Tales from the workshop

FORD Ka

Saving the exhaust

The exhaust on this 2008 Mk1 Ford Ka 1.3 was just starting to make a slight blowing noise when the little motor was accelerating or pulling up a steep hill. The owner had asked me to have a look and see if a new exhaust was going to be needed soon. At first glance I couldn’t see where the problem was, then after a slightly closer inspection I discovered that the flexible pipe at the front of the system was just starting to develop problems. When the engine moved slightly, and the pipe flexed, it was allowing the exhaust gases to leak out. The problem was that this pipe is part of the catalytic convertor and comes with a £240 price tag.

Not wanting to throw away what was otherwise a good catalytic convertor I suggested to the owner that we take the route I have travelled before and replace just the flexible section. The labour cost is lower, and the overall saving would be almost £200.

In full agreement, the repair section was ordered up and fitted, curing the blow without a blow to the owner’s pocket.

SKODA FABIA

Temperature trouble

This 2006 Skoda Fabia 1.4 was having trouble getting up to temperature – the owner put this down to the colder mornings. Even on a longer journey the temperature had trouble getting up to the 90°C mark where it should have been