1997 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF Owners Manual

vehicle has been designed to help
keep maintenance requirements to a
necessary to ass ure your
By regularly maintaining your hicle, you assure that emission
cha nge 6 months after each Maintenance
Se rvice, or after each miles (12
change must be performed 6
months after the delivery of the
kilometers).
1 22 Und
er difficult operating conditions,
for
example at extremely
tervals specified.
This applies particularly to:
changes, and
The in cr easing use of e lec troni cs , ca ted fuel injection and emission control
s yst ems togethe r wi th the
ing technical complexity of today 's biles has steadily re duced the scope of
maintenance and repairs which can be
ried out by owners. Also, safety and environmental concerns place very strict
l imits on the nature of repairs and
requi re special tools, testing devices
and other equipment available to
trained workshop personnel in order to sure proper performance ,
maintenance , adjustments pairs can impair the operation and of your
operational safety can be versely affecte d, creating unnecessary risks
for you and your passengers .
in doubt about any servicing , have it done
by your author ized Vol kswagen dealer or
any other properly equipped and qualified
workshop.
Always heed WARNINGS on next
page.

However, we urge you to give your
parts and trained to your running
pages describe a ber of procedures which can be performed
on your with ordinary
Before performing any of these
procedures,
the
instructions given.
serve the provided.
If you change the engine seNings , this
Serious
The engine compartment of any motor
Do not attempt any of the
maintenance , checks or repairs described on the
you must work underneath the vehicle without safety stands but with the on the ground,
ground, that the are
commonly accepted safety practices and general common sense. Never risk personal injury.

ver on left under dashboard. Hood springs
up slightly under spring pressure.
Note Before
opening the engine hood, make sure that the windshield wipers are folded flat against the windshield.
hook the safe ty catch by pushing down. Raise
the hood completely , take the suppor t
rod out of its retainer and insert it into the
hole provided in the hood reinforcement
( see illustration) .
To close, lift the engine hood slig htly and
u nhook the support rod. the rod into its
retainer on the front cross panel. Let the
hood

For safety reasons , make
sure the engine hood is
the engine hood , check it to make sure the safety catch has engaged. The hood be with the surrounding body parts .
125

Engine oil dipstick . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coo lant exp ansion tank ......... 133
4
P ow er stee rin g r eservoi r ...... .. 132
5
Brake r eservo ir ... ......... 136
6
W indshi eld was he r con ta ine r .... 14 3
7
B attery (protected by a co ve r) . .. 13 8
8
Not appl ic a ble
Always exercise extreme caution when working under the engine hood.
126
Switch off engine-remove ignition key.
Always let the engine cool down. Hot components
Never fluids on hot engine
components. These fluids can cause
a fire.
work on the fuel system or the
e lectrical system is necessary:
- Always
disconnect the battery .
- Never smoke
or work near heaters or open flames.
-
Always keep an approved fire extinguisher immediately available.
Be

hair or
components of the high
make sure th at they are poured into the proper con­
tainer or
systems

you need to add ch anges use any high qual ity petroleum- or synthetic- based
or in co mbination with othe r
designations:
Service or
Ser v ice
Th e proper grade to be use d in ou r
eng ine depend s on existing climat ic or
--
-
-
-
A = Energy conserving
8 = Mult i-grade
=
Refer to t he tempe ra tu re chart when in g engine grades brie f variations
i n outs ide temp eratures are no cause for
is permissible to mix of
usin g avo id
h!gh-speed d riving if out-temperature above the indi-
cated limits.
E ng ine ad ditives
Volkswage n does not recommend th e use of additives. They may adverse ly affect your warranty.

B31-113C
Engine oil iden tifica tion symbol
symbol
( A). The starburst symbol indicates that the
oil has been certifjed by the American Petro­
leum
Another oil identificatio n symbo l (B ) could be added to th e oil con taine r to help you se­
lect the correct oil.
1 The top portion indicate s the oil q uality
by designations.
2
The center portion sh ows the oil
viscosity grade.
3
The lowe r portion indica tes that the oil
has fuel saving capabili ties. No
te
is normal for your engine to consume oil.
The rate of the oil consumption depends on
the quality
and viscosity of oil, the speed at
which the engine operated, the climate, road
conditio ns
as well as amount of dilution an d
oxidatio n of the lubricant.
Beca u
se of these variables, no standard
rate of oil consumption can be established ,
but drivers should expect an increased oil
consum ption at high speeds and when the
engine is
new.
The engine in your vehicle depends
on oil to lubricate and cool all of its ing parts. Therefore the engine oil should be checked regularly and kept at the required level.
Make it a habit to have the engine oil lev el checked with every fuel filling.
Lack of sufficient engine oil may lead
to severe engine damage .
The oil pressure warning