Volkswagen Repair: motor mounts, brake light switch, muffler shop

Question
Hi John, .(1999 gti 4 cyl man vin wvwdc31jxxw444138)       I had been told by the guy at the muffler shop that I have a broken motor mount. I followed the procedure for checking the mounts found in my Haynes repair book. It said to take the weight off the engine mounts & then check the mounts to see if the rubber is seperated from the metal or rubber is cracked. It said to pry to see if the mount is loose & tighten if so. I did remove the lower trans mount & found a very small crack on the inside of the ball shaped rubber mount. I am going to replace this, but not sure if this is the issue. I do suspect that I possibly have a mount issue because I have been noticing & feeling movement when I accelerate & car has over 180,000 miles on it. My question is how do you check motor mounts & how much play is acceptable? I took out the driver side mount & inspected it. There are no cracks in the rubber but I can move the part that attaches to the motor side to side with hardly any effort.
Thanks

Answer
Campaign/Action Information 04-12-2007 15:34:35  EST  


Vehicle Data
Make: V  VIN: WVWDC31JXXW444138  Country Code: USA  
Model Year: 1999  Description: Golf GTI USAExclu 85  Region: 444  
Sales Model: 1J16M4  Engine Code: AEG  Dealer Number: 08207  
Transmission Code: DZQ  Exterior Color: A1  Interior Color: VW  
In-Service Date: 03-27-1999  Production Date: 12-16-1998  Vehicle Status:  


Open Campaigns/Actions
Campaign/Action Description
N4 BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH

  Detailed Campaign History  

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Checking motor mounts on a automatic trans is easy. Just step on the brake and step on the gas. The motor will swing and a second person can see what mount has the most play. Hold the brake and set the parking brake and step on the gas repeatedly. This will give the second person a chance over and over again to see which mount is messed up. On your vin you have three mounts. one on the trans driver side under the air filter houseing and one on the driver side under the coolant bottle. The third under the car a dog bone mount connected to the trans and the subframe. If they are cracked or the motor swings more one way then most likely the mount is bad. Some play is ok but to much is way to much. If you can feel the engine jump when you go over a speed bump then that mount is way past its prime and should have been changed long ago. There is a open recall for your car please see the dealer and get the brake switch replaced before your car gets stuck in park.
Sorry the vin # you gave me says that you have a Fdf trans code a 4 speed automatic. VW site may be wrong. If you have a new body style gti the brake switch should still should be replaced the brake lights some times stay on. If this is a 93-99 gti golf jetta model then please disregard Thanks for the nice comments.