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.
We recently came across a problem in the Garage which we have not come across before, which was the ‘Low Oil Pressure’ warning light coming on after replacing the Oil and Filter on a 2019 Ford Ranger 3.2.
After searching on a couple of the Motor Trade platforms we use it seemed that we were not the first to come across this problem, but we spoke to our local Ford Dealer and they said they knew nothing about it.
There was apparently a technical bulletin which had gone out to dealers saying that if the oil and filter change was not completed within fifteen minutes this problem would occur due to the oil pump draining and not being able to re-bleed itself.
Personally we believe this is a poor design, when we drain the old oil from your car we want to remove as much of the old oil as possible (obviously some oil will stay in certain places of the engine) allowing the new oil not to be diluted with it.
In this particular case the only way we could bleed the oil pump was to flood it, we added five litres more oil than specified to bring the level inside the sump up to the bottom of the oil pump meaning it didn’t have to pull the oil up but just push it.
Once we had got the oil pressure up we drained off the extra five litres of oil, road tested the car and then re-checked the level.
This was our first week back to work after having to close the business and furlough all the staff on the 31st March due to the Corona Virus and what a crazy week it has been.
In the middle of May I made the decision to re-open the garage on the 1st June and put this information on our website and social media platforms.
My initial plan was to only bring out a couple of members of the team from furlough until we had enough work to get everyone back at full pace.
The general response from our customers was amazing, we managed to fully book the first week of June within a couple of days by just using social media and e-mail, at this point I decided we would need the whole team back at work to cope with this work load so we started back on the 1st at 100%.
This was slightly worrying as in the back of my mind I thought we may just be busy for one week and then it would go quiet again and I would have to start furloughing staff again which I really didn’t want to do, how wrong was I.
A few jobs from this week.
Monday 1st June was our first day back and by the end of the day we had almost fully booked the following week! Once our customers had realised we were back they were booking in thick and fast, a few customers had been to other garages whilst we had been closed due to necessary repairs or break downs but then rebooked with us and wanted the work checking as they trusted our opinion implicitly.
I hope all businesses manage to return in the same way we have and start to get back to some kind of normality and hopefully get the economy rolling so we can start enjoying life again once this is all over
I would like to say a massive thank you to all of our customers new and old for sticking with us through these very hard and testing times, without whom this Covid19 pandemic may of finished Aarons Autos.
We hope everyone is taking care and doing their best in this strange and worrying time. Trying to fight this Corona Virus is a bigger job than most of us initially thought but we do seem to be getting there and some of those business’s that were affected by Covid19 are starting to re-open.
Aarons Autos will be re-opening its doors as of the 1st June 2020 and once again be offering its excellent ‘Services’ to the general public and local business’s.
We are putting several measures in place to keep our customers and staff safe from the Corona Virus;
We are fitting a Perspex screen across the whole office counter which will have a small cut out for customers to pass keys through and for them to make payments (card payments are preferred but we will accept cash)
We will be enforcing a one customer in reception at a time rule and customers will not be able to wait in the reception area whilst large repairs are being carried out.
All customers vehicles will be wiped down with anti bacterial wipes pre and post work being carried out, technicians will wear gloves whenever possible.
We will be supplying small hand sanitiser bottles for customers and technicians to use after any transactions.
We ask that customers will leave out their ‘Locking Wheel Nut Keys‘ and ‘Service Books‘ where required so we do not have to search around the car trying to find them (reducing contact inside the car).
If you have any other worries or queries please don’t hesitate to contact us.
MOT’s have been extended, but we are urging customers to have their MOT’s carried out as soon as they possibly can (or feel safe enough to do so).
There are several reasons we are suggesting getting your MOT done sooner rather than later;
18 months is a long time for your car to go un-checked, if you had not had your car Serviced just before the ‘Lock Down’ and your MOT was due how do you know if your tyres, brakes or suspension are safe!
Garages are going to be inundated with MOT’s that are actually due on the date you want yours doing (12 month MOT’s) so imagine the difficulty for the garage to deal with double the amount of MOT’s, this is why we suggest contacting us early so we can spread out the work load.
Think of your local Garage. If NO MOT’s are carried out in April or May what will happen next year? Garages will have less work in those months and possibly struggle.
If you would like to book in for the first week of June please contact us by email info@aaronsautos.co.uk or our Facebook page ‘Aarons Autos Derby Ltd‘ if you would like to contact us after the 1st June just call us as normal between 8.30 – 5.00 and we will be happy to help.
Aarons Autos will still be open for business over this strange and worrying time and we are doing our very best to make sure when you visit the garage that we limit contact between ourselves and customers.
We are regularly cleaning the office work top, door handles and card machine to limit the chance of spreading this Corona virus and are advising customers to leave their cars with us rather than waiting.
Our technicians are using latex gloves where possible when driving customers cars to reduce contact between steering wheels and gear sticks.
We are offering a collection and delivery service to our elderly and high risk customers where they can leave their car keys in a pre arranged place (that they can see from inside their house) and making payment over the phone allowing us to collect and return cars with zero contact with the customer.
One of the main reasons we are staying open and not taking advantage of the Governments generous offer to pay 80% of our wages is for you, our customers. A lot of our customers are elderly, work for the NHS or other first line services and we understand the importance of having their cars safe and legal to enable them to carry on working and help us beat this Corona virus.
If you have any worries about your booking please do not hesitate to give us a call.
Congratulations! You are now listed as one of the Top 3 Car garages in Derby. We would like to Thank You for providing consistent high-quality service in your area of business. Our review team either approved or updated your business listing using our rigorous 50-Point Inspection which includes everything from checking reputation, history, complaints, ratings, satisfaction, nearness, trust, cost, and general excellence.
Three Best Rated® was created with a simple goal to find you the top 3 local businesses, professionals, restaurants, health care providers, etc., in your city. We display only businesses that are verified by our team since customers deserve only the best.
That’s not all… Businesses do not pay us to list them ever. You do not pay us for the listing at any time. We believe that local businesses provide better and personal services locally. Local businesses know your city better since they live there too. Our policy is free to list because if you can pay to list, then is it really the best business?
It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with you. Share this exciting news!
Cheers, Melinda Crawford, ThreeBestRated®
These are the emails we love to receive, and the best bit is we have no input what so ever, all the information comes from YOU! our customers. Click the Award to see the results.
We would like to say a massive thank you to all our customers new and old without your trust, feedback and reviews we would not be able to get the ratings we have.
Number of misguided motorists that avoid servicing over cost fears is “alarming”
Half of UK drivers worry about unexpected car bills, survey finds
Don’t Miss Your Service !
Millions of motorists are avoiding car maintenance over fears of unexpected problems, with many admitting that they avoid getting their car serviced in case vehicle faults are found.
Around half of UK drivers (47 per cent) worry about having to pay for unexpected car repairs.
The survey of 2,000 motorists also found that a quarter (24 per cent) of those who worry about unexpected problems say this uncertainty is putting them off getting their car serviced.
The research suggests that drivers are paying hundreds of pounds to pass an MOT, with five per cent paying £1,000 or more to get their vehicle through the test.
Further MOT analysis reveals that around 40 per cent of cars fail their MOT at the first attempt.
Lauren French, product manager at RAC MOT Assist, the company behind the research, said: “Clearly, taking a car in for a service or MOT can be a nerve-wracking experience with many drivers concerned about what might be uncovered, and the unpleasant financial consequences that can result.
“But it’s even more alarming that this experience is enough to put some people off getting their car serviced in the future.
“Just how many people are driving vehicles on the UK’s roads that they know have problems?
“The best advice to any driver is to keep on top of servicing and maintenance work – the quicker problems are identified, often the cheaper they are to remedy.”
“Spread your Servicing and MOT costs.”
Here at Aarons Autos we advise our customers to spread their servicing and MOT if cost is an issue, this way they can plan for the up-coming months.
If the car has any advisories on the MOT they can save money and have those carried out with a ‘Service’ six months later, and also if we find anything on the service they can save and have the work done when there MOT is due.
Aarons Autos is the best car servicing garage in the world
This Range Rover came into us after failing its MOT on the rear hub lower spherical bushes having excessive movement.
Once we had removed the wheels and disconnected the lower suspension arms we could get a good look at the bushes and what we had to deal with.
The cir-clip that holds the bushes in place had completely rotted into the hub not allowing us to remove it in the conventional way, which meant we had to improvise!
Cir-Clip rusted into the bush and hub.
As you can see from the above picture we had to grind into the bush until we reached what was left of the Cir-Clip to be able to remove it.
Weaken the bush.
After grinding enough of the bush away to access and remove the Cir-Clip we cut into the side wall of the bush to make pressing it out easier.
Bush removed.
Voila, bush pressed out using our bearing and bush pulling tool, hole cleaned up and greased ready for the new bush to be pressed into place.
Bush tool.
Here you can see the bearing and bush pulling tool being used to press in the new bush, once the new bush is pressed in we just need to fit the new Cir-Clip and then begin the rebuild.
New bush and Cir-Clip fitted.
New bush fitted and a new Cir-Clip fitted, after a quick rebuild the car was ready to go back to the customer for its MOT retest.
At Aarons Autos no job is to big or to small, we will en-devour to repair any car that comes through our doors.
Aarons Autos is the best car servicing garage in the world
Peugeot RCZ engine management light on Fault code P0016 and engine rattle.
We see quite a few Peugeot RCZ’s with engine management lights on and when diagnosed the fault code is P0016 Synchronization lack of coherence between engine speed sensor (crank sensor) and inlet camshaft sensor. This means that the engine is sensing that the timing of the vehicle engine is incorrect when running. The reason for this is that on this engine model (that is also fitted in the BMW MINI and other vehicles) the timing chain stretches due to either a mechanical component being worn, not being serviced regularly or low oil levels.
peugeot rcz timing chain aarons autos derby P0016
Peugeot RCZ 2012 fault code P0016
With the Diagnostic code read taken place we first remove the rocker cover and fit the engine timing pins to see how stretched the chain is but on this one we could see even with fitting the engine timing pins how far the chain had stretched.
peugeot rcz timing chain aarons autos derby P0016
Rocker cover removed with no timing pins fitted.
Having timed the crank and inserted the timing pin we went to time the cams and as you can see they were many teeth out. The two cam timing plates should meet together in the middle and both together.
peugeot rcz timing chain aarons autos derby P0016
Timing tool fitted showing how incorrect the timing was.
We removed the Chain and corrected the timing so that the new timing chain kit could be fitted.
With the new timing chain kit fitted and a oil and filter change completed the ecu was reset and the car ran allot quieter with no engine management light or code coming back on.
peugeot rcz timing chain aarons autos derby P0016
https://youtu.be/AkQTHUgsOSM Aarons Autos is the best car servicing garage in the world
