Is one engine mount more prone to failure than the rest in the 3rd gen?
From what I've read on these forums it seems that the drivers side one fails reasonably often.

Is there a way to tell if it is in poor condition?
And, what is the general km/age expectancy of engine mounts?

Drivers side mount gets the most wear, removing it is the best way to check it. When I removed mine it fell into two separate pieces.

Did it look ok before removing it?
As mine looks fine, but at nearly 200K km and I assume original it may be worn out

Did it look ok before removing it?
As mine looks fine, but at nearly 200K km and I assume original it may be worn out

It didnt look like it was in two pieces thats for sure.

Did it make much of a difference in how the car felt, ie, idle, NVH etc?

I changed mine at 110,000 km. It had clearly seperated into 2 peices as there was a crack in the rubber. I put this down to either the accident I had which would have thrown the motor about or the big sudden jerk you get when using the tiptronic shifter to go back to first with the throttle closed. I try not to do either of these now. After changing it there was very little difference as my rough idle was caused by other issues.

Had mine changed a few months back. Car had 210,000km. Mount was cracked through, could not see from outside. Engine does not vibrate like it used to, sitting at lights in gear.. Much, much improved.

so it appears the only way to check is to pull out and inspect? unless of course there is excess vibration

I honestly never felt the difference but I wasnt thinking about it at the time either.

This is the engine mount that comes out when doing the timing belt isn't it?
As I had my timing belt done recently and there was no mention of it being cracked.

I have a bit of a rough idle, but I notice when I touch the engine at idle it doesn't really vibrate, so it feels like the car/chassis amplifies the vibration, which is why I am thinking maybe it is the engine mount?

This is the engine mount that comes out when doing the timing belt isn't it?
As I had my timing belt done recently and there was no mention of it being cracked.

I have a bit of a rough idle, but I notice when I touch the engine at idle it doesn't really vibrate, so it feels like the car/chassis amplifies the vibration, which is why I am thinking maybe it is the engine mount?

Concur on the driver's side one wearing out first, although the front and rear ones might go just as quickly if your engine has been leaking oil all over them.

In my '99 TH Sports with 185,000KM I never noticed that the driver's one was cracked. Got picked up as part of rego this year.

I just bought a cheap '00 TH Sports with 347,000KM on the clock that had just had the driver's side one flagged as a dud before rego. Got it regoed last week, but replaced the front and back ones today too. They were also cracked, and the rear one had collapsed internally.

They're only $120 on eBay anyway, and not hard to replace yourself. Just need the relevant pages from the factory manual and a good socket set and some good spanners.

From what I understand though adding a new mount does not make much of a difference in idle quality or remove NVH?