VW Golf Vacuum Line

John T Carroll · 29-11-2015 8:28pm #1

I feel I must flag this as a safety concern. An acquaintance called yesterday with a 2000 1.4 petrol Golf which was idling at around 850 RPM and was idling erratically when pressing the brake pedal. These models all idle at 750 RPM normally. To make a long story short, I discovered a 15 MM crack in a plastic transition piece between where the vacuum line from the throttle body is taken from and the Brake servo, this line, some of which is rubber also contains a NRV which on these models has a take off for the EGR and also a capped nipple for presumably taking a vacuum reading, I did a temporary repair for him with the strict proviso that he gets a replacement piece of pipework on Monday. In extreme cases this cracked pipe just may cause the engine to stall with resultant complete loss of the brake servo assistance, hence my concern. This problem be be well known in the trade but I havnt come across it on my own familys 2000 VW or heard any of my friends mentioning it before. This plasic pipework is extensively used by VW so perhaps the damage to that particular Golf was "mechanically" caused but I dont think so as its on a bend in the pipe. Apoligies for quality of photo, thats just a "scribes" inserted in the cracked portion.

The Sidewards Man · 30-11-2015 1:08am

Is your camera from 2000 also?

mickdw · 30-11-2015 1:12am

Had something similar on an old audi 80 years ago.
Poor Idle for a few days and didn't check it.
One morning I hit off for work and found it pretty much impossible to stop the car at first junction. It had split and I had no vacuum.

John T Carroll · 30-11-2015 8:42am

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Is your camera from 2000 also?

Almost, and that superb double ended Sheffield scriber was made in 1960.

John T Carroll · 30-11-2015 9:17am

mickdw wrote: »

Had something similar on an old audi 80 years ago.
Poor Idle for a few days and didn't check it.
One morning I hit off for work and found it pretty much impossible to stop the car at first junction. It had split and I had no vacuum.

Braking Systems are so reliable these days that one can get caught unawares when something goes wrong as it takes a very heavy foot to get any decent form of unservoed braking. I only got caught out once, in a carburettor car, but I immediately pulled up the "parking brake" handle which gave an extra little help in stopping. I think its called the emergency brake in the USA.

crosstownk · 30-11-2015 10:49am

I remember this from my VW days. It was quite common. So common that VW issued a recall on quite a few models.

http://www.warrantyguide.co.uk/vehicle-recall-46D3A99C482F0DAA00256CB10055C8C0-vw-golf-and-bora-recall

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/expand.asp?uniqueID=6F8E10C97F99D2C380256BB900269561&freeText=Blank&tx=

It might be worth talking to a dealer despite the age of the car. It's worth a telephone call to ask if there are any recalls outstanding on the car.

my3cents · 30-11-2015 11:00am

He did quite well for it to last that long, its afaik a common issue. The pipe just becomes brittle and cracks.

Before it actually snaps off you normally notice that you have no vacuum left for the brakes when the engine is turned off. With a good pipe the vacuum is held for a while so you don't loose all vacuum assistance for the brakes as soon as you stop the engine.

John T Carroll · 30-11-2015 11:12am

my3cents wrote: »

He did quite well for it to last that long, its afaik a common issue. The pipe just becomes brittle and cracks.

Before it actually snaps off you normally notice that you have no vacuum left for the brakes when the engine is turned off. With a good pipe the vacuum is held for a while so you don't loose all vacuum assistance for the brakes as soon as you stop the engine.

There is a NRV also in that line which I have renewed as it sticks open and gives the same symptoms as you have described above, I think someone told me one time that it can have an affect on driveability as well, it certainly didn't affect mine but VWs of this era and later use a MAP sensor to measure air flow so maybe that's why.

John T Carroll · 30-11-2015 7:30pm

crosstownk wrote: »

I remember this from my VW days. It was quite common. So common that VW issued a recall on quite a few models.

http://www.warrantyguide.co.uk/vehicle-recall-46D3A99C482F0DAA00256CB10055C8C0-vw-golf-and-bora-recall

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/expand.asp?uniqueID=6F8E10C97F99D2C380256BB900269561&freeText=Blank&tx=

It might be worth talking to a dealer despite the age of the car. It's worth a telephone call to ask if there are any recalls outstanding on the car.

The second link above is a UK recall but as there is also a March 2005 Polo in the family it might certainly be worth a call to VW, these Polos have large lengths of that plastic piping, also on the whole crankcase breathing system. One would think though that a recall would mean just that, are the dealers supposed/obliged to contact the owners or is it a general news/newspaper recall?.

John T Carroll · 01-12-2015 11:18am

crosstownk wrote: »

I remember this from my VW days. It was quite common. So common that VW issued a recall on quite a few models.

http://www.warrantyguide.co.uk/vehicle-recall-46D3A99C482F0DAA00256CB10055C8C0-vw-golf-and-bora-recall

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/expand.asp?uniqueID=6F8E10C97F99D2C380256BB900269561&freeText=Blank&tx=

It might be worth talking to a dealer despite the age of the car. It's worth a telephone call to ask if there are any recalls outstanding on the car.

Did as you suggested and was told that there had been no recalls on either the 00 Bora or the 05 Polo based on the Vin (Numbers) that I gave them.

crosstownk · 01-12-2015 3:10pm

John T Carroll wrote: »

The second link above is a UK recall but as there is also a March 2005 Polo in the family it might certainly be worth a call to VW, these Polos have large lengths of that plastic piping, also on the whole crankcase breathing system. One would think though that a recall would mean just that, are the dealers supposed/obliged to contact the owners or is it a general news/newspaper recall?.

It depends on the recall. Some are simply workshop campaigns meaning that the modification/replacement part is fitted as and when the vehicle arrives in the workshop for routine maintenance or repairs. All dealers (for all brands) will generally check for outstanding recalls once they have the registration number/VIN when the job is booked in.

A safety recall is a different matter. This involves contacting the last known owner to advise them that the recall needs to be carried out ASAP. Despite repeated notifications, you'd be surprised at how many owners chose to ignore the request!

You could always approach the dealer and ask them request authorisation from VW to replace the pipe under warranty based on the fact that there were recalls on similar vehicles but they may argue that as your vehicle is outside the VIN range that you already have the modified part fitted from original build. It's worth a shot and will cost you nothing to be told 'no'.

02-12-2015 3:43am

mickdw wrote: »

Had something similar on an old audi 80 years ago.
Poor Idle for a few days and didn't check it.
One morning I hit off for work and found it pretty much impossible to stop the car at first junction. It had split and I had no vacuum.

The fathers passat was the same, no vacuum assist on the brakes.
It was like that for years , never got it fixed.
It passed 3 ncts with no problems

VW Golf Vacuum Line

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