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Getting your transporter ready for the summer season? What do you need to do to limit on the road issues. A quick guide to make sure youve checked everything before travelling in your Transporter!

Ideally the best thing to do would be to book your vehicle in for an inspection. This covers battery health, suspension/brakes/tyres quality and more. Our vehicle inspections start from just £39 and will give you full peace of mind before getting on the road! However there are a few things that you can check yourself if you are short on time to prepare yourself!

Battery

Check the voltage – Carefully remove the covers on the battery terminals and connect the positive side of the voltmeter to the positive (red) terminal first. Then connect the negative side of the voltmeter to the negative (black) terminal. Now, check your reading. A healthy battery should read between 12.4V and 12.7V.

Tyres

The legal limit is 1.6mm but for off-road adventures, you want to have the best grip possible. For all terrain tyres, we recommend changing them at 4mm. Having a lower tread depth can cause stopping distances up to 40 metres shorter than a tyre with efficient grip. if your unsure how to check your tyres yourself, read our previous blog here:

Fluids

Checking your fluids is pretty simple. Engine oil is usually checked with a dipstick after the engine has been off for roughly 10 minutes so the oil can settle down.

First, pull the dipstick out and wipe it clean with a towel or rag. Then, reinsert it and pull it back out. The dipstick is marked with maximum and minimum indicators that show how much oil is in your engine. The oil on the dipstick should be near maximum. If it’s at or below the minimum, add more immediately. Oil level is one thing, but its condition is equally important. To check it, you’re going to have to get your hands dirty. Smear the oil on the dipstick between your fingers. It should feel slick and smooth – if you notice any particles or grittiness, components are likely wearing down, which is a major issue.

Also look at the color of the oil. If it’s a yellow or amber color, you’re good to go. If it’s a darker coffee color or black, it’s time for an oil change. Many modern cars have no dipstick at all. Instead, oil levels are checked using sensors within the engine, and displayed on the dashboard. Depending on the car, the engine may need to be cold and turned off or fully warmed up and running to get an accurate reading.

Coolant is able to be checked via the expansion tank. The max and minimum is easy to be viewed. If you find it is low top up with water and keep checking every 50,000 miles or so to check it isnt going down too quickly. If it is and your having to top up every 50,000miles, there is likely an issue.

And ofcourse top up your washer fluid!

Other things to check

Most newer models of diesel Transporters will have Adblue which should be topped up before any travelling. We would also advise checking your bulbs and windscreen washer quality.

Obviously if your checking the vehicle yourself its not as simple to check your suspension. If your vehicle has any knocking noises or juddering then we would advise getting booked in to have the vehicle properly inspected.

This isnt a comprehensive list and there are things that will be missed when carrying out vehicle check yourself. So if you have any worries book in with a garage!

Extras…

As well as the above each camper will have different mods which should be checked. Heating system, Sterilising water tanks, solar systems, gas bottles and pipe work should all be checked before setting off!

If the vehicle has been sat over the winter months the vehicle will need checking for any condensation build up and cleaning down in preparation.

To book in for a vehicle inspection call us on 01642 613852 or message us on facebook here:

OEM parts vs Aftermarket, which do you opt for on your vehicle?

There is a difference between cheap aftermarket parts and Uprated aftermarket parts. Aftermarket parts are made to perform the same function as OEM but they are produced by a third party. OEM parts are as the acronym suggests, original equipment manufacturer. These parts are tested by the auto maker that installed them on your vehicle when it was new. Aka a tier 1 supplier such as Sachs, Mahle and ZF.

Uprated Aftermarket parts are reverse engineered to find the strengths and weaknesses of OEM. The performance specialists can then create parts which perform in some cases better than the original part. This can be done by slightly altering the design or the materials of the product.

Cheap aftermarket parts are created usually using less quality materials and tend to fail much quicker than OEM parts. Yes they are cheaper to purchase initially however if they fail quicker its more economical to fit the correct parts for the job from the start! This is why as a business we only replace faulty parts on a vehicle with OEM parts or if requested Uprated aftermarket parts such as Revo, Racingline and Superpro.

OEM and genuine…

There is a difference and that is that genuine parts are made by the manufacturer and branded and priced as such. OEM parts are as explained above however branded by a third party and priced much cheaper. OEM suppliers are companys such as Lemforder, TRW and Textar. They are usually made in the same factory and go through the same testing as the genuine parts therefore are essentially the same.

What about my warranty?

Always refer to the manufacturers guidelines when looking to use aftermarket parts and consider whether you vehicle is still under warranty. If its still under warranty fitting aftermarket parts may invalidate it if anything were to go wrong.

Obviously we also have to square up our priorities with our budget, vehicle maintenance can be expensive. However this is why we recommend using OEM parts. We carry out extensive vehicle checks before just stating ABC and parts need replacing.

If your looking at upgrading parts to uprated contact us here: We can give you advice for what you are aiming for and send you an estimate!

OEM parts vs Aftermarket

Diesel particulate filters known as DPF are prone to issues if your diesel vehicle is not looked after as it should be, learn their problems and how to prevent them! Diesel vehicles made after 2000 were fitted with a DPF to limit the emissive power of particulate matter into the atmosphere. These filters lower emissions of harmful gases and the impact of diesel on the environment. However as an owner of a vehicle with DPF you need to make sure you are running the vehicle as you should to prevent the DPF clogging up.

Why does the DPF clog?

The DPF filters the emissions from the fuel, soot sits in the filter and limits the amount entering the atmosphere. Driving with additional engine faults causes excessive soot to clog up the DPF. The failure/clogging of the DPF is only a secondary result of poor engine running. This soot unfortunately tends to sit in the filter and clog causing your vehicle to usually throw up the engine management light. The vehicle may have a decrease in fuel efficiency and loss of power.

Diesels with a DPF filter need to carry out a regeneration. This is the process of burning off accumulated soot from the DPF. This prevents it from clogging and reducing the engine’s performance. For the vehicle to carry out an automatic regeneration there are a few stipulations. It requires roughly over a ¼ of a tank of fuel and be driven at a high speed for roughly 15-30 minutes. If your vehicle is used for town driving and short journeys, it will never have the chance to automatically carry out a regen which is when we see problems. This is where you need a mechanic to carry out a forced regen.

Forced regeneration.

Forcing a DPF regeneration can be done using a diagnostics tool. The vehicle needs to be driven for a certain amount of time, at a specific RPM and usually takes around 45 minutes. This can only be carried out if the DPF is no more than 60% clogged up. If its any more than that the DPF may need replacing. This wants to be avoided however as it is a pricey replacement.

Cleaners

We would recommend using the Liqui Moly Pro-Line Diesel System Cleaner ’ Reduces pollutant emissions, thus optimizing smoke opacity prior to emissions test. Successfully tested in international test bench analyses. Cleans injection nozzles, the entire fuel system and combustion chambers of any troublesome deposits. Prevents any seizing up and gumming up of nozzle needles. Optimizes the combustion process and restores the engine’s original performance.

Suitable for all diesel and turbocharged diesel engines with and without diesel particulate filter (DPF). Contents are sufficient for max. 70 l of fuel.

Application

To be added directly into the fuel tank. For preventive use during every inspection, after repairs to the fuel system, for treating problems’

This is not going to stop your DPF clogging however it will help to generally clean out the system when a vehicle is being driven correctly. You can find out more here!

If you’re having DPF problems give us a call on 01642 613825 or use our contact form ‘here’.

DPF problems and how to prevent them

Diagnostic testing; Why we do need to carry them out? A question we get asked often! A large amount of customers book their vehicle into the garage having already carried out their own ‘Diagnostics test’. They then request repairs based upon their findings. For example, their code reader has shown up a glow plug fault, therefore they book in for a replacement glow plug! However assuming the fault code is accurately pointing out the exact issue in some cases is wrong! In some cases yes it will be but in others it could be wiring or another fault bringing up that code!

A cheap code reader from the internet can be a little as £20. But what your paying for when you pay for a diagnostics with us is years worth of knowledge. Our Head tech has been a specialist in the industry for over 25 years! Having an accurate diagnostics test can save you money in the long run. We don’t work based on a process of elimination, changing numerous parts guessing which is at fault!

So. Diagnostic testing; Why we do need to carry them out? The diagnostics test will take into consideration how the vehicle is driving, any fault codes, and associated common issues. Things only an experienced technician will know and be able to piece together to find the cause of the problems. This is why we are always fully booked for diagnostic slots, usually 3 weeks ahead for a diagnosis.

Contact us here to book in and get the earliest slot available; https://www.northeastautotech.com/contact/

We’ve decided to periodically carry out a Vehicle spotlight! This one is based on a Golf R we have in the workshop.

We had this customers vehicle in a few weeks ago for a number of different things. An Interim service, Haldex service and fit the customer supplied Res-delete. We don’t usually allow customers to supply their own parts for warranty reasons. However, with performance parts and upgrades we do as long as they are from a reputable supplier.

What work was carried out?

We started with the Interim service. This allows us to give the vehicle its 26 point health check prior to any work carried out. This is for a number of reasons, the main one being to make sure the vehicle is in a good condition (especially in this vehicles instance) before upgrading parts. It also gives us time to relay the information to the customer if anything needs replacing. This means we can price up any parts required and potentially get them fixed on the same day. This stops the customer having to come back in again unnecessarily. Once the vehicle health check is carried out and completed for the customers record we went ahead and completed the Oil and filter change. We then top up all of the under bonnet fluids.

We then moved onto the Haldex service, as you can see from the pictures. The build up of metal filings on this vehicle in 79,898 miles was massive! We advised an upgraded Racingline magnetic Haldex plug to minimise the amount of metal filings getting caught in the gauze filter. Instead the metal filings are pulled towards the plug. The Racingline upgraded plugs also come with extra washers so your next 5 Haldex services can use the magnetic plug again and only the washer is replaced!

Once the Haldex service was complete we moved onto fitting the Res-delete. We have a Before and After video of the res-delete here! The result was much deeper and throatier, in our opinion much nicer than stock!

How to get in touch?

To get a quote for any service/maintenance work or for pricing on fitting upgrades give us a call or email!

01642 613852 or northeastautotech@gmail.com.

Vehicle spotlight