Table of contents for April 2021 in Car Mechanics

Editorial Martyn Knowles, Editor Email martyn.knowles@kelsey.co.uk Follow us on Facebook @ Car Mechanics Worst car ever? ▶ What car, if any, has been the most unpleasant model you have ever bought – or one you’ve had the pleasure of working on where the fix didn’t go to plan? I ask this question as our 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser – which formed part of a feature on ‘buying cheap cars for under a thousand pounds’ – is still with me. Yes, I know not everyone likes these American tanks and even I look at it in a certain light and whisper… “oh no.” I even park it on the driveway (sometimes). Yet it drives well enough and the interior seating/carpets are still in excellent condition for 18 years old. The 2.0-litre…

CM Insider Ben Hackney-Williams brings you another month of news and reviews from the automotive industry Surge of scrapped cars as thousands put out of action in 2020 ▶ Pressures of the pandemic have been to blame for over 10,000 more cars being scrapped in 2020, according to recent data published by the national Scrap Car Network. In total 37,000 cars were scrapped in the UK last year, with Birmingham leading the way scrapping 3600 cars. The midlands city was followed closely by Manchester (2296), Liverpool (1964) Newcastle (1909) and in fifth place, Glasgow (1812). “We’ve been the busiest we have ever been with people scrapping their cars in droves,” exclaims Tazamul Sarodia, MD of the Scrap Car Network. “As working from home has become the norm, drivers are seeing…

The Peter Simpson COLUMN These are difficult times at the DVLA, but there are ways that we can help them help us… ▶ As many who have had to use certain DVLA services over the past few months will be well-aware, something is amiss within the famous office on the edge of Swansea. Turnaround times for many services have lengthened significantly, and there have been a few cases of mistakes being made – something which, it has to be said, is very rare in normal times. The cause, of course, is Covid, and it seems many staff are unhappy with the way in which management is handling their concerns. So much so, that at the time of writing, the Public & Commercial Services Union (the trades union that represents staff…

CM project 2008 Saab 9-3 Sportwagon 1.9 TTiD Project Saab 9–3 1.9 TTiD Final drive PART SIX:Still intermittently smoking, our Saab 9–3 is certainly testing our patience. Have we cured it yet? We also renew the 150,000-mile dampers. So, we now know why the previous owner of our Saab TTiD estate sold it! When we collected the car from BCA Blackbushe last year, we noticed how it was intermittently smoking from both exhaust tailpipes – and then stopped. Since then, it’s done the same party trick another five or six times randomly and the last time but one, I checked the oil level and found it to be way over maximum. This meant I had to do an emergency oil drain to prevent it from running-on and blowing itself up.…

Dealer’s Diary Peter Simpson and Rebecca Chaplin brings us car trading news during the national restriction periods. Spotting scams ► Sadly, it seems that the number of scam ‘vehicle for sale’ listings on online sales sites such as eBay is showing no signs of going down — if anything, it’s the reverse! Scrolling through the car listings on eBay, one sometimes comes across cars that have been bid up to clearly ridiculous amounts; I’m currently looking at a listing for, allegedly, a 9000-mile Rover 800 fastback which has been bid up to £60,000! It’s a scam listing, of course, and the high price is down to anti-scam activists bidding the price up to put genuine would-be buyers off bidding and, thus, stop them from being conned. In this case a…

Help! Your non-diagnostic vehicle-related problems solved by Steve Rothwell GENERAL Solar charger Q I read with interest the letter from Jan van der Does in the January 2021 Help! pages regarding a solar charger. Would you happen to know of anyone that could supply one of these, but with a EOBD plug already wired-in? Ray Bradford A The EOBD plug to directly fit built-in adapter. the Halfords Solar charger can be purchased from Halfords for £10 at this link http://bit.ly/CMQuSCP or can be ordered to collect instore. There is a unit for sale on this website http://bit.ly/CMSCaEp for £26 which is advertised as including the EOBD plug. This is very good value, although not having tested the unit, this is only a suggestion and not a recommendation. GENERAL Jump-starting Q…

Diagnostics Doctor Steve Rothwell answering your ENGINE MANAGEMENT queries BMW 3-SERIES Poor starting Q Over the past week my trusty high mileage (198k) 2004 BMW 330D auto has become more difficult to start, with the result of a complete non-start yesterday. It normally ‘churns’ over for about 2-3 seconds before firing but in the past days this ‘churning’ has become longer until yesterday evening when it just wouldn’t fire-up even when warm. When started it runs like a dream – 45-50mpg, ultra-smooth, no oil usage, no smoking, no warning lights etc. and is a joy to drive. I had thought that there may be a glow plug problem but I discounted this yesterday after I tried an unsuccessful restart a couple hours after a 100-mile round trip, with the engine…

Your Letters CODE-BREAKER ▶ I was very surprised and alarmed at Andrew Everett’s lack of understanding of the markings on the Saab/GM inlet manifolds. For around 30 years, plastic component manufacturers have had to mark moulded components with the composition of the plastics that are used to mould the component to aid recycling. This directive applies to all moulding not just automotive parts. PA66-GF35 is not a part number, it is the material used to mould the part. It is a polyamide 6.6 with 35% glass fibre reinforcement. A google search brings up many plastic manufacturers, as well as showing up people who share the same misunderstanding about material codes. Chris Packer Just reading Andrew Everett’s article on the non-swirl flap inlet manifold for the project Saab in CM January…

Our Cars Martyn Knowles Editor Spick & span In 2017, I refreshed my home garage with new paint, flooring and shelving. The original concrete floor was cold on your bones even during the summer months, so I chose Big Dug (www.bigdug.co.uk) flooring. Not wanting to lay black tiles all over I went for the grey section down the middle, figuring that any dropped nuts/bolts would show-up easier on a lighter surface. The ramped yellow edge finishes it off nicely. Easily fitted, as the tiles interlock – all that is required is a decent knife for trimming and a rubber mallet to lock them together. The heavy-duty plastic tiles have done well over the past four years. Lifting vehicles with a trolley jack and using axle stands hasn’t caused any of the…

In my Humble Opinion Mike Humble warns of buying cars unseen and untested when suffering from Covid-induced cabin fever. Lockdown Lunacy ► To a lot of people, selling, finding and buying a new or used car is a nerve-wracking and time-consuming affair. The state some people get into is staggering and even myself after many happy years of motoring mayhem continue to be baffled at the things I see or hear about when it comes to four wheels. Lockdown and/or furlough has made buying a car rather difficult – my take is simple, if there’s nowt wrong with your current motor, wait for Boris’s green light when we can all skip around the forecourts and showrooms with total abandon. Here is an example why… With some people having more money…

MOT updates ▶ There have been a few revisions made to the MOT inspection manual during January. Problem was, current MOT testers weren’t informed in the usual way (by notification) of these updates. Since the last update in 2019, there‘s over 50 revisions to take on board. Section 4 of the manual is lamps, reflectors and electricial equipment – it’s fair to say this gets a lot of attention. I’ve highlighted just one of the added checks now required on each MOT: Compliance with requirements Existing halogen headlamp units should not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp. The tester did, of course, check on conversions to HID before,…

News in Brief Sealey set for spring savings ▶ In addition to over 690 offers, 118 new products and eight pages of clearance deals, Sealey is using its spring 2021 promotion to launch something special. The AK7939 1000V insulated toolkit and AK938 socket tray not only offer protection from shocks up to 1500V DC and 1000V AC, but also come with a lifetime guarantee. Sealey’s spring promotion is running until 31 May. For more information and to see the complete product range visit sealey.co.uk Sold Secure put padlocks to the test ▶ A recent round of testing by Sold Secure has found that Mul-T-Lock padlocks offer peace of mind for any task. Leading the pack are the brand’s NE and NG ranges of padlocks that offered impressive results when tested…

Tales from the workshop Fixing advice from our garage proprietor Steve Rothwell LEXUS IS250 Nice & simple ► One of my regular customers recently traded in his aging Merc for a 2012 Lexus IS250C. Pleased with his new wheels he came along to see what I thought of his purchase. It’s a Lexus and so I was pretty confident that he was going to have a few miles of trouble-free motoring. Whilst he looked on I opened the bonnet to have a glance at the working-end of the 2.5-litre engine. It was the first time that the new owner had seen the bonnet opened and his first words were “it’s nice and simple under there anyway”. He was, of course, referring to what he could see which was not a…

Product Test JUMP STARTERS Product Test James Stanbury puts products through their paces JUMP STARTERS Lockdowns have left many of us with a flat battery. But which booster, and type of booster, is best to get us going again? As I write this, things are looking-up. Covid cases are dropping, vaccine take-up is rocketing, and there’s a feeling that things — finally — are returning to normal. Hopefully our old beloved normal! So I’ll stop now: I won’t risk jinxing anything by being so optimistic in print. But when we do all get out and about again, it may well be like the end of Lockdown v1: when many cars were absolutely dead. The reason is simple enough: today’s cars don’t cope well with being left unused for any length…

HOW LONG’S A PIECE OF STRING? ► If you’ve used a booster, you may well have experienced a resounding failure — where the booster has not managed to start an engine, even when said engine is well within the booster’s rated range. Equally, rather a modest cheap booster can work wonders on a 4x4’s giant diesel engine that, on paper, dramatically exceeds the booster’s abilities. The reason for both scenarios is background charge. In reality, very few vehicle batteries are ever fully flat with no energy whatsoever. Even an apparently dead battery, which won’t illuminate an interior lamp, may well only have dropped to around 10 volts. To understand why background charge makes so much difference, visualise your battery as a glass of water and think of the charge as…

DIY Servicing 1998 Mazda MX-5 Mk2 1.8-litre Service Bay MAZDA MX-5 Mk2 Sports car service Rob Hawkins reveals how to service the second-generation Mazda MX-5 The world’s most popular sports car can be found in just about every town and city, and many of the less collectible Mk2 models (also known as the NB) that first appeared in 1998 — running to 2005 — are a bargain to buy, though do need looking after. Fortunately, there are no specialist tools required to complete all of the servicing we’ve outlined and serviceable items are readily available and relatively cheap. Some spares are becoming scarce, but the aftermarket is trying to help here, so prices and availability appear to vary. The design of the MX-5 is very traditional for a sports car. With…

Have a problem vehicle? GET IN TOUCH… If you have a problem vehicle, Car Mechanics has the answer in the shape of our technical editor STEVE ROTHWELL. Contact Steve, as detailed below, for FREE advice on all car-related problems. Please help Steve to help you by giving as much information on the symptoms as you can – including the VEHICLE REGISTRATION NUMBER. As Help! is a free service, some complex questions may require more time and resources than we can reasonably allow – when this is the case we will let you know. Steve will reply to all queries as quickly as possible, but please allow up to 28 days for a reply. Difficult/complex questions or those requiring research may take a little longer – please be patient. Neither Kelsey…

STAR LETTER The reader awarded the STAR letter will receive a Sealey LED318R lamp ▶ Features stepless dimmer switch for both the main COB and the LED torch. ▶ Featuring a super bright 5W COB LED light source, which gives an even and constant spread of light, producing up to 400 lumens. ▶ Built-in emergency power bank to charge mobile devices. ▶ Top 3W high power LED torch producing up to 100 lumens. ▶ Integral hanging hook/belt clip and a magnetic base which can rotate through 180° for handsfree applications. ▶ Features a battery level indicator. ▶ Rechargeable 3.7V 1.2Ah Li-ion battery for longer life, no memory effect and a much slower discharge than traditional Ni-MH batteries.…

Our Cars Rob Hawkins Special Contributor Drop-off logistics Towards the end of 2020, a plan was forming to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure I had a selection of cars to photograph and work on. With editor Martyn Knowles in Eastbourne and my home and single garage in Leeds, Martyn kindly offered to deliver a car when required and at the same time, take one away so that he avoided the need to use public transport or beg a lift. Plus, I ensured that any car that Martyn delivered could be left on my driveway for several days before I decontaminated the interior and set about working on it. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, two cars were scheduled to be delivered and two taken away. The two to…

THE THREE TECHNOLOGIES Today, there are three types of booster technology out there: Traditional Lead/Acid We all know these. They’re essentially a car battery, with a couple of booster leads attached, in a plastic case. Normally the battery is Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM), allowing a large output despite being physically compact. Another AGM bonus is that the battery won’t leak if tipped. Being physically big and heavy and slow to charge, lead/acid boosters are a bit of a poor relation nowadays. But they’re unbeatable for capacity, should you need a booster that can potentially start several engines between top-ups. Lithium The obvious advantage with these is their tiny size and weight, but that’s just the start. The packs charge significantly faster (typically a couple of hours), they can often be…

Rob says ► Catalytic converters seem to be a growing problem on the MX-5 for several reasons. Genuine cats are being stolen by cutting them off these cars and selling on the precious metals inside them. These are expensive to replace (£932 according to my local Mazda dealer), although aftermarket cats are much cheaper at around £100 upwards, but their reliability to pass the emissions test seems to vary and some require the existing exhaust system to be cut. According to www.mx5bitz.co.uk, the Mk2 1.8i can struggle to pass the emissions test, often caused by a defective cat and MAF sensor. ROB HAWKINS Special Contributor…

Sourcing vehicle manuals ► Most CM readers will know that Haynes publish the bibles for automotive mechanics with their authoritative line of owners workshop manuals. The Haynes website at Haynes.com should always be your first port of call when searching for a manual. And if there isn’t a specific manual available for your particular model, it’s worth checking whether your engine was fitted to any other vehicles, as this will give you basic servicing and maintenance advice. It’s also worth emailing Haynes and asking if they have a manual in the works for your vehicle. And bear in mind that Haynes are now producing video tutorials for various makes and models. Failing that, you may be able to find a workshop manual online that you can download. Although there are…

Useful Data Below are shown the official recommended change intervals for the various components. Engine oil Every 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. Oil Type SAE 5W-30 VW 507.00 fully-synthetic. Capacity (service fill) 4.1 litres Sump plug torque setting 30Nm. Oil filter torque setting 20Nm. Diesel fuel filter Officially renewe very 40,000 miles (regardless of time interval). Air filter Officially renew every 62,000 miles or 72 months Cambelt Renew at least every 140,000 miles or 60 months.…