Fixing advice from our garage proprietor Steve Rothwell
BMW X5
This 2010 BMW X5 Xdrive40d 3.0 diesel had just clicked over the 100,000-mile mark when the problems began. The twin-turbo setup on this engine uses a high-pressure and a low-pressure turbocharger. It’s a more powerful unit than the twin-scroll turbo engines which can also be labelled twin-turbo.
The small turbo (the high-pressure one) had failed on this one which is used to supply the lower engine torque. The larger low-pressure turbocharger was still working, but a total failure of the smaller high-pressure turbo would have soon put paid to that. With loss of power and copious amounts of smoke emitting from the exhaust the repair needed to be carried out immediately. Fortunately for the owner the job time on the smaller turbo is just under two hours, whereas for the larger unit it is 7.2 hours.
With the job completed, the oil and filter changed, this BMW X5 was given a quick run to clear the exhaust before returning it to the owner.
FORD FIESTA
Having recently purchased a 2007 Ford Fiesta 1.2 for his daughter, one of our regular customers informed me that he would like to make sure it had a good service before he handed it over to her, certain that once she had hold of the car, it may not receive the constant attention that he would like it to.
This meant a good look round including checking the rear brakes. The Fiesta drove well and the previous owner had apparently carried out his own service work, and from looking at the engine, this had been done to a decent standard. What had let him down was the method that had been used to remove the rear dust caps on the rear hubs to check the brakes.
This is sadly something I have seen a few times – and involves punching a screwdriver through the cap to then release it from the hub exposing the hub centre nut. This is not a problem if the cap is then renewed, and they are readily available so there are no excuses.
Leaving the hole in the cap will allow water and contaminates into the hub and encourage premature wear.
RENAULT TWINGO
This little 2006 Renault Twingo 1.2 was in due to the noise being emitted from the engine on cold mornings. The source of the noise was in fact the auxiliary drive belt which was struggling to turn the alternator after the drain from the battery from the starter motor. This was not because the starter motor was drawing too much current, or because the battery was failing, but purely because the belt was in such poor condition.
The auxiliary drive belt, like the timing belt, should be replaced at 70,000 miles or 60-
