It’s been a while since I posted on this blog. Thought it was time to add to keep it fresh. I have been spending quite some time with the YouTube channel and it is starting to grow nicely. 22 subscribers in three month and many useful and help videos from simple tasks such as checking oil level. Right upto complex timing belt jobs. Why not head over to check it out . Please like and subscribe let us hit hit 100 subscribers by Christmas. Here’s the link.  How2fixit

OK so it’s been a while and I do apologise to those waiting for the conclusion of this. So did I get to the bottom of this? Was it the timing? Sometimes you feel you need to give up, did I? Yes, yes and obviously No. I did eventually get to the bottom of this, I have finally gotten over the stress and sleepless nights this caused me after stripping and checking. So to conclude,  was it the timing? It had to be it couldn’t be anything else, but how? It was the cam box. The piston had hit the valves and instead of damaging the valves it spun the cams on the hollow cam shaft. This is why it seemed to time up but it didn’t. Simply replaced the stupidly expensive cam box with cams as these don’t separate. After replacement. It ran like a dream. Finally no more messing with this. And a happy and unhappy customer with a huge bill. 

It’s common that many think the front end has to be removed on the Audi range with the transverse Diesel engine, but it doesn’t and is a lot easier to replace than many think. I have made a short photographic video showing step by step how to do it. This covers most Audi A5 and A6 models. The best bit is you don’t need any special tools. To see how it’s done please visit my YouTube Chanel. How2fixit

YouTube isa great resource of information., so I thought it was time to start making some video and tutorials of jobs. You can check my channel. My first video is a step by step tutorial how to replace coolant radiator on a ford ka.  

OK so I get the argument. I got the best tools, snap on, Mac tools etc with a lifetime guarantee! The other guy, your mate says  “Look at these tools I just bought really cheap, why pay the price you paid when you can have them for a fraction of the price”. In my experience after 25 years in the motor trade I have come to a conclusion. But before I reveal, I have to say at the start of my time as a mechanic,I was snap on tools all the way. Unfortunately now after paying a stupid amount for tools it doesn’t matter. What good is a tool you Left on the bulkhead under the bonnet costing £60, or a tool that cost you £6. I know the answer. It’s no good. But the £6 one is easily replaceable. What’s more is that in my time in the trade I have found the quality to be almost as good as some premium tools. Not to say it’s the same. To conclude if you are totally obsessed with your tools and you put them away after every use definitely consider the premium tool. But if you’re the busy me...

This week was interesting. Having replaced this belt a couple of years ago on a Skoda Octavia 1.6 Diesel,the customer came in with a terrible noise. So it was time to investigate. As you can see from the pictures upon stripping it down I was horrified by what I saw. As you can clearly see the bearing as totally failed. It was surprising to know this car was actually running. Totally amazed that it was running.  You can see that the heat from the faulty bearing has over heated melting the plastic on the tensioner. Here you can see it after removal. The obvious thing to do now was replace the timing belt kit using the correct Volkswagen  locking tools to see how it runs. OK so I will put you out of suspense. The car runs but makes a terrible noise. So unfortunately for the customer the Skoda will be stripped for further investigation. I have no doubt there will be internal damage but I expected this anyway.  I will follow up with thi...

This week I had a call about a Ford Focus mk3, asking for a price for a replacement clutch. So instead of jumping straight in quoting a price I popped over for a quick look. It was more than worthwhile for more than one reason. It was Christmas, I didn’t fancy doing a clutch and the customer obviously was feeling the strain of Christmas. So what did I find? After jumping in the drivers seat and feeling the clutch it can immediately apparent it was a hydraulic problem. But instead of saying it’s the concentric slave I investigated further. And after some research found this a common problem. There was no obvious leaks on the gearbox so I looked at the clutch pedal to find a residue of fluid on the clutch master cylinder. I fitted a premium  LUK Clutch master cylinder  these are great quality and have a modified rod in steel to prevent breakage that is also common on this particular model. Something else to check before you remove the gearbox. After replacement and road t...