Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2023 i Car Mechanics

Email martyn.knowles@kelsey.co.uk Follow us on Facebook @ Car Mechanics This issue marks the 65th anniversary of Car Mechanics magazine – April 1958 being the first issue published. We have a little nostalgia piece, as Alan Anderson asks if there really was a golden age of motoring. Read his thoughts on pages 78-80. My first CM reading experience was back in the early 80s, probably 1982 as that is when my first car arrived – a 1.1-litre Ford Escort Popular with drum brakes all-round. It was terrible at stopping but it mostly drove OK. It was a car I could finally tinker with at the weekends, though after a year of driving, I found that the passenger carpet was getting wet after rainfall. On further investigation the floorpan was rotting –…

Peter is persuaded to have his family Kia Sorento remapped, and so far, the results seem pretty good. I’ve just had our Kia Sorento serviced. The work was done by an old friend of mine, Peterborough-based Craig Dawson. Craig trades as Dawson Motors, and they share premises with a ‘remapping’ specialist called, appropriately enough, Maps and Mods (Tel: 0333 772 1196). Anyway, while we were there, proprietor Jamie offered to remap the Sorento FOC, so I could see the benefits for myself. I had of course heard of remapping, but it wasn’t something I’d really thought about because I understood it to be all about boosting performance and I’m not really interested in that sort of thing. I am, though, very interested indeed in anything that can save money, and…

So perhaps I am a bit of an old fuddy duddy, but my personal preference for wheels and tyres, is that the rim is small, and the tyre has a nice large profile. This gives a softer and more comfortable ride and gives less opportunity to ruin a nice set of alloys by bumping them against the kerb when parking. I know that not all drivers are of my mindset though and like the low-profile tyres to give a good firm ride with increased road-holding when cornering. The owner of this Mercedes SLS AMG learnt the hard way that not all wheels are created equal, and the very low-profile tyres on the 295/30 x 20 rims, meant that when one tyre got a puncture the wheel had little to protect…

►The owner of this 2012 VW Golf 1.6 TDI had heard a noise that was giving her concerns. After booking in the motor for me to have a look at, the noise disappeared, and the engine management light flickered up on the dash. This, of course, was going to make my job much easier as I now had a fault code to read off which would hopefully be connected to the problem. Reading off the codes I found P160C which was indicating an open circuit in the coolant pump motor. This Golf has a second coolant pump which is electrically-operated and is used to keep the coolant flowing after the engine has been turned off, to prevent a hot spot occurring. It turned out that this pump, which had now…

Talking of the 1980s, one of the guys I worked with back then was a retired former Editor of Motor Trader magazine. Bryan had been retained by the firm as an editorial consultant and having been in ‘the industry’ since 1945, there wasn’t much that he hadn’t seen. Anyway, one of the first things that he taught me, after I had described a BL dealership as a “main agent” was that agents and dealers were not one and the same, and franchised dealers should always be described as main dealers. “Under this arrangement, buyers will order their new car online, including choosing things like specification and colour.“ The difference, as Bryan explained it to me, was that agents do not own the goods that they sell; they sell it on…

GENERAL Battery booster pack Q In my household we have my 2014 Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI, plus two Citigo’s (a 2012 and a 2013, both 1-litre MPi) plus a 2011 Skoda Fabia 1.6 TDI. Can you recommend a battery booster/ engine starter device that would start these engines if any have a battery failure? Your advice is much appreciated. Andy Scholey A I would certainly recommend using one of the newer smaller lithium packs as these are far more convenient to carry and use. Most do also include the safety features that prevent the polarity being incorrectly reversed. They also often come with a USB port meaning they can be used to power up a dead phone or other accessory. The power of the unit will be dictated by the…

Special Contributor Battery & brakes To ‘brake’ the BMW monotony of my recent articles, let me introduce you to Mrs R’s car. A 2015 Ford Kuga 1.5i Titanium X 4x4. This has a busy little 1500cc four-cylinder EcoBoost engine which, with the help of turbo, manages to push out over 180 horses. I’d much prefer a Ford engine of that power output to have a couple more cylinders and be arranged in a Vform, but that’s progress for you, apparently. Being a top-spec model, it does have lots of toys; keyless-entry with a kickoperated power tailgate; a panoramic powered roof; heated front seats and a self-parking option that spins the steering wheel all by itself (which is really unnerving the first time you operate it). The car inserts itself in…

►Some tools have been sitting in my toolbox for many years, and some of these only come out occasionally, but when they are needed, they serve a good purpose. One of my favourite old tools is a pair of pliers which I cut a slot in over thirty years ago, and although getting rather worn now and a bit sloppy in action they still perform the task they were adapted for of removing and refitting the securing cup on brake shoes. Gripping the cup perfectly in the added slot, has prevented the need for me to use any other of the purpose-built tools which have been made for this job. When recently renewing the rear brake shoes on this 2006 Skoda Fabia, they performed as efficiently as they did over…

Changing the fob battery is something that should be done routinely but, in most cases, only gets done when the battery goes flat, and the remote central locking no longer works. On most vehicle fobs, the small flat battery is a CR 2025 (or similar). The batteries are readily available from many different sources, and in most cases, they are easily replaced. I will admit that replacing the fob battery is not something I routinely do on a service, as most customers don't appreciate the extra cost, and the batteries do normally last around five years or longer without issue. The owner of this 2016 Nissan Juke 1.5 dCi with keyless-entry had phoned to ask what the problem with the central locking may be, as it wasn’t responding to the…

So, here’s another group test which we just managed to complete before most water authorities in the UK put a hosepipe ban in place (last year) which obviously put paid to using a pressure washer. This is where a Worx Hydroshot or a Bosch Fontus come into their own as those gadgets don’t require a direct water supply to operate and both come highly recommended. The former in particular can suck its water supply from a bucket. Shampoos are a pretty important product when it comes to car care and make your contact wash both a pleasurable and effective process. They get rid of road salt and grime and used correctly can not only clean your car but give the bodywork real gloss. Trouble is there are some shockingly bad…

FORD FOCUS Engine management light Q I have a new fault with my 2019 Ford Focus 1.0 EcoBoost. The engine management light has started coming on. It did it a couple of weeks ago and I reset it with my Foxwell. It’s returned. So, this time I’ve taken photos of the fault code (same as before) and also some live data showing faults, in case this helps. Any ideas what may be wrong before I start replacing anything? Dave Carabine A The code you have of P2096, post-catalytic converter fuel trim (FT), bank 1 - too lean is indicating that the 02 sensor after the cat is reading a weak mixture. This could be due to a catalytic convertor problem, a sensor problem, or due to a leak in the…

Special Contributor How not to buy a car Inspired by CM’s Mercedes SLK project and having recently donated my 2006 1.2 Skoda Fabia to my dad, the need to fill that empty space on the driveway was all too tantalising. I knew the replacement would have to fulfil some criteria – it must be petrol, have more than four cylinders, over 250 stallions on standby, port injection (over direct injection which has a tendency to coke up the intake), no turbos to fail or EGR to clog up, rear-wheel-drive, be easy on the eye and able to squeeze in the garage. Oh, and be less than £5000. I then stumbled across the E87 BMW 1-series – the hatchback version with five doors. Did you know a small number of these…

CONTACT US CAR MACHINES www.kelsey.co.uk Car Mechanics, Kelsey Media, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL. Email: cm.ed@kelsey.co.uk Car Mechanics is published 12 times a year, on the 3rd Friday of each month, by Kelsey Publishing Ltd. EDITORIAL Editor Martyn Knowles email martyn.knowles@kelsey.co.uk Technical Editor Steve Rothwell email cm.questions@kelsey.co.uk CONTRIBUTORS Alan Anderson Ian Cushway Andrew Everett Richard Gunn Rob Hawkins Mike Humble Rob Marshall Chris Randall Andrew Rolland Peter Simpson James Stanbury ADVERTISING SALES & PRODUCTION Talk Media Sales Account Manager Natalie Excell Tel: 01732 445674 email natalie.excell@talkmediasales.co.uk Production and Design Manager Neil Hepden email neil@tandemmedia.co.uk Tel: 01233 220245 SUBSCRIPTIONS 12 issues of CAR MECHANICS are published per annum UK subscription and back issue orderline 0845 241 5159 Overseas subscription orderline 0044 (0) 1959 543747 Toll free…

Mechanics warned of the life-threatening dangers of working under vehicles ►The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warn of the dangers of working under vehicles without proper equipment. Figures recorded by HSE in the five years up to March 2022 show that 13 workers in the motor vehicle repair industry were killed when work took place under a vehicle that wasn’t properly supported. Since April 2022, HSE has become aware of another four cases of workers being crushed to death by an incorrectly supported vehicle. Leslie House, 61, was working outside his home in Dorset in May 2020 when he was crushed to death by the Land Rover Freelander he was underneath, which had rolled off the wooden blocks Les used to prop it up. Les was a self-employed agricultural engineer,…

The owner of this 2009 Vauxhall Astra CDTi 1.7 diesel had not heeded the temperature warning, allowing it to get extremely overheated. When the engine had cooled down and the Vauxhall had been trailered to the workshop, the first test was to run it up and see what occurred. This test didn’t take too long to carry out, and with the coolant pressure cap removed, the coolant was being pushed straight out of the system. This was a clear sign that the head gasket had failed, and an indicator that the head needed to come off. This job is given a labour time of 5.6 hours, but doesn’t account for the time spent cleaning things up. Once the cylinder-head was off, the area of the breach in the gasket could…

►I will never give advice on the condition of a timing belt from looking at it – that is to say I will never say that a belt is good after looking at it, but I can advise when it is in need of changing desperately. This 2010 Ford Focus 1.6 Ti-VCT had been owned by the present owner for just over 18 months, and they had no idea if the belt had been changed and so asked me to look at it. I made it quite clear that I would look but could not give any guarantee as to the condition of the belt, but merely advise on if it looked original or not. Once the covers were off, I was pleased to see that the matter was not…

Something I wasn’t expecting happened the other day. For the first time since British Car Auctions went over 100% to online sales I found significant undisclosed damage on a vehicle that I had bought and had to make a claim. The good news, though, is that the claim process was straightforward and within 48 hours a fair and reasonable settlement had been agreed. It’s also quite easy to keep track online of where a particular claim is. To be fair, the matter was clear-cut, pretty-much impossible to dispute and, I suspect, a simple case of human error. I bought a Saab 9-3 Vector convertible – one owner from new, nice history and, best of all, a Grade 2 rating. That is pretty unusual on a 13-year-old car, but with low…

THANKS GO TO Hargreaves Garage 01274 569262 hargreavesgarage.co.uk Manufactured between 2007 and 2018, the third generation of the American Jeep Wrangler is a purposeful off-roader with front and rear live axles, each controlled by leading or trailing upper and lower links, a Panhard rod, anti-roll bar, coil springs and telescopic dampers. The vehicle we’re servicing is owned by independent Jeep specialist Hargreaves Garage of Keighley in West Yorkshire. It’s powered by a 3800cc V6 petrol engine and mated to an automatic gearbox. Proprietor Phil Boocock has owned the vehicle since 2013 and uses it both on and off-road, so he has not only kept up with servicing and rustproofing, but has also added a few upgrades, including adjustable telescopic dampers at all four corners, ARB front and rear diffs and…

Modern cars are great, aren’t they? Safe, secure, generally fuel efficient and above all – intelligent. Oh, I’ll make no bones about the fact I adore the more retro machinery of yesteryear – give me a 16v Mk3 Cavalier or a Sierra Sapphire any day. A modern car ticks every box for those looking for a reliable means of transport. Many still mourn the passing of truly basic tin box cars like the Citroën 2CV, Fiat 126 or (proper) Mini – but I don’t. Some past glories are to this day pretty to look at, like a nice late 1275cc Mini Cooper or the 2CV. In the case of the Citroën, I adore its utterly unique styling as most of their output up until the early 90s. Though to drive…