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17/10/2026

This 2015 Nissan Juke 1.2 petrol came to us after a diagnostic at another garage had flagged a cam crank correlation fault. For whatever reason, the work didn't get done there, so the customer brought it to Elliot.

In plain English, that code means the engine computer sees the camshaft and crankshaft out of step with each other. The engine management light was on because of it.

Elliot stripped it down and the timing chain was heavily stretched, with a lot of slack in it. The teeth on the VVT gears (the variable valve timing pulleys) were also badly worn.

We fitted a timing chain kit and new VVT gears, and did a fresh oil and filter change while it was apart.

The useful bit: when you do a timing chain on these, change the VVT gears too. Leave worn ones in and you can still get the trouble code. 🔧

07/10/2026

Nice straightforward one in this morning: a 64-plate Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi in Hagley with a fault code for the air intake temperature sensor.

On these, that sensor isn't a separate part. It's built into the air mass meter (the mass airflow sensor), so you can't just replace the temperature sensor on its own.

Elliot took the air filter housing out, lifted the air mass meter out of its housing and fitted the new one. Then he cleared the trouble codes and that was the job done.

If a code points at the intake temperature sensor on one of these, it's worth knowing the airflow sensor comes with it.

01/10/2026

Two cars in for an interim service today, and this was the little 2014 Citroën DS3. Elliot did this one here in Brierley Hill.

Just a routine one, really. Oil and oil filter, air filter, and a diagnostic check. Then he went round the brakes, suspension, tyres, lights and fluid levels, and turned the service light off.

That's the bit people don't always realise. An interim service isn't only fresh oil. The checks are what tell you what the car needs next.

It's £199 if you want to get booked in on the website. Then it was on to the next one.

21/09/2026

Head gasket repair on a Volkswagen Up in Dudley. The car had overheated and then wouldn't start, which is usually a sign the damage is already done rather than on its way.

Elliot found the water pump belt had snapped. With no belt driving the pump, coolant stopped circulating and the engine ran hot enough to blow the head gasket.

The repair was a full strip. The cylinder head was removed and skimmed flat so it would seal again, a new belt kit was fitted, and the engine had an oil and filter service before it went back together.

The Up is back on the road. Overheating is worth stopping for straight away — the miles driven hot are what turn a cheap belt into a head off job.

19/09/2026

A 2015 Peugeot 308 in Quarry Bank with no heater blower — and it had been like that since October last year.

The owner hadn't been able to find anybody willing to take it on. Honestly, we can see why. On this shape of 308, the blower motor sits behind almost everything. To get to it, Elliot had to strip out most of the dash: steering wheel, steering column, clutch pedal, brake pedal, the housing and the glove box.

It's not a difficult repair once you're in. It's just that getting in is the job.

Blower motor sorted, then the whole lot went back together properly. About two hours on the driveway, done as a call-out at the customer's own address.

Worth knowing if you're sat in a cold car: a dead blower isn't always the motor itself, but on these it's the access that puts garages off, not the part. It can be done, and it can be done where the car is.

🔧 07453 957641 if yours has been blowing nothing since winter.

12/09/2026

A 2018 VW Arteon 2.0 TDI came in getting stuck in 2nd and 5th gear.

That sort of fault usually points one way on a DSG box, and the diagnostics backed it up. Elliot found the pressure solenoids inside the mechatronic unit had failed. The mechatronic unit is the electro-hydraulic brain of the gearbox — it uses those solenoids to control oil pressure to the clutches and gear actuators. When one or two stop doing their job properly, the box can end up stuck holding a gear.

The unit came out, was fully reconditioned and repaired, then went back in with fresh oils.

Two bits people often skip on these: the car has to be warmed up properly so the gearbox oil level is set at the right temperature, and the basic adaptions have to be carried out afterwards so the gearbox relearns and everything's synchronised again.

Customer collected it shifting through the gears as it should. 🔧

05/09/2026

Ford Transit Courier in with us this week, oil pressure warning light flashing on the dash and the van dropping into limp mode.

That warning light and limp mode combination on these Couriers is a common one, and it usually points to the wet belt.

Elliot stripped it down and found the wet belt in about as bad a state as he's seen. This van had done 98,000 miles without it ever being changed. Belt debris had broken away and completely blocked the oil strainer, which is what was starving the engine of oil pressure and triggering the warning.

Sump off, strainer out and cleaned properly, new wet belt fitted, rebuilt with fresh parts, fresh oil and filter, then a full service and road test.

Wet belts sit inside the engine bathed in oil rather than running dry like a normal timing belt. When they break down, the debris doesn't fall harmlessly to the floor, it circulates and can block oil pickup points like this strainer. Worth knowing if your van's never had one changed.

Back on the road and ready for collection.

31/08/2026

Mercedes A200 diesel in with us at Dudley, customer complaining of a serious lack of power.

Elliot ran the diagnostics first rather than guessing. The DPF (diesel particulate filter, the bit that traps soot from the exhaust) was showing 400% full, way beyond where it should be. That reading was caused by a component fault, and when the filter came out it was, as suspected, completely blocked. On top of that, the exhaust temperature sensor had packed in, which is part of why the filter had loaded up so badly without the car flagging it properly.

The customer opted for a secondhand DPF, which we had professionally cleaned, along with a new lambda sensor and a new exhaust temperature sensor. Faults cleared, values reset, everything checked.

Road test afterwards was a different car altogether. Power back, no hesitation.

If your diesel feels flat or gutless, it's worth getting the DPF and sensors checked properly rather than just clearing the fault code and hoping.

27/08/2026

Vauxhall Corsa in Dudley this week, 2018 plate, 1.4 16-valve — came in with a rattle from the engine.

Rattles like that are worth taking seriously. Elliot had a listen and got it up on the ramp to have a proper look.

Turned out to be the timing chain, badly worn and stretched. That's what was causing the noise. Usually comes down to the chain not getting the maintenance it needs over time.

Elliot changed the timing chain and did an oil and filter change while it was in. All sorted and back on the road.

If your Corsa's making a rattling noise on start-up or when it's ticking over, don't ignore it. Worth getting it checked before it costs you more.

22/08/2026

One of the fleet care vans in for us this week, brought in with an emissions fault flagging up.

Elliot ran the diagnostic and found no signal coming back from the downstream NOx sensor, the one fitted after the exhaust treatment system that checks the gases coming out are within limits.

No reading at all meant the sensor itself had failed rather than a wiring issue. Main dealer part sourced, fitted, and the system reprogrammed to recognise it.

Back on the road and back to work. Sometimes it really is as straightforward as the diagnostic says.

Address

Unit 6 Turner Street
Dudley
DY11TX

Telephone

+447453957641

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