Car Mechanics

Email martyn.knowles@kelsey.co.uk Follow us on Facebook @ Car Mechanics I took notice recently that the monthly direct debits I have set-up for my various cars have all risen by a few pounds. I somehow missed the recent Spring Budget in March where increased Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates had sneaked through the back door so to speak. Rates for cars in the pre-2001 and 2001-2017 brackets seem to have had a few band price increases. My main gripe is with the oldest car I have on the road – a 1998 Ford Focus 1.8, which was high enough at £25.81 per month, but now... it has increased by £2.62 to £28.43 per direct debit. That equals an extra £31.44 per annum. Total outlay for a year’s VED is £341.16 (you…

This month Peter muses parts terminology and classic car parts availability. Last month, Martyn the Editor and I exchanged several of what my other half Sarah described as “very boring emails.” The topic of this alleged tedium was the correct term to describe the Kia Sorento front suspension components, the renewal of which we featured last month under the eventually-agreed title of ‘Front Control Arm’ swap… The issue Martyn identified was that in my original copy, I called the parts in question ‘Lower Wishbones’. I used that term because the parts in question have one mounting point at the wheel end, but two where they attach to the chassis. Hence three mounting points which to my mind made it a wishbone; an arm, surely, should have just two? However, according…

Follow Rob on Twitter: #CarTechJourno Modern life is tough on car bodywork. Whether superficial damage results from a stone chip, a car park ding, corrosion, or a scratch, putting things right demands elaborate repair processes. When looked through a professional bodyshop’s perspective, curing minor blemishes can involve extensive resprays, as many ofCM’s project cars can attest. Furthermore, apart from being costly, car owners face the inconvenience of being without their vehicles for days, while the work is carried out. The smart alternative Consumer demand and improvements in paint and abrasive technologies have led to a whole new industry of smart repairers. These professionals conduct a localised repair, often at the car owner’s home, or workplace, in virtually any weather. As the repair areas are kept as small as possible, the…

VOLKSWAGEN SCIROCCO Clutch whine The odometer had gone past the 200,000-mile mark nearly ten years ago, and the owner was still enjoying his 1990 VW Scirocco GT 1.8, though now covering only a few hundred miles a year in it. Garaged during the winter he was intent on ensuring it was going to carry on for a few years yet. He was well tuned into the noises the engine made, and when he noticed a strange whine which altered with the operation of the clutch, he popped in to see me to enquire if I could find and rectify the problem for him. With an assistant pressing the clutch pedal while I listened under the bonnet, the source of the sound was pinpointed to the clutch release bearing, which on…

JOBS LIST ✖ REPLACE COOLANT HOSE ✖ DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR CV ISSUE ✖ REPLACE REAR WIPER MOTOR ✖ ADJUST OR REPAIR STEERING COLUMN ✖ REPLACE FRONT SEATS ✖ RESEARCH AND FIT UPDATED HEAD UNIT ✖ REPAIR RUST IN DOG-LEGS ✖ CURE REAR FOG ERROR ✖ REPLACE REAR LIGHT LENSES ✖ REPLACE LOCK SET ✖ REPAIR DENTED REAR WING ✖ INVESTIGATE POTENTIAL LPG LEAK Plus anything else that goes wrong It must have seemed like serendipity to editor Martyn. At exactly the time Car Mechanics was looking for an L322 Range Rover as a project car, one appears in the garage of a colleague and former CM contributor. Bingo – the mag saves itself the cost of a project car when it can feature mine instead. It certainly seems like serendipity…

Iwas trying my best to convince Mrs H that theCM Ford Mondeo was well-built and a good car, even though at the time, there was some hesitation from the engine under acceleration at around 2000rpm. We don’t have too many good memories of Fords, especially when our daily exproject Mk1 Focus TDCi died on the smart motorway section of the M1 a few years ago, only to never drive it again or even work out how to fix it. All was going well with the Mondeo until an alarming rattle emerged from the nearside rear some 60 miles from home. I quickly pulled over and things could have easily got worse when I asked my wife to bounce up and down on the back of the car to help identify…