Little River Garage

21/10/2026

If you’ve been neglecting your vehicles maintenance schedules, sludge build up in the engine is a real concern. Your oil pickup can become blocked and starve your engine of oil resulting in catastrophic engine failure.
Symptoms of this include valve train ticking, engine knocking, timing chain rattle and/or oil pressure warning light illuminated on the dash.
Ensure you’re getting your vehicle serviced on time using quality oils.

07/10/2026

This is how you test a fuel pump without pulling the interior apart, removing fuel tanks, disconnecting fuel lines or any other invasive forms of testing. If you’re chasing a mechanical or suspected electrical issue, give us a call today.

01/10/2026

If you have a humming/whirring sound from the front and/or rear of your vehicle, don’t ignore it. A common question I get asked is “can a failed wheel bearing cause the wheel to fall off” and the short answer is yes. Ensure your vehicle is receiving proper scheduled maintenance and ensure you and your family are safe on the road.

23/09/2026

Losing a trailer wheel on the road is generally considered too long between service intervals. Don’t neglect your tailer maintenance and if you are carrying out your own maintenance, ensure you fit the wheel nuts correctly.

17/09/2026

2014 VW Amarok presented with an intermittent high idle condition (1000RPM) no warning lights on dash. Tested battery and found it was low on charge and only getting 11.9V - 12.8V from the alternator. The alternator output was 14.2V at idle unloaded & 13.8V at idle under load. Found a voltage drop between battery ground terminal and chassis ground.
This main ground cable lug had been stripped/cross threaded leaving the ground cable unsecured and causing intermittent drop outs and arcing. Whilst repairing the lug another ground was found to have a cable jammed between more cables instead of being secured to its ground lug. Once all the ground circuit issues were repaired the system charged as it should and the idle dropped to 800RPM. This case highlights the importance of checking the basics before chasing vacuum leaks, DPF issues, sensor issues, etc.

04/09/2026

Imported Nissan Elgrand (Impul) with a 131mA parasitic battery drain. Managed to successfully locate the source of the drain and rectify this issue for the customer.
If your vehicle has a known good battery yet still goes flat overnight or over the course of a few days while parked, you may have a parasitic battery drain.
Don’t keep spending $$$ on batteries and get your vehicles issues diagnosed and repaired properly.

27/07/2026

26/06/2026

This 2017 Toyota Hilux came in with a dead miss on cylinder #3. On further inspection it was obvious an open circuit was the issue, an easy and quick repair to get this customer back on the road and able to get to work. New plug and pins, patch harness wired in and some protective loom tubing and she’s back on the road. As a side note, it’s a good idea to unfasten and remove the plastic engine cover (if your vehicle has one fitted) every now and then, in order to visually check your wiring condition and potentially spot any little surprise mice nests as they do love the insulation on the underside of the engine covers particularly.

22/05/2026

2008 Mazda 2 knock sensor replacement. Symptoms of a faulty knock sensor include check engine light on, reduced power/sluggish acceleration, poor fuel economy, pinging/knocking from the engine. Some vehicles also present hard starting condition and a rough idle. If you’re experiencing similar symptoms with your vehicle don’t ignore it. The knock sensor is a critical component in your engine management system that protects your engine from catastrophic failure.