Case Studies

It’s mud season in Maine, and already the calls are coming in. “My steering wheel shakes when I go 55.” or “My wheels feel funny.” Just today in fact I took a call like that. Let us save you both some time and money and share a simple secret – Mud. Yes, that’s right, mud is usually the culprit.

Here’s Why
You don’t have to be off road to find mud in Maine, many of us live on dirt roads or have dirt driveways, and then there is the ever-present “sand” that is used on the road when it snows. All that material has to end up some place, and that is often on the inner surface of your auto’s alloy wheels. When we balance a tire, we balance down to 1 gram, about the weight of a paper clip, pretty light, right? Yet it’s not unusual for us to clean clean out 1/2 lb or more of mud, sand and dirt from our customer’s wheels.

Fixing It Yourself
We’re all about educating our customers, they are smart folks, which is why they are our customers in the first place. So here is how to save yourself some time and money.

1) Find a good self service car wash, the automatic washes just don’t do a good job of cleaning the inside of the wheels.

2) Using the wand from a self serve car wash, insert the wand tip in between the spokes of your auto’s wheels, go from spoke to spoke, try to angle in back of the spokes. Repeat as necessary.

3) Do the cleaning on all 4 wheels, you may feel the shake in your steering wheel, but chances are the rear wheels are just as dirty as the front.

4) Drive the car, see if this corrects the problem. Should you still have a vibration, please contact us, we’ll check and clean your wheels, and then inspect for a bent rim or out of balance tire.

Not sure, or just want peace of mind, then call or stop by, we’re happy to handle the task for you with our usual charm and aplomb.

Own a Audi or VW model with the 2.0 TFSI engine? – Read on, we may be able to save you and your car from some real headaches. Some of these engine have have developed a chronic problem with camshaft drive lobe, which can lead to a very expensive repair. On these cars, known at TSFI engines, there are two fuel pumps, a low pressure electrical feed pump in the fuel tank, and a higher pressure mechanical pump which is driven off a lobe on the intake camshaft, think of the old diesel engine injection pump designs and you get the idea.

The mechanical pumps contact the camshaft via a small metal “bucket” or “follower” and on some of the cars we’ve actually seen the follower wear out, damage the camshaft, and even the injection pump, see photos for reference. We feel that some of this is a design defect on the early cars, while some of it may be engine oil related.

They say prevention is better than cure so what can be done to prevent this from occurring on your auto? Using good quality clean burn fuel free of bio elements, the higher octane fuels also tend to burn cleaner. Get the engine up to temperature as soon as you can (don’t idle it but just drive it steadily at around 2000rpm till it warms up) and keep the engine operating at 3000rpm for 15 minutes per week. Be sure to always use a OEM quality full synthetic engine oil, and change the oil often, no more than every 5,000 to 7,500 miles.

An ounce of prevention, always worth a pound of cure!

At Atlantic Motorcar, we believe that it is the little things that matter, like cleaning up ‘das Benz SL500 for summer, a service customer car. Will the customer notice, not sure, but we will, and we’ll know that we did the job right, the first, with pride…that’s the Atlantic Motorcar Way.

While resealing the upper engine, we had to take a photo, look at those beautifully detailed and machined rocker arms, like artwork in aluminum. Work scope involved replacement of the camshaft covers on both banks of this Mercedes engine.

Be sure to vote for your favorite Happy Nick picture.

Do I have a fun job or what? I get to service cool technology, take photos of cool cars, work with great customers and staff, and have fun doing it!
– Bruce

Towed In – See that rusty metal surface?
On this Mercedes E430, it once held a metal seat for the passenger front coil spring. Unfortunately age and road salt took its toll, and the spring seat failed. This failure disabled the car, and the suspension collapsed on the passenger front side.

Trip Check – Our Trip Check normally takes less than 1 hour, and offers you a peace of mind that’s priceless. While we don’t have a crystal ball – yet – a AMC Trip Check is the next best thing! Don’t let this happen to you a 1,000 miles from home.

This is a Michigan car, so rust is somewhat expected, but this should have been caught before it failed…a long way from home. Fortunately the customer did not suffer an accident…problem is repairable, and the car will live again.

Tech Tip – A Cautionary Tale – Today’s car’s use a very specific type and size of battery. Unfortunately the days of visiting the local Sears to get a “DieHard” battery installed are over. Batteries are tricky things in today’s computerized cars, the incorrect battery type or mounting can damage your car, cause alternator failure or no start, even create an electrical fire (yes, really, see BMW recalls about that).

A byproduct of battery charging is hydrogen gas, which is highly explosive – think Hindenburg. So a trunk or interior mounted battery must be of the non-venting type, or have a proper vent hose installed, otherwise hydrogen gas can build up inside the compartment, and potentially cause an explosion. Reference – http://www.battcon.com/PapersFinal2002/VaccaroPaper2002.pdf

We found this arrangement this morning on a BMW 750iL, customer had paid a shop to “replace” the battery. Rather than using the correct BMW or Bosch battery, they installed a “AC Delco” (read GM) battery “braced” with a section of wood.

Aside from the safety issue, the battery is about nearly 1/2 the size of the correct battery. See that mounting hole on the right side of the battery tray, that is where the mounting bracket should be. Car presented with a list of electrical faults and problems, many of which can be traced to battery electrical problems.

We keep a large selection of the proper Bosch batteries in stock for your auto, all backed with a free 2 or 3 year replacement, and full warranty.

Run Flat tires are the worst. No, really. That’s what people say. It’s true. J.D. Power says so. Yeah. That guy who does the surveys. And hands out the trophies. No not the big silver ones, the glassy corporate-looking ones. You know the ones. You see them in those car commercials. Complete story here – http://jalopnik.com/everyone-hates-run-flat-tires-464884753?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_facebook&utm_source=jalopnik_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Alternative?
So let’s talk about the Atlantic Motorcar Center approach to “Run Flat” tires for your Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Mini Cooper or Volvo. Our answer, don’t do it, don’t go there.

While run flat tires are now factory fitment on many late model German autos, we’ve found, as many of our customers, that they wear quickly, offer a harsh ride, and are much more costly than their standard brethren. So when replacement is needed, we suggest the customer consider the use of a high quality non-run flat tire like Michelin. Yes, this is a compromise, so you need to consider the downsides carefully. We also advise the customer to carry one of the Continental “Comfort Kits” in case you do have a flat with standard tires. The kit allows you to easily reinflate the tire roadside and get home, or to a service facility. You can find less expensive alternatives on Amazon, but we find the Conti kit a bargain…esp on a rainy night. http://www.continentaltire.com/www/tires_us_en/general/techdocs/cck_en.html

Highest-Ranked Tire Manufacturers
The flip side of the report referred above is equally interesting, while it roasted “Run Flat” tires, it confirmed something that we’ve been sharing with service customers for years – Michelin tires are superior, in fact #1 in customer satisfaction, as you can see the report results below. Numbers listed are out of 1,000 users. Atlantic Motorcar is a Michelin Tire dealer, because over the years we’ve found Michelin Tires give the smoothest ride, and offer the longest service life, of any tire on the market. Michelin ranks highest in three of the four segments: luxury (775); passenger car (729); and performance sport (751). You can read the complete report at the link below – http://www.jdpower.com/content/press-release/lke2ieR/2013-u-s-original-equipment-tire-customer-satisfaction-study.htm

Maine’s roads take their toll on our cars, and nowhere more so than in your vehicle’s suspension, particularly the springs. These large coil springs serve to absorb impacts and bumps in the road, and provide you with a steady, smooth ride. However, even the most robust part can wear out or fail, and when it does, the results can be quite dramatic. Remember that this is not just a Volvo problem, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Saab and VW can, and do, suffer the same malady.

Located where they are, just inside the tires, springs are a safety item. See that sharp edge of on the broken coil spring, it can very easily puncture a tire. So if you notice your car sitting uneven, sagging to one side, making noise over bumps, suspect your springs.A through service includes evaluation of the shocks or struts, they serve to absorb and dampen the the bumps and impacts from the road. Aside from a rough ride, a worn shock or strut will allow your springs to cycle at a higher rate, leading to premature failure.

So if you notice your car sitting unevenly, hear some new rattles, or something just doesn’t feel right, give us a call. Your safety and peace of mind are always our #1 priority.

First time we’ve see this on this engine, the BMW N52, though on the earlier M54 series of engine, crankcase breather updates are very common. In this case the car presented with very loud whistling noise under the hood, problem is that it would come and go when the engine was turned off, on restart the noise would vanish. Using our special BMW diagnostic tool, we confirmed a severely clogged engine breather box, on this engine located in the camshaft cover, another key diagnostic indicator was the oil fill cap was stuck down by excessive vacuum, negative pressure. Not an easy job as this engine has “Valvetronic”, but one that needed to be handled. In the past, we’ve found these breather failures are much more common in colder weather.

In the photos below, you’ll note the large camshaft cover assembly that must be replaced for clogging. Such clogging has become an issue with the later breather systems, we’ve seen it many times on Audi, not so common on BMW. The build up of this material prevents the crankcase ventilation system from functioning correctly, and will lead to an increase in crankcase negative pressure, external oil leakage. In severe cases it can build up enough negative pressure to damage engine seals, including the rear main seal. Any problem with multiple engine oil leaks must first be dealt with by inspecting and servicing the crankcase ventilation system.If you car has the symptoms noted above, you might want to give us a call, BEFORE the failure occurs. The update cost is minimal compared to the damage which can result. Our goal at Atlantic Motorcar, to provide the lowest possible cost by preventing problems first, rather than just repairing them.

Precautions
Here is how you can take some simple precautionary steps:

1. If you have no choice but to make short trips, try and take your vehicle on the freeway at least once per week, as this will help burn off condensation.
2. Avoid excessive idling or allowing the car to warm up.
3. Keep Your vehicle garaged at night, if possible, when the temps are very low.
4. Change your engine oil every 5,000-7,000 miles, always using full synthetic.
   We strongly advise not to follow BMW’s 12,000-15,000 mile oil change intervals, we have an expression here, “Oil is cheaper than metal”, keep your engine oil clean, and change on a frequent basis and your BMW will serve you well.

BMW's Valvetronic System

Finished Product, Ready for Another 100,000 Miles

BMW Updated Engine Camshaft Cover - Breather Is Part Of This

Old BMW Engine Camshaft Cover - Breather Is Part Of This

BMW N52 Engine - Camshaft Cover and Valvetronic Removed

BMW N52 Engine - Camshaft Cover and Valvetronic Removed

BMW N52 Engine

BMW X3 with the N52 Engine

Scotty pointing out an often overlooked Audi feature. Audi A6 Quattro engine replacement.
Question – The blue object Scotty is pointing at is an engine vacuum reservoir. Physics question, why is it does spherical?

Answer – A sphere has no weak points unlike a cube, rectangle, or other shape.
That’s why you’ll also see spherical nitrogen accumulators, a very robust design. Great job!

Be it an Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Saab, or Volvo, one question we get asked almost daily is about grinding brakes, especially so first thing in the morning.

Q – We often get a question about why a car makes a grinding noise when applying the brakes the first thing in the morning, or after it has been sitting a few days. Sometimes this noise can be quite loud.

A – This is usually cause by rust on the brake rotors, and brought about by the semi-metallic brake pads – brake pads, especially those used by European manufacturers like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Saab and Volvo,  have metal particles embedded into the pad, this aids in stopping and making the brake pad last longer. When you car is sitting, the metal particles in the brake pads rust onto the metal brake rotors, creating the noise you hear when you drive off. Sometimes, if the car has been sitting for a few days, you might even hear a “snap” or feel a binding as the brake pads and rotors release.

If it’s been awhile since you last brake service, then you may want to use us do a quick safety check on your brake system, just to make certain. We check your car’s brakes each and every time it is here for service, your safety is always our #1 priority.

Questions, just call us at 882-9969.
We cover the Maine coast, from Falmouth to Camden.