new member.golf problems

[cwmtaboy]

please help! golftdi se 130 estate 51 reg 82000 miles fsh.
i have play in my steering which is gradually getting worse. steering wheel is slightly out of line when driving straight. if i take it out of gear and free wheel i can feel wobbling under my seat but it goes if i start to accelerate there is also a slight knocking coming from the front passenger side wheel on uneven surfaces, do i need a new rack? also my refuel warning light stays on when tank is full. lastly my rear wiper motor starts making a noise when i start the car but wiper doesn,t move noise goes after a few secs, but if i want to use the wiper while driving there is no movement or noise atall from the motor

[Eugheugh]

Hi there
I have had the very same problem with my rear wash wipe as you and as a result have just stripped down the unit to inspect it. The copper pipe joining the water feed to the jet head on the end of the wiper shaft has broken in half (a common problem, apparently) and water got inside the unit corroding the electrical contact tracks on the back of the toothed plastic wheel that is energized by the wiper motor. In addition water had rusted the shafts causing the internal toothed wheel to sieze. With everything cleaned up with degreaser (there was lots of rusty water inside the unit), I set about 'bodging' the job using an o ring to form a seal between the broken pipe and the rotating part of the shaft. After dressing rust off from the shafts with sand paper I placed an 'o-ring' bought from a bicycle shop over the broken end of the copper pipe, then placed the copper pipe partly into the wiper shaft and then carefully kneeded the o-ring into the shaft. With the cover plate back in place and with the screws tightenedall that was left to do was fit the unit back onto the car. To my amazement the 'bodge' is holding fast - it effectively prevents water pumped to the rear washers from backing up into the mechanism saving me money on a replacment tjhough a mate of mine got a complete secondhand wiper motor/actuator unit from a breakers for £20 last month as his Passat had suffered the same fate.:D
On another note shortly after buyingf the car the rear micro switch button for the tailgate packed up (leaving me with a permanently opened tailgate as water had completely corroded the electrical contacts that go to the catch-replacement of the catch was the only answer at around £18 I think, though I had to solder the wires directly to the contacts on the catch as the plug contacts had also corroded.
In spite of these setbacks I love my Passat Sport TDI dearly. Hope you get the other stuff sorted mate.
P.