Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i Car Mechanics

Martyn Knowles, Editor Email martyn.knowles@kelsey.co.uk Follow us on Facebook @ Car Mechanics Order back issues here: shop.kelsey.co.uk/single-issue/car-mechanics-magazine The London Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) is now over a month in operation. It covers a vast area nearly out to the M25 in all directions from the city centre. We were told that just 10% of the cars checked prior to ULEZ going ‘live’ weren’t compliant (Euro 4 petrol and Euro 6 diesel are OK) so all is well for most of us. Wrong! That info didn’t consider vans – or those living outside the zone that need to come in daily (or for other reasons). To back that up, the amount of ULEZ cameras that Transport for London (TfL) have erected is unbelievable. Nearly 3000 I predict will be operational.…

►Celebrating excellence in the independent garage sector, the BIG Awards 2023, hosted by the Independent Garage Association (IGA), was once again a huge success. This year's award winners took home a share of a £50,000 prize pot, with each award winner receiving a £1000 cash prize from the IGA. Spanning 18 diverse categories, the BIG Awards have recognised champions from all areas of the independent sector, highlighting the dedication, innovation and sheer hard work displayed by businesses and individuals who play a vital role in keeping the UK’s motorists mobile. As well as the award winners everyone in attendance at the event was entered into a draw to win a £10,000 Opus DrivePRO Elite Bundle, with the winner being drawn on the night. The winners and highly commended for this…

► I had a message the other day from the guy who bought that Saab convertible a few months back. He wasn’t complaining about the car but was, apparently, having a problem obtaining the V5C from Swansea. I’d followed the normal trade procedure of notifying ‘sale out of the motor trade’ online, and this should result in a new document, in the new owner’s name, being issued pretty-much immediately. Nine weeks down the line however, no document had dropped through the new owner’s letterbox. So, he tried applying for one himself, using the tear-off V5C/2 slip which, as I’m supposed to, I’d handed over when the car was sold. No dice – DVLA wrote back to say that it was ‘invalid’ because longer valid – the new one had superseded…

VAUXHALL CORSA Intermittent non-start Q This is my third year reading the magazine but first time asking for advice. My wife’s 2009 Corsa 1.2 is having an intermittent non-starting issue. There are two distinct scenarios that happen. Firstly, the whole car goes dead; no central locking, no dash, no internal lights, just a few clicks from relays in the engine bay when turning the key and literally nothing else. After disconnecting the battery negative terminal for half an hour and reconnecting everything seems to go back to normal without the issue. Second scenario is that everything appears to function normally, and the car turns over but just won’t start. This usually resolves itself after leaving the car for an hour or so. No amount of unplugging battery terminals seems to…

Special Contributor PT Cruiser update Good grief – where does the time go? There I was putting together this latest thrilling instalment about the Stanbury fleet, sure that the trials and tribulations of the PT Cruiser’s recent MOT would make interesting reading, when I decided to check my last Our Cars contribution. Ah! That too covered the PT’s MOT test. Blimey! Yes, I know – along with too young by half policemen, receding hairlines, and scary nose hair – moaning about time going by too fast is a sure-fire sign of getting ancient. Guilty as charged. But the big problem is that as you, ahem, mature, already old friends and relatives become really ancient and, often, a bit fragile. Sometimes several start falling apart at the same time and require…

“They don’t make them like they used to” is an oft-quoted phrase, but is that really a bad thing? As I’ve mentioned before in this column I’m currently undertaking a couple of classic car restoration projects, both of which are being featured in other Kelsey Media magazines. In fact, my 1955 MG Magnette’s appearances in MG Enthusiast started with the October issue. The other project, a 1965 Morris Minor Traveller is, I’m told, going to be running in Classics World magazine – formerly known as Classics Monthly – starting early next year. Work on both cars is now well advanced. The Minor is now, I’d estimate, roughly three-quarters finished. It wasn’t bad when bought; it was basically an older restoration from 15-20 years ago, and though still sound, it did…

Follow Steve on Twitter: www.twitter. com/cmtips MERCEDES-BENZ SLK Parking brake bother ►The parking brake on this 2011 Mercedes SLK 2.1 CDi was feeling a little sticky, and releasing the handbrake left the cable feeling a little slack. The concern at first was that if the rear cables were sticking, or any part of the handbrake mechanism was sticking, then the rear brakes may be making contact allowing them to heat up and wear prematurely, as well as causing a drag on the motor that would cause the fuel consumption to rise. Inspecting the handbrake mechanism below the rear seat I was relieved to see that this was the problem area. The job time to replace the cable on this vehicle is 4.1 hours, and this is not a fun job.…

► There’s a seemingly never-ending assortment of tools and equipment that can improve working on a vehicle, but if you buy everything that looks interesting, you will inevitably fill your garage or workshop to the point where there will be no space inside to be able to do anything. So, we’ve picked out some of the top tools and equipment we think you need and explained why. Plus, we’ve found some of the latest products, such as battery-operated heated jackets, ultra-powerful jump-starters, easy-to-use dollies and bright worklights. We can’t cover every product out there, but we’ve tried to outline the interesting ones. We’ve also looked at some of the more obvious tools and equipment, such as workbenches, shelving, power tools, trolley jacks and axle stands. This is where we’ve found…

Introduced in 2006 and available until 2013, Volvo’s secondgeneration C70 was a significant step up from its predecessor, despite having essentially a Ford Focus platform – something which says a lot about the latter’s design and quality. The C70 was pitched against premium rivals from Audi, BMW and Lexus, and unlike its predecessor, was available only as a convertible. But having said that, when it’s up, the complex but ingenious folding steel roof makes the car every bit as refined and weatherproof as a fixedhead coupe. Then throw into the mix pleasing looks with the roof up or down, and genuine room for four, and you really do have the best of both worlds! As our picture-sequence shows, servicing is also generally straightforward and conventional, though we would recommend two-yearly…

► Martyn the Editor forwarded a reader’s email to me the other day. It read as follows: “Secondhand car prices and condition classes. What are the CAP categories (eg. CAP Clean, etc.) and how do these relate to private sale prices, dealer trade-in prices, the car buying service offered by the likes of webuyanycar, etc? For example, if a dealer trade-in car goes to auction does the dealer generally expect to break-even, gain or lose money on the trade-in car and is this built into the car they sold to the punter who owned the trade-in vehicle? Are auction prices lower than private sales.” I’ll start with the easy bit. CAP is a trade price guide along the lines of Glass’s Guide, though it was a bit easier to obtain.…

GENERAL Tyre dates Q I Could you please advise why cannot find a date of manufacture on two of my tyres? One is a Dunlop Sport SP, the other is a Michelin Pilot HX. These tyres were on the rear of my Mondeo when I purchased it last year. I want to replace these tyres with a matching pair (fronts are Bridgestone) but would like to find their age. There are numbers on the tyres in question but not in the usual format of week and year. Can you advise please? I tried to take photos but could not make out the numbers, please find below the numbers I have been able to read. Michelin Pilot HX 026507, Dunlop SP SPORT 0225892, Bridgestone Turanza ER30 54807 (this number on both…

Is the Motor Trade getting too clean? ► I’m sitting here now as I type this from the veranda of a stunning Villa just a few hundred feet from the North Atlantic Ocean in an extremely quiet part of Lanzarote. It’s just gone ten in the morning and already the temperature is nudging 30°C. We both love these islands, and we try to visit here or nearby Fuerteventura once a year where my aching bones become manageable from the vitamin D you get from the sunshine. But it’s missing something. Like the UK, the Spanish mainland and islands have really tightened things up when it comes to motoring. Their MOT equivalent which is called ‘ITV’ has really driven all the old wrecks that you’d once regularly see clattering around the…

Follow Rob on Twitter: #CarTechJourno One cannot deny that modern car technology is quite awesome. Once considered technically impossible space-age luxuries, split-zone airconditioned climate control, anti-pinch electric windows, self-operating lights and wipers are now widespread on even very basic models. Additionally, safety systems, which encompass airbags, Anti-lock Brakes and Electronic Stability Control, through to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, are ever watchful and ready to be deployed, should something go wrong. Even so, most motorists do not consider the sophistication that goes on behind the scenes. While more recent technologies, such as emergency braking, lane keeping/steering assist and automatic parking involve multiple sensors and Electronic Control Units (ECUs), even basic functions rely on data transfer from ECU to ECU. Just starting an engine on a modern car demands that all ECUs…

GENERAL Autel diagnostic scanner Q I want to buy an Autel diagnostic machine here in England, but I am having trouble finding somewhere. Can you give me any suggestions as to where I can go to purchase one? Frank Dudley A The Autel diagnostic units are readily available from quite a few locations, and Autel list a total of 913 outlets in the UK where you may purchase the equipment. If you use this website https://bit.ly/CMlhFDE and enter your post code, it will give you the closest outlets in your area. FORD FIESTA EGR fault Q My mum has a 2006 Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi with around 144,000 miles on it with an EGR valve related fault. Several weeks ago, the engine management light came on and I think the…

Be honest, most of us don’t give registration numbers much of a thought, probably only jogging our memory when insuring our vehicles or when tapping in the jumble of letters and numbers to pay for overpriced car park charges and the like. The first UK registration was issued back in 1903, appropriately starting with ‘A1’ in London where the first recipient was a certain Mr Earl Russell who queued up all night outside his council’s offices to acquire this legendary numberplate which now it’s believed to be affixed to a BMW MINI! Now known as dateless numberplates, the format was initially two letters signifying the registration council area and a selection of numbers which ran from one to four. However, by 1932 this format was soon exhausted, so the Department…