Job Vacancy

A Vehicle Technician/mot tester job vacancy has become available to work in our busy successful garage based in the centre of Chatham, Kent. You will be required to work an average 42.5 hours per week offering a salary of between £24,000 and £30,000 per annum depending on your individual skills set and experience. Possibility of working overtime on occasions - Immediate start available – contact Ray Tyler on 01634 405757

Skoda Fabia 2007 1.2 cuts out on idle

The Importance of Basic Checks!

I had a customer whose Skoda Fabia 2007 1.2 cuts out on idle for no reason. Basic checks were carried out which means checking oil levels, coolant levels and electrical component connections as well as visually looking for any obvious signs of split breather hoses.

There appeared to be nothing obviously wrong and without an Engine Management Light on I felt that this might be a hard fault to find and cure.

I decided to plug in with our diagnostic equipment to firstly see if there was any fault codes but also to view the live data that could be read.

There was two fault codes present which were:-

17549 load calculation cross check implausible value P1141 short with ground - intermittent.

16825 EVAP emission control sys incorrect flow P0441 not a plausible signal - intermittent.

I erased the fault codes and waited for the fault to materialize and within half an hour it stalled. 

Because it was idle related it was decided that it would be a good bet to clean out the idle control valve/throttle body.

The engine cover was removed and the throttle body was found to be black and was duly cleaned out, in doing so it was noticed that the vacuum hose from the brake servo was badly split.

A replacement hose was ordered and fitted and now the Skoda is back to idling perfectly.

This only goes to prove the importance of conducting these basic checks thoroughly.

Car Repair Savings Plan

Have you ever felt that it would be a good idea to save up for your car repairs?

A savings plan for your vehicle repairs is now available - 'Car Repair Plan' in association with 'Trust My Garage' is a way of spreading the cost of your vehicle repairs.

We conducted a survey last year and one request from our customers was to have a regular savings plan in place so that those annual bills could be spread.

Follow this link to find out more and sign up......http://www.carrepairplan.co.uk/index.html

Or call in and pick up a leaflet and get your temporary membership card immediately.

You will find us through the archway opposite the exit from Wickes DIY Chatham. ME4 6AD

Turbo Failure

TURBO FAILURE

Turbo failure is quite often due to four main reasons:

1)     Not allowing an engine to warm up fully

2)     Switching off before a turbo has begun to slow down in speed

3)     Lack of oil changes or incorrect oil used.

4)     Low oil level

The most overlooked factor with a Turbo is that when the engine has stopped, so has the oil pressure.

A Turbo spins at around 40,000 Revolutions Per Minute and when the engine has stopped the Turbo continues spinning for a few minutes afterwards. This means that the Turbo is spinning with no oil pressure and is only lubricated by the oil within the housing and inlet hose for this period of time. When the engine is restarted it takes a few seconds for the oil pressure to build up and reach the bearings, this means that a turbo is quite often running with very little lubrication.

Dirty oil can also speed up bearing wear due to contaminates within the oil. These same contaminates can also make the oil run hotter making the lubricants less efficient.

FORTE who are a company who produce treatments and additives of all sorts for the motor industry, have analysed the reasons why a turbo has failed. They found that 20% is due to a lack of lubricant, 30% is due to there being a delay of lubrication to the turbo bearings, 13% through lubricant contamination and a further 12% is from the fact that the lubricant is overheating.

A lack of oil in the engine is also a very common reason and can be a contributing factor towards the lack or delay of lubricant to the bearings and the contaminated or overheating of lubricants being used.

This means that a massive 75% of Turbo failures will be down to driver error in some way.

Why Check Your Oil Level?

How important is it to check your vehicles oil level regularly?

It has always amazed me when a customer rings up to book their car in because the engine management light has come on and when quizzed their cars oil level has not been checked.

The realities of the situation are, when the oil light illuminates, it is too late and you would have certainly caused some damage to your engine.

Even if you car is relatively new it could still use oil, an engine will eventually begin to wear out and use a little oil and if it is never checked when would you ever find out?

So make a point of checking your oil regularly. If your car is new to you, check firstly on a daily basis and after a few days you can then spread these checks out to weekly and if the levels still appear to be always correct you can then spread your checks to monthly.

It is so important to have the correct amount and grade of oil lubricating your engine. The oil in your engine does many things. It not only acts as a lubricant and helps to reduce friction and wear but it also can reduce noise, it helps keep the engine cool, can help to produce more power and clean combustion deposits. All this helps maintain the efficient running of the vehicle.

If the engine management light comes on, this could be due to the lack of oil circulating the engine. The engine could be on the verge of seizing up and will undoubtedly be running hotter. If the engine is running hotter than it could lead to a sensor failure. Many sensors have internal soldered joints that can become weak when exposed to hotter than normal temperatures. Weak joints are in danger of braking which could lead onto other running faults.

In summary check your vehicle’s engine oil regularly.

Tips for you

Diesel Particulate Filter

What you should be aware of....

Some Diesel engines today have been designed to run so efficiently that during an MOT emissions smoke test, the emissions are so low that the smoke tester is unable to give a reading. This is due to the Catalyst and DPF both doing their jobs efficiently.

This is surely a good thing? But what some drivers are finding is that due to some peoples driving habits, there can be a clogging problem with some diesel engines that use a DPF.

To help keep your vehicle's DPF clean, your vehicle should regularly be driven at high revs, (This does not necessarily mean high speed). what this does, is help regenerate your diesel vehicle's DPF and burns off any soot build up within the filter itself.

If your diesel vehicle regularly only does around town driving then before you carry out this regeneration process it would help if you added DPF cleaner to your fuel to help this cleaning process take place.

Watch this Aftermarket News Bulletin that explains all about Diesel Particulate Filters... highlight the link and go to...https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=py1nkHKoXa4

If your driving habits do not include the occasional motorway trip then you need to consider some cleaner and a regeneration.

Call Pentagon Motorist Centre on 01634 405757

Pre-winter Checks

Pre-winter vehicle checks

Matters of Testing, 21 November 2014 — Hot tips

Once the clocks go back, the weather turns colder and there is more and more Christmas items in the shops, thoughts turn increasingly towards the winter ahead.Last winter may have been relatively mild in terms of snow and ice for most areas, but there was still plenty of severe weather to trouble motorists. Whatever the weather you need a well-maintained vehicle, as well as an appropriate driving style, to stay safe on the roads.

Now is the time to give your vehicle a pre-winter check.

£30 fee for a Pre-winter check will be waived if any extra work has to be undertaken.

So don't delay book today on 01634 405757