Fixing advice from our garage proprietor Steve Rothwell
JAGUAR XF
►Having seen a small patch of oil under his 2008 Jaguar XF 2.7 diesel which appeared to be from the rear of the engine, the owner was continually checking the engine oil, to ensure the level was not dropping. The oil patch where the Jaguar was parked got bigger, but the engine oil did not drop.
The owner was aware that oil degradation can occur, and was concerned that the oil level was not dropping because it was being replaced with diesel fuel possibly due to failed regeneration attempts. With 170,000 miles on the clock, the owner was clear that he was hoping to get a few more miles out of the vehicle before needing to replace the Jag.
Bringing the motor in to me I soon realised that the oil drip was not coming from the rear of the engine, but the front of the gearbox. The red colour was a good indication, but the owner had no method of checking this without crawling underneath, because most modern automatics do not have the benefit of a dipstick.
The gearbox removal time is 4.2 hours, and once this was out, the seal at the front of the gearbox where it meets the torque conver tor was seen to be leaking. With the autobox out, this was easily rectified, and the opportunity was also taken to fully drain the torque conver tor.
After refitting the gearbox, the oil was replaced with fresh fluid, and the system levelled up.
VOLKSWAGEN TOURAN
Complaining of a squealing noise that only appeared in the morning, I at first thought the problem on this 2009 VW Touran 1.6 may be an alternator belt or associated problem. When the motor came in, it had warmed up and there was no noise, so the owner said he would leave it overnight so that I could hear the noise for myself. The next morning as the engine fired into life, I could hear the loud squeal that the owner had been referring too – this was not connected to the speed of the engine and sounded more like a fan motor.
Opening the bonnet, the noise was soon located as being the secondary air injection pump. The secondary air injection system is fitted to keep the emissions down, and the pump only works until the catalytic conver ter is up to operating temperature. Once the catalytic conver ter is working the secondary air injection system will shut off, and so therefore the noise only occurred when the engine was cold.
The genuine pump was priced at just over £400 but the owner was happy enough to have the £120 factors version fitted.
VAUXHALL CORSA
