Fixing advice from our garage proprietor Steve Rothwell
SEAT TOLEDO
The smell of diesel fuel is not one of my favourite scents, and when this is being evaporated into the air from a hot engine it causes a most unpleasant odour. The owner of this 2000 SEAT Toledo 1.9 TDI agreed that the smell coming from under the bonnet was not pleasant and he asked me to have a look at resolving the issue.
Lifting the bonnet, it did not take long to spot the area of the problem, and the leak-off pipes could be seen to be weeping diesel. The solution was thankfully going to be quite simple, and a new set of leakoff pipes once fitted would be all that was required to prevent the leaking of diesel fuel over the hot engine.
As is often the case, the removal of the old pipes was more difficult than the fitting of the new ones, and when pulling the pipes free from the injectors, they suddenly became very attached and were determined to leave some of the pipe behind.
Once the remnants of the old pipes were fully removed, the new pipes were soon pushed into place, and after cleaning off the remaining diesel residue from the block, the engine was started up and it was confirmed that no leaks were now present.
VOLKSWAGEN POLO
The steering on this 2010 VW Polo 1.4 had suddenly become very difficult to turn. The owner had thought that the steering was getting a little harder to turn but had not noticed the extent of the problem until attempting to park at the side of the kerb. At this point the steering light also appeared confirming that a problem was present, and so the motor was brought along to me for a diagnosis.
The code P0635 was read off indicating a power steering control – circuit malfunction. Further investigation proved that the hydro-electric motor control unit was the source of the problem.
Searching around for a more realist price than that offered by VW, I found a factor unit for £350. Still quite a sting for the owner who then with the labour and the new fluid had a bill of just over £500 but he was pleased with the lighter feel of the steering and commented that he thought it may have been going for a while.
VAUXHALL ASTRA
Having to top up the coolant header tank at regular intervals the owner of this 2010 Vauxhall Astra 1.6 knew that the coolant was leaking out somewhere. He had carefully inspected the radiator on the hoses but could see no sign of the leaking fluid. He had also had a good sniff inside the vehicle to see if he could detect any signs that the coolant was leaking out through the heater matrix, but to date could not solve the mystery. His next step was to
