent expensive failures on
long trips, specifically engine related.

Oil and filter regularly changed, air filter changed. Starter, distributor,
spark plugs are good (originals). Very rare misfires in wet weather due to
some corrosion but I plan on coating or replacing spark plug wires.

I always carefully watch oil level and temperature and have never seen
overheating, from what I can read from the dashboard.

Recently I had the coolant system checked and flushed, minor leaks fixed.
The timing belt and power steering belt have been changed and the mechanic
did not notice any problem with tensioners, or v-belt (originals).

Have I missed any vital "consumable" parts or anything else that should be
changed preventatively, even if they have not failed yet? I was talking to
a guy who has a similar model Golf to my own and he told me a horror story
about a blown head gasket when his timing belt failed. My belt is new, but
anything else like that which leads to common big failures and really
should be changed now?

--
Jem Berkes
www.sysdesign.ca

> Have I missed any vital "consumable" parts or anything else that
> should be changed preventatively, even if they have not failed yet?

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

Jem Berkes wrote:

> I have a 1998 Golf which has 110,000 km on it and is generally in pretty
> good shape. It has not suffered any major failures yet and I'm trying to
> make sure I have maintained vital parts to prevent expensive failures on
> long trips, specifically engine related.
>
> Oil and filter regularly changed, air filter changed. Starter,
> distributor, spark plugs are good (originals). Very rare misfires in wet
> weather due to some corrosion but I plan on coating or replacing spark
> plug wires.
>
> I always carefully watch oil level and temperature and have never seen
> overheating, from what I can read from the dashboard.
>
> Recently I had the coolant system checked and flushed, minor leaks fixed.
> The timing belt and power steering belt have been changed and the mechanic
> did not notice any problem with tensioners, or v-belt (originals).
>
> Have I missed any vital "consumable" parts or anything else that should be
> changed preventatively, even if they have not failed yet? I was talking
> to a guy who has a similar model Golf to my own and he told me a horror
> story about a blown head gasket when his timing belt failed. My belt is
> new, but anything else like that which leads to common big failures and
> really should be changed now?
>
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?
>> Have I missed any vital "consumable" parts or anything else that
>> should be changed preventatively, even if they have not failed yet?
>
>The tires are also new, I know that one can be a rather ugly problem (road
>safety)

On Mar 20, 9:16 pm, Jem Berkes > wrote:
> I have a 1998 Golf which has 110,000 km on it and is generally in pretty
> good shape. It has not suffered any major failures yet and I'm trying to
> make sure I have maintained vital parts to prevent expensive failures on
> long trips, specifically engine related.
>
> Oil and filter regularly changed, air filter changed. Starter, distributor,
> spark plugs are good (originals). Very rare misfires in wet weather due to
> some corrosion but I plan on coating or replacing spark plug wires.
>
> I always carefully watch oil level and temperature and have never seen
> overheating, from what I can read from the dashboard.
>
> Recently I had the coolant system checked and flushed, minor leaks fixed.
> The timing belt and power steering belt have been changed and the mechanic
> did not notice any problem with tensioners, or v-belt (originals).
>
> Have I missed any vital "consumable" parts or anything else that should be
> changed preventatively, even if they have not failed yet? I was talking to
> a guy who has a similar model Golf to my own and he told me a horror story
> about a blown head gasket when his timing belt failed. My belt is new, but
> anything else like that which leads to common big failures and really
> should be changed now?
>
> --
> Jem Berkeswww.sysdesign.ca

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

" > wrote in news:1174495181.046342.66460
@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

> 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.

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?

--
Jem Berkes
www.sysdesign.ca

> What was the outcome of your power lock / remote key situation?

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.

--
Jem Berkes
www.sysdesign.ca

On Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:34:57 -0500, Jem Berkes > wrote:

>> What was the outcome of your power lock / remote key situation?
>
>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.
>
>--
>Jem Berkes
>www.sysdesign.ca
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.

On Mar 21, 5:34 pm, Jem Berkes > wrote:
> " > wrote in news:1174495181.046342.66460
> @l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:
>
> > 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.
>
> 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?
>
> --
> Jem Berkeswww.sysdesign.ca

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

> 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.

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.

--
Jem Berkes
www.sysdesign.ca