1993 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF maintenance

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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

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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

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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

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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

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• 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

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Winter tyres
winter conditions win ter tyres w ill dis­
- n ctly improve the vehicle's handling even
th e case of four
wheel drive ve hicles. This
ap plies In particular to veh icles that are
eq uipped with wide/high -speed tyres (Code
e
tters H or V in the tyre designation on the
: r e wall). Because of their construction
,lIdth, rubber mixture, tread formation etc) :n se tyres provide less traction on ice and
sn ow.
h
en fitting winter tyres note the follow­
n g:
• Onl y radial ply winter tyres may
be fitted.
h e factory recommended tyre sizes are given on page 139.
•
To obtain the best possible handling ch aracteristics, wint er tyres must be fitted o n all fou r wheels.
• The pressures for
winter tyres must be
0.2 bar higher than with summer tyres ­
s e e Technical Data on page 142.
•
Winter tyres are no longe r fully effec tive
h en the tread has worn down to a depth
o f 4 mm.
The following speed limits are valid for winter tyres:
Code letter
Q max. 160 km/h
Code letter T max. 190 km/h
Code letter H ma
x. 210 km/h
In Germany, vehicles w hich can exceed this
speed must have an appropriate sticker in the driver's field of view. Suitable stickers
are available from Volkswagen dealers.
Please note regulations to this effect
in your
cou ntry .
• All-weath er t yres
can also be used in­
stead of winter ty res .
• If you have a flat tyre the remarks on
using the spare wheel on page 114 should
be noted .
•
Do not leave winter tyres fitted for an un­
necessary long period because w hen the
roads are free of
snow and ice the handling with summer tyres is better.
r:lil:.-. For environmental reasons (!Jtf summer tyres should be fitted again as soon as possible because normally they are quieterin running, tyre wear is reduced and the fuel consumption is lower_
Snow chains
Snow chains can be used on all tyre sizes
listed on page 139. The chains may only be fitted on the front wheels -this applies also to the syncro.
The use of sno w chains on the temporary
spare wheel is not permitted for technical
reasons. Further details are given on page
114 .
Only use thin chains w hich do not stand
clea r
more than 15 mm (including ten­
sioner).
When using snow chains wheel trim plates
and trim rings must be ta ken off . For sa fety
reasons the w heel bolts must then be fitted with caps w hich are available from Volks­
wagen dealers.
When driving over roads whic h are free of snow you must remo ve the chains. On such
road s they are detrimental to vehic le handl­
ing, damage
the tyres and wear out Quickly .
In Germany , the maximum permissible
speed w ith snow chains is 50 m/h
109

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Driving abroad
If the vehicle IS to be taken abroad, the fol­lowing must also be borne in mind:
• If the
ve hicle has a petrol engine and catalytic converter, one must ensure that
u nleaded petrol will be available dur ing the
jo urney -see page 92. The automobi le
clubs offer information about the unleaded
filling station network.
• Although there are more than
10 000 Volkswagen dealers all over the world to
service Vol k swagen vehicles there are countries in which only a limited amount of service is avai lab le or none at all.
• In certain countries it is also possib le
that your vehicle model is not sold so that
certain spare parts will not
be available or
that the Volkswagen personnel are not fam­
iliar with the repair procedure should any­
thing go wrong.
The Volkswagen
Sa les Centres in Germany
or the Importer concerned will be only too
pleased to give advice on the necessary
technical preparation of the vehicle, on the
maintenance required and on th e rep air poss ibilities.
The addresses are given in the v
ehicle
wall et.
Masking headlights
When the vehicle is used in a country which
drives on the opposite side of the road tothe home country, the asymmetr ic dipped
headlights wil l dazzle oncoming traffic .
To prevent this, the wedge-shaped sector on the head light le nses must be covered up
w it h an opaque adhesive strip.
The illust ration shows the strip insta
lled for
the change from right-hand to left-hand
traff
ic.
110

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Mobile telephones and
Accessories, mods. and renewal of parts two-way radio s
-h e Golf is built in accordance with the "n ost modern principles of safety technol­'Jgy and offers therefore a high degree of ac­,lYe and passive safety. To ensure that this remains so the vehicle as supp lied by the ;actory may not be modifi ed without careful
h ought. The following points must be noted if the vehicle is to be subsequently
( tted with accessories, technically modi­
' ied or have parts renewed later on:
• Alway s consu lt a Volkswagen dealer be­fore purchasing accessories and before an y modifications are carried out becau se ~hrough cl ose cooperation with us the
V o lkswagen Organisation is particularly
c ompetent in such matters.
Attention In your own interests we recom­mend that only genuine acces­sories or only expressly ap~roved Volkswagen accessories I and Genuine Volkswagen Parts are used on your Golf. The reliability, safety and suitability of these ac­cessories and these parts has been specially determined for the Golf
.) No! available in all E xport markets.
• Despite continuous market ob­servation we cannot assess or ac­cept responsibility for other products even though in some cases approval has been given by a legally appointed test centre or an official permit has been given.
• Approved Vo lk swagen accessories and
Genuine Vol kswa gen Parts can be obtained
from Volkswag en dealers who will of
course carry out th e fitting correctly.
• Addition a
lly connected electric con­
sumers e.g. c old box, h orns, fans etc. must
correspo nd to the electromagnetic com­
patibilit y
as pel' D I VDE 40 839 . Oth erwise
functional defects can occur in the vehicle.
• If tech nical m od ifications are to be made, ou r gu idelines must be observed . Thi s is to ensure that no damage occurs to
the vehicle, the traff ic and op erating safety
i s retained and tha t th e modification s are permissible. Volk swage n dealers will also
c a rry out th is wor k co rr e ctly or will reco m­
mend a special ist worksh op
Mobile telephones or two-way ra­dios must not be operated inside the vehicle without a separate external aerial.
The use of mob ile telephones and two-way radios can result in extremely high elec tro­
magnetic fields generated in the vehicle in­
terior (resonance effect). In suc h cases ma l­functions of the vehicle electro nics cannot be ru led out.
Attention Mobile telephones and two-way radios operated inside the ve­hicle without a separate external aerial can be injurious to health due to the extremely high elec­tromagnetic fields generated!
Furtherm ore, optimal r ange is only achieved with an external aerial.
Note
The operating instru ctions of the
mobile telephone or two-way radio must be adhered to!
111