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...

If you are a vauxhall owner, regardless of model Astra, corsa, vectors and so on. The chances of you having this problem is highly likely, even more so if you are reading this article. So you pull the bonnet catch and it doesn’t open. Your in the dark you can’t check your levels, what you going to do? Really simple in most cases. Firstly, Just sharply pull the catch twice in quick succession. OK so it didn’t work!  Now you need a little help. Just get a friend or relative to pull the catch whilst you gently push repeatedly on the bonnet/hood in a repeating motion as same as your assistant. Normally the bonnet just pops giving you access. So now you have access, how can it be cured? The reason this happens is because the outer sheathing of the catch gets stretched out of its tensioned location. All you need to do is retention the outer cable. Simply loosen the cable retaining clamp pull on tension and tighten clamp. To ensure this holds longer you could wrap some insulation tap...

I have recently experienced on the vauxhall vivaro and movano on two occasions these models have had a really bad knocking or banging noise. After initial inspection nothing has been found.  Firstly, It’s worth noting at this point that these models are prone to the front top suspension mounting collapsing. This can be simply be diagnosed by looking at the top mount under the bonnet. If faulty the will be a significant gap and it will also be slightly offset. Not central. After inspection this is what happens to the top mounts. Secondly, If this is not the cause of the noise and after frustration trying to find find the noise it is worth checking and tightening all the subframe bolts and wishbone bolts. These may appear tight and show no signs of wear. Once completed road test and listen. Hopefully now the knocking will have gone. 

The Diesel engine that’s fitted to many ford Peugeot and Citroen is very common and under routine maintenance requires a timing belt. Here’s a guide how it can be changed without the need of specialist tools. This guide covers the 1.4 and 1.6 engine variant.  First things first though. I strongly recommend fitting a quality timing belt kit, this includes new tensioner and guides. Just replacing the belt is asking for trouble as the other components are just as likely to fail as the belt in my experience.  I recommend Gates Timing belt kits. These are used by the manufactures so give peace of mind.  Remove the keys from ignition and put well out of way  you don’t want any accidents of cranking engine whilst it’s stripped down.  If you have the convenience of a garage and ramp that’s great  but if not I strongly recommend getting the front end of the car on axle stands and remove the right hand road wheel and wheel arch liner. This will give yo...

I guess you are reading this because you have had a total timing failure on your 1.0 1.2 or 1.4 petrol vauxhall engine. And wondering how to rebuild and time up correctly. Here is a guide how easily rebuild timing. With your new timing kit lay everything out to familiarise yourself with all the parts. Using a vauxhall Timing chain locking kit ensure the camshafts are timed up using flat bar access back of cylinder head. Then ensure crank is at top dead centre by placing locking tool through crank case just below air conditioning pump. You will need to remove the cover plug. Now the engine is locked and trimmed up. Ensure front of engine is clean then replace the front large gasket. Now fit cam pulleys but don’t tighten them fully yet.  Fit timing chain then the guides. Followed by the tensioner. Once all this is done it should look like this. Replace front cover. It is very important to push the cover up as far as possible then fit the crank...

So you have replaced the clutch in your car. And your struggling to get a good pedal with no real progress. You’re wondering what you have done wrong. It’s not as difficult as you think. Although you may need a brake bleeding tool. It can be done with out but gets very messy without. So what’s the secret? How difficult is it to bleed a hydraulic clutch? Well the truth is, there is no secret! Oh and it’s really easy. Here’s the simple guide. Always ensure the master cylinder is full of brake fluid. Be aware from personal experience sometimes you think the brake resovior is full but in fact it isn’t.  I have discovered these generally have two or more chambers. This resulted in the brake fluid not flowing through affecting the inability to bleed the clutch and or brakes. Sometimes it’s difficult to see the fluid, a good tip is to use a inspection lamp held up to the resovior allows easier assessment of brake fluid level.  Open the bleed valve at slave cylinder and att...

Vauxhall’s corsa D model has a common fault with the brakes not working on the left front. This may not be a easy fix. But there is a likely cause. But before we go to common fault we need to be sure it’s not any of the obvious things. Firstly check the sliders on the Caliper carrier and make sure the pads are free to move in the carrier. Doing this obviously eliminates these and could potentially be the cause in normal circumstances. Next, see if the piston on the caliper pushers back easily. If you find this difficult you will think you have found the problem. Seized caliper? Maybe! I’m guessing not! To eliminate the caliper and brake flexible hose being blocked temporarily refit the caliper and loosen the Union where the flexible hose goes to steel brake pipe. Now press foot brake and see if any brake fluid comes out. If it doesn’t you can guarantee the fault is further away from the caliper. I have found the next thing in line to the master cylinder is the abs module. Th...