Author Archives: Aaron Harding

Peugeot Boxer Timing Chain Noise

This Peugeot Boxer had a serious engine noise and an engine management light on when it came to us for Service.

Firstly we had to diagnose whether it was from the engine internals or auxiliary items such as air con compressor water pump etc.

Once we had determined it was indeed from the engine we needed to strip down to find out what was causing the noise

After removing the timing chain cover it became pretty obvious what was causing the noise, the chain had stretched so much that the adjuster was fully out and the chain was still loose.

After removing the chain we compared it to the new chain and it was a full link longer, the teeth on the crank gear had become rounded and all the chain guides were starting to break apart (debris in the sump).

When we fitted the timing tool to the engine prior to removing the chain we could see that the stretched chain had allowed the timing of the engine to be out by a full tooth.

With the new timing chain kit fitted to the engine and all debris removed we treated the engine to a new oil filter and some fresh oil and gave the key a turn.

The difference was night and day, the engine ran smooth with no worrying clattering and rattling just ticking over like it should.

A quick code scan with our diagnostic machine tells us that all the fault codes relating to the stretched timing chain have gone.

Time for a good road test, final check and hand back to the customer.

Aarons Autos car service garage.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

Mercedes-Benz A200d with excessive Carbon Build Up In its Engine.

This Mercedes A200d with the 2.1 diesel engine came into us for a Diagnostic Code Read because its EML (Engine Management Light) was on.

The Codes were –

P0401 Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system – insufficient flow detected
P0638 Throttle actuator control (TAC), bank 1 – range/performance problem
P200A Intake manifold air control actuator, bank 1 – performance problem

After checking some of the live data we decided to remove the EGR pipe to have a look inside the intake system, the system was full of carbon build up which was causing blockages.

After speaking to the customer we found that he only uses the car for short journeys and it very rarely gets a long run.

We are seeing this as a weekly occurrence at the moment, modern diesel engines are not designed for lots of short journeys they are more designed for long distance commuting.

When a modern diesel engine is driven on a long journey it carries out a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) regeneration which basically means it cleans out the exhaust system of carbon and soot build up, the same carbon and soot is found in the engine and long journeys help to clean that too.

Once we had cleaned out the intake and EGR system we cleared all stored engine codes and took the Mercedes for a long road test, upon return we carried out another Diagnostic code read and none of the codes had returned and all live data was reading correctly.

The car was given back to its owner and we also advised him to go on at least one long drive per week or the car would be back to us with the same fault.

Aarons Autos car service garage.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

2017 Audi TT 1.8 TFSI With Fault Code P00b7 – Fixed.

This Audi TT was brought into the Garage with its Engine Management Light (EML) on, after carrying a Diagnostic Code Read we could see numerous codes in its ecu the main one for us was P00b7 which related to poor coolant flow!

When checking the live data we could see that the engine coolant temperature sensor was reading at over 100 degrees whilst the radiator temperature sensor was at a stable 40/45 degrees even after a road test.

The cooling system on this car is controlled by an electronic thermostat which is built into the back of the water pump housing located under the inlet manifold.

To access the water pump housing we removed the inlet manifold for ease, once the manifold was off we removed the water pump and housing for inspection.

When we removed the cover off the electronic thermostat we could see that the gear on the operating motor had broken off meaning that it couldn’t open the thermostat.

The Fix

Using genuine Audi parts we replaced the water pump and water pump housing along with its drive belt then rebuilt the engine so that we could retest for operation.

After running the engine up to temperature we rechecked our live data, the engine temperature sensor was now reaching 98 degrees and then dropping as the thermostat opened and we could see the radiator temperature increase too.

Once the car had been road tested and rechecked for leaks it was handed back to its owner.

Aarons Autos car service garage.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

2010 Audi A5 2.0 TFSI Timing Chain Fault repaired.

This Audi A5 was brought into us barely running by a customer for our diagnosis.

We had to push the car into the Garage as it would no longer start! Firstly we carried out a diagnostic code read to see if that would point us in the right direction but there were lots of codes stored and it was hard to know what were old codes and which were relevant codes, however there was a code for ‘Camshaft and Crankshaft Incoherence‘ which normally means the timing chain has jumped teeth.

We decided to carry out a compression test before stripping the engine completely, the compression’s were all low but were similar across all four cylinders.

Once we had removed the front bumper, head lights, radiator and other ancillaries we could now access the timing chain cover. Time to remove the covers and see if the timing is out.

The fault

The timing was at least three teeth out on the exhaust camshaft which is more than enough to stop the car running and lucky enough not to cause any serious internal damage.

We check the timing using specific timing kits as shown below.

This car also has two balance shafts which are ran by a separate timing chain which is also replaced as part of this job.

We need to lock both camshafts and the crankshaft into their timed positions using the timing tools before we start fitting the new guides and chain, once the chain is fitted we can release the new tensioner’s and remove any slack out of the chain.

Now we rebuild the engine using new gaskets where required until it is in a position to be turned over by hand, turn the engine twice by hand and recheck the timing marks all ok.

Next we replaced the oil and filter before building up the front end of the car (just in case we need to strip it again).

Time to start the engine, I don’t care how long you have been in this trade it is still a scary time when you first turn that key on a rebuilt engine!

But, first turn and it fired up and ran perfectly.

Now time to rebuild the front end top up coolant levels and road test, the engine ran beautifully and was returned to a happy customer.

Aarons Autos car service garage.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

Nissan Pulsar Timing Chain Faults Found.

We have seen quite a lot of Timing Chain faults recently across different manufacturers from Nissan and Renault to Audi and Volkswagen.

The faults range from chains stretching and causing the Engine Management Light (EML) to come on to chains slipping and causing poor running and in some cases non start.

There is a lot of speculation as to why the chains in modern cars don’t seem to last as long as their predecessors such as poor oil quality, poor design, poor materials etc…..

What we can say is this problem is becoming more and more common and it is something you cannot ignore, if your engine starts to get a rattle that was not there before or your EML comes on and you have codes for ‘Incoherence between Cam and Crank Sensors’ make sure to get it into the garage to be checked out before it does any serious damage.

Here we have a picture of the timing chain cover from a 2016 Nissan Pulsar that had recently started to rattle, as you can see the chain was so loose it was starting to catch the top of the chain cover and wear it away.

Aarons Autos car service garage.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

Cancelled Bookings Cost Time and Money!

Over the last couple of years we have seen a large increase in jobs being cancelled last minute by customers and also not turning up for their appointment on the day.

This in turn has a major affect on the day to day running of our workshop as we allocate jobs to our technicians based on Labour times to maximize the efficiency of our workshop.

When a Labour intensive job doesn’t show up for example a Clutch or a Cambelt the technician that was booked to carry out that job has no work and not only is that a cost to the workshop but it also affects other customers that are waiting to book in for work as they could have used that slot.

Going forward we have made the decision to take a £50 deposit for all jobs that are expected to take over two hours which will only be refundable if the job is cancelled at least 48 hours before its booking slot.

This will allow us to book in other customers who are waiting for our Services.

We understand sometimes it is out of your control and you have to cancel but we hope you understand our position, this is a hard time for all small business’s.

Aarons Autos car service garage.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

E10 fuel is not compatible with all vehicles.

The introduction of E10 fuel has been seen nation wide recently and is affecting cars up and down the country.

If you have a classic or old car it will not run on E10 without additional additives, but we are seeing it affect much newer cars!

We are having more fuel related faults through the garage than ever before from poor running engines to fuel pump failures.

Here is a quote from a well known car magazine-

It is estimated that around 600,000 cars on the road are not compatible with E10 fuel. Drivers should check if their vehicle manufacturer recommends it. Even if a car is suitable for using E10 we call for caution, as the ethanol is HYGROSCOPIC, which absorbs moisture from the air. Moisture increases engine deposits and affect drive-ability, which leads to corrosion and eventually component failure.Using E10 petrol can also affect fuel economy and it is reported drivers may experience around 1-3% reduction.

There seem to be several new additives coming to market to help vehicles affected by the new E10 fuel.

It will take time to see if there will be any long term damage or affects to engines due to the E10 fuel but for now the only thing we can advise is to use the additives designed to help your engines and fuel systems.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

Ford Transit 2.0 EcoBlue TDCI Wet Belt Problems!

The Ford Transit is probably one of the most common vans seen on the road today and is championed by tradesmen and delivery drivers up and down the country.

With the latest edition to the Transit range the 2.0 EcoBlue TDCI you get a Timing Belt in replacement of the old Timing Chain which Ford recommend to be replaced at 150,000 miles or ten years.

What we are seeing in the trade though is timing belt failures well before either the 150,000 mile interval or the ten year time frame.

We are recommending customers to get theirs changed around 60,000 miles or five years to prevent the chance of failure and a hefty bill for un-necessary engine repairs caused by the failure.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

Volkswagen Scirocco with a leaky Inter-cooler.

This VW Scirocco came into us with an intermittent running fault, it would randomly put the engine management light on and go into limp mode.

Firstly we carried out a diagnostic code read to see if there were any stored codes and what they related to?

Several codes were stored relating to faults in different systems! Oxygen sensor, Boost pressure and EGR system.

We decided to carry out a smoke test on the intake system as all of these faults can be affected by an air or boost leak.

(A Smoke Tester fills a system with lightly pressurized smoke allowing the user to see any small leaks that may not be obvious to the naked eye.)

We found a leak from around the inter-cooler area but the car needed stripping further to be able to access this area, once the bumper had been removed we could see clearly that there was a split in the inter-cooler housing which was small enough to allow the car to still run reasonably well but bad enough to throw out several sensor readings.

Big Strip Down To Remove The Inter Cooler.

After we replaced the inter-cooler and cleared all related fault codes we carried out a road test and checked live data, all sensors were reading as they should and the car drove perfectly without putting the engine management light on and no more limp mode.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.

Renault Megane RS265 has incorrect swivel joints fitted!

This Renault Megane RS265 came into us with the usual tell tale signs of worn swivel joints, creaking when turning and knocking.

Once we had removed the N/S swivel joint we could see they had been replaced before with some cheap after market joints.

We replaced both joints with our genuine swivel joints and it was ready to go.

Here at Aarons Autos we can replace the swivel joints on your Renault Megane RS250 RS265 RS275 and Clio RS197 RS200.

Aarons Autos car service garage.

Your friendly car garage in Derby

Give us a call at Aarons Autos for more info.