VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1993 1H / 3.G Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Brake fluid
The brake fluid reservoir is on the left in the

e ngine compartment.

O n vehicles with ABS* the brake fluid reser­

voir
can be found in the same place, only the

s hape of the reserv oir is different to that

s hown .

O n
vehicles with right-hand drive the reser­

voir is on the other side of the engine com­

p artment.

Checking fluid level
T he fluid level must always be between the
" MAX" and "MIN" marks.
T he
level of flu id tends to sin k slightly when the vehicle is used due to the automatic ad­Ju stment of brake linings . This IS quite nor­
mal.
H owever, if the level sinks noticeably in a
s h ort time or drops below the" MIN" mark
t h e system may be leaking. A low fluid level
in the reservoir is indicated by the brake
wa rning lamp lighting up (see page 48 also)
If this happens, take car to a Volkswagen
dealer immediately and have the brake sys­
tem checked.
Renewing brake fluid
Brake fluid absorbs moisture. In the course
of time it takes in water from the ambient air. Too high a content of wa ter in the brake
fluid can In time cause corrosion damage in the system Furthermore the boiling point
of the brake fluid IS reduced considerably. For this reason the brake fluid must be renewed every f'wo years.
Attention When the brake fluid becomes too old vapour bubbles can form in the brake system when the brakes are used hard. The effi­ciency of the brakes and thus the vehicle safety is then seriously affected.
Only use our genuine brake fluid (spec ifica­
tion to US standard FMVSS 116 DOT 4). The fluid must be new.
Attention Brake fluid is poisonous! It must therefore only be stored in the closed original container out of reach of children.
Remember also that brake fluid will attack the paintwork.

,.Q,., Because of the disposal prob­
~lems, the special tools necessary
and the specialist knowledge re­
quired, the brake fluid changing should preferably be done by a Vo/kswagen dealer.
It is advisable to have the fluid change car­
ried out during an Inspection Service.
99

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Battery
The battery IS In the engine compartment.
S t
artin g by connecting an addi tional battery
i s described in the Do-it-yourself section.
Attention Note the following w a rning
note s and safety precautions when working on the battery.
W e
ar eye protection. Do no t allow particles co n­
t a ining acid or lead t o
come into c ontact with the eyes, skin or cloths.
Battery Jlc id is highly caustic. A lways wear pro­tective gloves and glasses. Do not tip bat­tery - ac id can spill out of the vents. Should acid conta ct the eyes, rinse for several minutes using clea n running w ater. Seek medical assistance immediately. S hould aCi d contact skin or clothes, neutralize immediately using an alkaline soap solution and ri nse thoroug hly. Should acid ina d vertently be drunk, s eek medical attention immediately.
Keep a cid and battery out of th e reach of children.
When battery i s being charged, a highly explos­ive mixture of gases is produced.
Keep w ell cle a r o f naked flame and sparks. Do not smoke. Avoid generating sparks when handling cables and electrical compo­nents . Avoid short circuits. Never sh o rt batte ry t erm inals ­danger of injury from high­e nergy sparks.
• D
isconnect negative terminal of battery before doing any work on th e electrical system. When changing bulbs it is sufficient t o
switch off lamp.
100

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE

• When disconnecting the bat­
tery from th e vehic le e lectrical
system first disconnect the nega­
tive cable and then the positive
cable.
The battery must not b e discon­
nected with th e engine ru nning,
as this will damage t he e lectrica l
system (e lectro n ic components).

• When reconnecting t h e bat­
tery connect the positive cable
first and then the negative cable.
The connect ing cables must on
no account interchang ed -can
cause wiring to burn out.

In order to protect the c asing from UV radiation, do not expose battery to direct sunlight.
Checking acid level
In norma l operating conditions the ba ttery re quires hardly any maintenance . At 111(;)11 am bient tem peratu res Ilowever It I S advIs­
a b le to check th e acid le ve l a t r egula r inter ­als. It shou ld always be between the M IN
a nd MAX marks on th e batter y I
f th e ac
id leve l drops below the MIN mark, the aff ecte d c ells must be topped -up to the
MAX mark W ith dis tille d wa ter.
It
is recommen ded that the acid level is checked and correcte d by a Volkswag en dea ler.
Winter driving
W inte r wea ther is part icu larly hard on the
battery. Furt h er more at low temperatures it has only a par t of th e capacity it has at nor ­
ma l temperatures . We reco mmend there­
for e th at
the bat te ry sho uld be c h ecked pre­
f erably by a Volkswage1l dea le r before the onset of cold weat her an d charge d if
necessary
I f the vehicle is not driven for sev­e ral weeks when te m peratures are very low, the battery should be taken out and stored in a frost-free room, s o tha t it cannot freeze up and become damaged.
To ake battery out, first d isconnect the two cables an d th en remov e retainer.
Charging battery
W hen charg ing with a lo w curren t (e.g. with a smal l char ger) the battery cables need not
no rmally b e taken off. The instructions from the charger manufactu re r must however be
noted.
Bef ore
Quick charging, that is charging
wi th a high current, both battery cables
must b e disconnec ted .
T
he f o llowin g inf ormation must be noted:
• Whe n charging the
battery do not re­
move caps.
• A discha rged battery
can freeze at -10°e. It is essential to thaw out a frozen battery before it is given a quick charge otherwise it may ex­plode!
• The mains cable of the charger should
n ot be connec ted unti l afte r the clips of the charger have been prop erly secured to th e
battery terminals Red =pos itive
Black = negative
•
Recon nect cables correct ly after ch arg­ing battery.
101

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Spark plugs V-belts
Renewing a battery
If the battery has to be renewed , the new battery must have the same capacity, volt­
age (12 V olts). current strength and shape
and a cap sealing arrangement. Volkswagen
dealers have a range of suitable batteries .
&-. Because of the problem of dis­~posing of the old battery the re­newal ofa battery should preferably be done by a Vo/kswagen dealer. Batteries contain, amongst other things, sulphuric acid and lead and must on no account be put with nor­mal household waste.
The spark plugs are rene w ed during the
Volkswagen Inspection Service
If the spark plugs have to be rene w
ed be­
t w een the Inspection Services, the fOllow­
ing should be noted :
• Spark plugs and ignition system are
matched to the engine and
as such contrib­
ute to reducing the levels of exhaust pollu­
tants. To avoid faulty operation, engine
damage and even the w ithdrawal of the
type approval due
to ex cessive emissions
v alues or non -suppressed spark plugs, only
the Genuine Volks wagen spark plugs for the
engine concerned should be used. Import­
ant, am ong other
thing
'S, are the number of
electrodes , the heat value and if necessary
the radio suppression .
• The plugs may
be, for technical reasons,
changed at short notice. It is therefore ad­visable to obtain plugs only from Volks­
w agen dealers -they have the latest in­
formation •
The V-belts are among the most s
e­verely stressed parts of a vehicle. The belts
must therefore be subjected to very high
quality requirements.
• When renewing a belt it
is not sufficient to use just any belt of the same size. For
safety reasons only the special Genuine
V olkswagen belt for the vehicle concerned
should be used .
• The V-belts may
be, for technical rea­
sons, changed at short notice . It is therefore
advisable to obtain V-belts only from Volks­
wagen dealers and to
hav e them changed
there -they have the latest information .
•
On some engines durable ribbed belts are used, which are checked and if necess­
ary tensioned during an Inspection Service
(every 60, 000 km/40,OOO miles).
102

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Washer system
The fluid container is on the left of the en­
gine compartment. The container holds
about 4 litres, on ve hicles with headlight
washer system * about 7 litres. The con­
t ainer illustrated is for veh icle s with head­
l ight washer system.
T he rear
window washer is supplied w ith
flu i d from the container in the engine com­
partment.
Filling the container
It is advisable to add a window cleaning sol­ution with a wa x remo ver (with anti-freeze
additive in winter) to the water because
plai n water is not usually sufficient to clean
the glass and headlight lenses quickl y and
th oroughly The mixing ratios on the win­dow cleaner packaging must be adhered to.
E v
en w hen heated windscreen washer jets* ar e fitted, a w indow clean­
ing solution containing anti-freeze should be
added to the water in th e w inter.
Note I' If at any time no window cleaning solution
w ith anti-freeze additive is available, methylated spirits can be used. Do not,
under any circumstances, add engine cool­
ing system fluid or other additives.
GENERAL MAINTENANCE

Adjusting washer jets
When the vehicle is stationary, the water should hit the windscreen approximately as sh own .
The
Jet for the rear w indow washer is in the wiper shaft. The water jet shou ld hit the
g lass in the cen tre of the wiped area.
The jets
can be adjusted with a need le .
The jets fo r the
headlight washer sys­tem* can only be adjusted with a special
tool. When adju stmen t is necessary, con­
tact your Volkswagen dealer.
103

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE

Windscreen wiper blades Dust and pollen filter*

Good w iper blades are essential for clear vi­
sion.

To prevent streaks from forming on the

glass the wiper blades should be cleaned

regularly with a window cleaning so lution .

When very dirty and full of insect remain s,
the blades can be cleaned with a sponge or

cloth.

Jerky operation of the w iper blades
can be
caused by wax rema ins on the w indscreen ,

after washing the vehicle in an automat ic
car-was h. Fillin g the winds creen washer

container with a w indo w cleaner containing

a wax remo ver
can cure the prob lem

For safet y reasons the wiper blades shou ld
be rene wed once or twice a year Wiper
blade s can be obtained fro m all Volkswagen

dealers.

B1H 052 1
; Changing w iper blades
Taking the wiper blade off
• Hinge the w iper arm up and position the
blad e horizontally. • Press the retainin g spring (arrow A) and push the blade towards the sc ree n at the
same time (arrow B)
Securing the w iper blade
The retai ning sp ring must engage audibly in
the w iper arm.

W h
en fitting wiper blade s with mou ld ed

w in d def lectors one sho uld ensure that the

defle ctor is point in g downwards.

The dust and polle n f ilter for the heating and
vent ilation system can be found under the two-piece cover on the right in the plenum
chamber. The filt er should be ch anged in ac­cord ance with th e detai ls given in the Ser­
v ice Schedules. If the air thro ughput re­duc es cons id e ra b ly, th e filte r shou ld be ch ang ed earl ier:
• Lo o sen and remove tJ,e f our plastic
screws .
•
Pull off rubbe r seal on the bu lkhead to
engine comp artmen t upwards as far as ce n tr e o f vehi cle.
•
Pus h the connec ting parts towards the
sid e of th e vehicle.
• Push front cover upwards.
• P u
sh back elem ent spring clips and take
out ele me nt up w rds .
104

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Wheels
General notes
• New tyres do not give maximum grip

str aight away and should therefore be run in
a moderate speeds and a careful style of
driving for about the first 100 km . This will
"Ielp to make the tyres last longer.

• The tread depth of
new tyres can vary

du e to constructi on and design features,

and depending on version and manufac­

:u res.

• Check tyres for damage from
time to

-lin e (cuts, splits, cracks and lumps) and re­

m ove any foreign bodies embedded in the

- r eads.

•
To a v oid damage to tyres and wheels
drive over curbs and similar obst acles very
slowly and as nearly at right angles as poss­

Ible .
Damage to w he els and tyres is not always

e asy to see, so if you think that a wheel is

d a maged, It must be checked by a Volks­

w agen dealer.

• Keep grease,
011 and fuel off the tyres.
• Replace missing dust caps as soon as possib le.
• Mark wheels before taking them off so
that they rotate in the same direction when put back on again
•
When taken off, the tyres should be
stored in a cool, dry and preferably dark
place
T y res
which are not on wheels shou ld be
stored In a vertical position.
Tyre life
Tyre life depends to a considerable extent
on the following factors:

Inflation pressure ..-

Tyre pressures can be found on page 141
and on a sticker on the inside of of the tank

filler flap -see page 81.

The inflation pressure
is very important par­

ticularly at high speeds . Therefore, the pres­

sures should be che cked at least once a
month and before every long Journey.

At this opportunity do not
forget the spare

w heel

• On the temporary spare the pressure is shown on the side wall.
• The spare
wheel w ith normal tyre shou ld alw ays be inflated to the highest pressure required on the veh icle. •
Always check the pressures
when the
ty res are cold. When warm, the pres­sure is higher but do not reduce. If the load changes a great deal the pressure must be altered to suit.
Pressures
which are too high or too low short en tyre life -quite apart from the detri­mental influence on vehicle handling .
Attention
At continuous high speeds a tyre
in which the pressure is too low
flexes more and heats up excess­
ively. This can cause tread separ­
ation and tyre blowout.

dit-. A pressure which is too low in­~creases the fuel consumption and this burdens the environment unnecessarily.
Mode of driving
Fast cornering, hard acceleration and Viol­
ent braking also increase tyre wear.
105

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE

Balancing wheels
The wheels on new vehicles are balanced.
H owever when the vehicle is ru nning vari­
o us influences can cause th e w hee ls to be­
come unbalanced and this causes steering
v ib ration .
As imba lance also inc
reases steering, sus­pens ion and tyre wear the wheels should be balanced again. Furthe rmore a wheel
should a lway s be rebalanced when the tyre has been repaired or when a ne w tyre has been fitted.
Incorrect wheel alignment
Incor rect whee l a lign men t no t only causes
excessive, usually uneven tyre wear but can also impair the car's safe hand ling. If un­usual tyre wear is noticed, contact a Volks­
wagen dealer.
Wear indicators
At the bottom of the tread of the original
tyres there are 1 .6 m m high "w ear indica­
t ors" running across the tread -see fig.
There
are 6 - 8 of these indicators - accord­ing to make -even ly spaced around the tyre
circumference. Marks on the walls of the
t yre (f or example the letters "T W I" or
tr
iangles) show the locations of the wear
indi c ators.
Attention • At the latest when then the tyres are worn down to the wear indicators they must be renewed without delay. • Worn tyres are detrimental to roadholding, particularly at high speeds on wet roads. Moreover the vehicle tends to aquaplane sooner.
Note
When tread depth is down to 1.6 mm
measured in the tread groove next to the
wear indicato r bar - the offic ial perm issible
min im um tread depth has been reached (in
export countries this figure may dj"fer)
106

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE

I S1H-053 I
Changing the wheels round
, the front tyres are worn more than the
r ear it is advi sable to change the wheels
r o und as shown . All tyres wi ll then have ap­
proximately the same length of servic e life.
N ith certain types of tread wear it
can be an advantag e to change the wheels diagonally. Jo lkswagen dealers have the necessa ry in­
:or mation.
Renewing wheels/tyres
N heels and ty res are important design fea­
. u res. The w heels and tyres approved by us sh ou ld be used. They are special ly matched ~o the model concerned and contribute argely to the excellent roadhold ing and safe
driving characteri stics.
Volkswagen dealers are fully in­formed as to which makes of tyre
are approved by us. Furthermore, many Volkswagen dealers keep a wide range of tyres and wheels.
• Fitting and repairing tyres requires ex­
pert knowledge and specia l tools. This work may only be carried out by spec ialist person­
nel.
r.Q:., Because of the problem of dis­'{!J!J posing of the old tyres, the special tools necessary and the specialist knowledge required, tyre changing should preferably be done by a Vo/kswagen dealer.
• For saf ety reasons the tyres shou ld be renewed in pairs and not singly. The tyres with the dee pest tread should always be on the front w heels.
• Only combin e r
adial ply tyres of the
same type, size (rolling circumference) and
if possible the same tread pattern . Apart
from th
is, on the Golf syncro the ve­
h icl e m ust be fitted with tyres of th e same mak e. Other w ise the resulting speed dif­
ference between th e axles wil l cause the
viscous coupling to increase the drive sp lit
to t he rear axle unnece ssa rily Thi s can lead
to damage.
D i
fferent tread depths front to rear tyres,
e.g. due to wear is insignif icant. It is though
recommended that tyres with the most
tread are fitted on the front If the front tyres
are noticeably more worn than the rear they
have a smal ler ro lli ng radius and therefore
rotate quicker. This wi ll cause wind-up in the
transmission resulti ng in more rapid tyre wear. However increased wear to the four
wheel drive system need not be feared .
To pre vent wind-u p from occurring , the Golf
syncro is equ ipped with a larger temporar y
spare wheel than the normal
Golf models ­
see page 1 39.
The temporary spare from the nor­mal Golf m odels must not be used.
• If the spare wheel differs from the ver­
sion fitted on the vehicle (e.g. winter tyres
or wide tyres) the spare may only be used
briefly to replace a flat tyre and with an ap­
propriately careful style of drivi ng . It mus t be replaced with the normal w heel as soon as possib le
107

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine GENERAL MAINTENANCE

• Never fit used tyres where their previ­
ous history is not known.
• Knowing the tyre lettering and its
meaning makes the selec tion of the correct
t yres easier.
Radial ply tyres have the fol­
lowing lettering on the sidewall:
e .
g. 195/50 R 1582 V
195
50
R
15
82
V
Tyre w idth in mm
Height/width ratio in %
Radial construction code letter
= Radial
Wheel diameter
in inches
Carrying capability code
Speed code letter
The manufacturing date is also to be
seen on th e tyre wall (possibly on ly on inner

sid e of wheel):

DOT
... 123 . . means that the tyre was pro­

duced in the 12th week of 1993 .

Attention Tyres which are more than 6 years old should only be used in an emergency and then with a particularly careful style of driv­ing.
If you wish to fit your car with non­standard wheels or tyres please note:
Attention • For technical reasons it is not normally possible to use wheels from other vehicles -in certain circumstances not even wheels from the same vehicle model!
• Using wheels and/or tyres which have not been approved by us for your vehicle model can be detrimental to the safety of the vehicle. It can also affect the ve­hicle under the Construction and Use regulations.
• If wheel trim discs or a front spoiler are subsequently in­stalled it is essential to ensure that the air flow remains ad­equate to cool the brakes. • On the BBS alloy wheels with the bolted-on outer ring* the multi-point screws must not be loosened under any circum­stances. The wheels could than leak air -Accident danger!
Volkswagen dealers have all the necessary
information about the possible conversion
of wheels, tyres and wheel trims.
108