VW say I have already damaged my engine?

fred246

I do feel sorry for you. These garages are really taking you for a ride. Forget the brake fluid change. Recent invention to make cash. £299 for a service is a complete joke. An oil & filter change and MOT should cover everything apart from air filter and spark plugs. You could do them both very cheaply with a few tools and a Haynes manual or youtube video. You can often look at a cambelt by removing inspection cover and check for fraying etc. The belt is cheap but it takes a few hours to fit. I just change them on the drive - you get the cheapest quotes from mobile mechanics. You could ask a mobile mechanic to do oil & filter, air filter, spark plugs and cambelt. You need to keep an eye on the tyres and fluid levels yourself.

fred246

Cambelts Approx £50-70
Water pump £20 if required
Oil & filter £30
Spark plugs £10
Air Filter £8
Any other charge is labour.

fred246

DOT4 brake fluid is £3.50 at Wilkos if you want it changed.

marlot

The longlife regime is mainly for rep cars doing constant speed, few starts from cold, long journeys.

OP - What's happened has happened. I recommend saving money on the oil, so using regular oil, and changing it at least annually.

LongLife Regime.
To obtain the most benefit from the LongLife service regime, the car should to be generally driven in a style/condition of use listed below:
• Mainly longer distance journeys
• Limited number of cold starts, engine is kept at operating temperature over a longer period of time.
• Daily mileage above approx. 25 miles.
• Constant speed.
• Vehicle used regularly.
Time/Distance Regime.
It your car is driven in a style if listed below, it may be more appropriate to opt for the Time and Distance regime
• Extremely uneconomical driving style ie continual maximum acceleration ie. ‘foot to floor’.
• Vehicle fully loaded.
• Mainly short journeys.
• Frequent cold starts.
• Frequent hill climbs.
• Frequent towing.
• City centre driving.


(From a Castrol brochure specifically for VW)

AdrianC

welfayre wrote: »

Well firstly brake fluid goes in your brake system which is a sealed system so it's exposure to the atmosphere is pretty limited.

It absolutely ISN'T a sealed system. If it was, then the fluid dropping in use (when you press that pedal, some goes from master reservoir to wheel cylinders/calipers) and as pads/shoes wear would cause a partial vacuum in the reservoir. To avoid that, there's a pressure equalisation hole in the reservoir lid.

For people who drive aggressively on winding roads, fluid replacement every six month to a year is recommended. For people who drive their cars on the race circuit, replacement before each event is recommended."

Because, in those circumstances, the fluid is going to be hotter, so nearer the boiling point - and the consequences of boiling are more severe, because there may be less opportunity to "pump up" and compress the expanding steam in the fluid.

And that gents if the difference between theory and practice. I suggest if you want to be cheeky with comments like "you've never opened a bottle of fluid have you?" you should get out and do more of the practical bits instead of reading wikipedia

Excuse me a minute, but I've really got to get back out to the garage and get on with the full brake rebuild and partial repipe that I've got up on axle stands at the mo... I've only opened three of the drums so far, but all four wheel cylinders have been seized solid through failure to change the fluid, which is like treacle.

Horizon81

welfayre wrote: »

It's just a money making scheme tbh. It never used to be a "must" every 2 years. You used to take a sample and use a brake fluid analyser to see if it was ok. Obviously that didn't make enough money for the dealers.

Indeed. "Technicians" at dealers these days aren't mechanics. They just know how to change things, not fix anything. The master tech at my local dealers told me they never "analyse" brake fluid, they just change it every 2 years as per the service schedule. I suppose why check and test it when you can sell it new and make more money.

As for all this changing the oil every 6 months regardless of miles, it's just BS trotted out by old men like forgetmyname.

Retrogamer

Marktheshark wrote: »

Probably because MSE members usually can only afford high mileage bangers or they would not be on a money saving forum.
All high mileage cars were once low mileage cars so the myth is self perpetuation.
Engines wear out at high miles, this is fact born out by the fact very high mileage cars are far between..
Would I buy a car with 20,000 before I would buy one with 200,000, daft question.
You can have the one with 200,000 on the clock.

The ignorance is blinding.

When a high mileage car is doing long runs on the motorway it's constantly getting up to operating tempreture so it helps keep the insides of the cylinders, EGR valves and lambda sensors as clean as possible.

On a low mileage car, used for short journeys the automatic choke is on most of the time. This causes the engine to over fuel which increases carbon deposits. EGR / Lambda could get sooted / clogged up and the over fueling can cause bore wash and premature engine wear by seeping past the piston rings and contaminating the engine oil

Also...

On a car used for short journeys the clutch and brakes are used more. There are more gear changes. That's more load on the engine mounts, clutch and brake components.

Town and country roads have more sharp turns and pot holes so the suspension and steering components take harsher hits from these roads when generally motorways are much smoother.

Strider590

Retrogamer wrote: »

The ignorance is blinding.

When a high mileage car is doing long runs on the motorway it's constantly getting up to operating tempreture so it helps keep the insides of the cylinders, EGR valves and lambda sensors as clean as possible.

On a low mileage car, used for short journeys the automatic choke is on most of the time. This causes the engine to over fuel which increases carbon deposits.EGR / Lambda could get sooted / clogged up and the over fueling can cause bore wash and premature engine wear by seeping past the piston rings and contaminating the engine oil

Well put, I was getting ready to type that out myself.

This idea that low mileage means less servicing is utterly ridiculous and I don't know if it's false logic, gossip or sales patter (from car salesmen) or a mixture of all three. I suspect it's mostly gossip spread by people who know nothing, but have too much social influence.
Same people no doubt, who bang on about VW Golfs being the most reliable.

lazer

OP - first advice - stay away from VW, go find a local mechanic.


£349 for cam belt isn't even cheap despite it being a deal.


I recently bought a 7 yr old polo (diesel) and took it too a local mechanic to check over and service, replace cambelt etc as the last service on the book was Sept 12. He changed the belt & water pump, the oil, filters, spark plugs and give the car a general health check all for £320

welfayre

AdrianC wrote: »

Excuse me a minute, but I've really got to get back out to the garage and get on with the full brake rebuild and partial repipe that I've got up on axle stands at the mo... I've only opened three of the drums so far, but all four wheel cylinders have been seized solid through failure to change the fluid, which is like treacle.

Is that meant to be impressive? I'd get shafted from the boss if it took me more than 2/3 hours to replace the shoes/cyclinders on drum brakes and make up/fit a pipe. Playing around with an old car in your garage doesn't give you expert practical experience.

chrisw wrote: »

Nonsense. You have misunderstood your own quote. The use doesn't cause the fluid to deteriorate. The amount of water absorbed affects the boiling temperature and therefore the harder the brakes need to be used, the more frequently the fluid has to be changed to maintain the higher boiling point. The braking system is never sealed to the air.

A quick google search brings up many similar explanations, eg

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/pdfs/tech-articles/Brake-Fluid-Explained.pdf

Did you read your own article??


"The laws of thermo-dynamics dictate that the energy from motion is turned into heat through friction. A braking system only works efficiently if the fluid remains incompressible. If thebrake fluid boils, it turns to gas, which is compressible and the braking system becomes “spongy” or in extreme cases fails completely.


It's heat that cause the fluid to change into gas and gas that cause the braking issues. Heat that is generated through use. Heavy use is means you're more likely to reach the fluids boiling point. Yes it absorbs water, which in turn lowers the boiling point but brake fluid doesn't absorb water at a set rate of 2 years = complete uselessness.


According to your logic the Trooper I've had parked up beside the garage for 4 years should have completely useless fluid and the transit that's done 18,000miles since June should be absolutely fine but guess what?? The fluid from the trooper has tested fine and the fluid from the transit is showing amber (replace within next 3 months or next service whichever is sooner).

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Many cars suffer from spongy brakes, a problem which is due to air bubbles in the brake fluid. If the system is totally sealed, how did that air get in?

If you've got air in your brakes you've got a problem with your brakes. A properly maintained brake system won't have leaking pipes or joints or seals etc nor will it allow air to get into the system.


Listen fellas we're not going to agree on this, you guys can come back with your arguments but it's not going to change what I see/deal with on a daily basis. Bottom line is you don't need to change your fluid every 2 years. Yes it needs changed from time to time depending on how you use the vehicle but not every 2 years regardless.

Next time you take your motor to get serviced ask the mechanic to analyse the fluid right in front of you (make sure the calibrate the machine though). I'll bet you all steak dinners that if it needs changed then it won't need changed again 2 years later.