Case Studies

See the “gooey” yellow stuff? That’s not peanut butter, but rather engine oil and condensation/water which have mixed to form this sludge. New customers in today with this problem, 72k miles on the car, beautiful auto, but severe engine oil leakage and burning smell. You guessed it, a breather system in need of the update, and correction of subsequent oil leakage issues caused by the crankcase pressure. Thankfully we stock this kit, as we do most BMW parts, and our BMW techs were able to turn the car around in a timely fashion.

With the advent of cold weather we’re seeing this frequently on the BMW 2.5 and 3.0 liter engines. If you car has not been updated, 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 step to take:

1. Upgrade your Separator to the Cold Country Version: Even if it has not failed.
2. 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.
3. Avoid excessive idling or allowing the car to warm up.
4. Keep Your vehicle garaged at night, if possible, when the temps are very low.
5. Change your engine oil every 5,000-7,000 miles, always using full synthetic.

Curious what a big German V8 engine looks like apart? Here’s one you don’t see every day. This very nice BMW 740 needed some attention, an upper engine reseal, and the AMC team was up the task. Oil consumption was measured in hundreds, not thousands of miles, and the car left a white cloud of smoke on start up. A defective crankcase breather system, replacement of some very leaky engine seals, and then a through cleaning and service cured the problem, resulting in a very well running BMW, and a delighted customer. You can’t help but love German design and engineering, look at those gears and sprockets, so enjoy the photos. Engine is now very happy, and so is our new customer. Making things shiny, that’s what we do. 🙂

VW TDi Tech Tip – TDi lost it’s pep, can’t make it up hills, fuel economy down. Chances are it’s intake manifold and throttle shut off valve are clogged with carbon build up. Think about trying to breathe through a straw and you’ll have a good idea what you poor TDi feels like after 50-80K miles.

Thankfully we’ve developed a service protocol than can restore your TDi’s Zoom, with a proper cleaning and servicing of the intake manifold system. This is not the VW scheduled service list, but chances are if you TDi has over 60K miles, it’s suffering from some degree from this malady, its more a matter of when, then if. So if you want to put some ZOOM back into your TDi, and some fun back into your driving, just give us a call. We’ll make you and your car smile, guaranteed!

Mini Coopers 2007-2008 (R56) – Engine Noise – Timing Chain Tensioner Failure – N12 and N14 Engines
We’ve seen a surprising number of Coopers, two in the last week alone, come in with a knocking noise in the engine, this has been dubbed the “Death Rattle”. Should you hear this noise on your car, DO NOT IGNORE it, we have a car in the workshop today in which the timing chain has failed, damaging the engine. Mini has released a service kit addressing this problem, the key thing to correct it BEFORE failure. If you have this problem, call us right away for help at (207) 882-9969.

Sounds – Cold and Warm
This noise is especially pronounced when the engine is cold, sounding almost like a diesel engine with a rapping or knocking noise between 1500 and 2000 PRM. When the car warms up, the noise will abate to a degree, but in advanced cases still be present even with a warm engine. We’ve had this occur on cars with as little as 12K on the odometer, so this is not a high mileage problem.
Prevention Is Easy
The best thing you can do to PREVENT this problem in the first place is to change your engine oil and filter every 7,500 miles, not the Mini norm of 15,000 miles, always use a high quality synthetic engine oil and factory filter.
Correction
For cars which are in warranty, we can work with Mini to confirm coverage for this fault, for cars outside of new car warranty, we have the ability to correct this for once and all. Mini has released a service kit addressing this problem, the key thing to correct it BEFORE failure. If you have this problem, call us right away, before failure. Rest assured that we have the tools and experience to put the fun back in your Mini!

If the floor of your Volvo is wet, or you hear water sloshing about, it’s almost a sure bet that your sunroof drains are clogged. The drain hose is attached to a “tulip” shaped valve which tends to get clogged with leaves and other debris over the years. The Fix – Sometimes, if you are careful, you can direct a stream of water into the front drain openings of your sunroof to flush out the hoses and drains. If the drains are really clogged, or the hoses have become disconnected, then you must remove some interior trim to access to hose. The valves are located under the front of the car, so you’ll need to look under hood and remove the valve for cleaning. Questions, just call, we’re happy to help.

Does your BMW suspension feel loose, or is it sometimes making a clunking noise in the rear on bumps and/or acceleration? Here’s a common issue we see on many BMW sedans, wagons and SUVs.The rear suspension bolts to something called the “subframe” which in turn attaches the suspension and wheels to the body of the car. For reasons of ride quality, noise and isolation, the subframe is isolated from the car body by rubber mounts called “subframe bushings”.

As these are a rubber product, over time the rubber deteriorates and separates from the metal housing, creating a “loose feeling” in the steering, and often noise in the rear of the car. We’ve developed a service protocol for checking this in the workshop, suffice to say if your BMW has over 60K miles, or is more that 3-5 years old, we’d take a close look at the subframe bushings.