My wife and I drove our VW's cross country in August from San Diego to
Sumter, SC then onto Troy, NY.  With 115F degree temps in Arizona climbing
to Flagstaff, AZ our '98 Jetta TDI lost all power (electrical) and fried
it's turn-signal switch and relay.  However our '84 Westfalia made the
whole 4000+ mile trip with problems other than starting a little bit hard
in Flagstaff due to the higher altitude.  So my advice:
   Have the vehicle checked over by a competent VW mechanic and just DRIVE
IT!!!!

 Jason Yasment
'84 Vanagon Westfalia
'98 Jetta TDi
hmmm engine swap......wife would kill me