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Case Studies

A Collection of the Odd, Unusual and Interesting Found While Servicing Our Client Vehicles.

Originally intended as a showcase for customers of our workshop and staff’s abilities, this page has evolved in an interesting and informative teaching tool, and one of the most popular pages on our site!

By nature, these are rather extreme examples of failures, and not what we typically find during service. Our goal at Atlantic Motorcar is to prevent these from happening to you and your car. But rest assured, if we can fix these challenges, regular maintenance is breeze!

We like to call this our “YES WE CAN!” page. You can also view many of these concerns on our Facebook page. Each photo can be enlarged by clicking on it.

Jaguar XJS V12 – Multiple Oil Leaks

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Curious about what is really under the hood of the Jaguar XJS?
To begin with, 12 cylinders, leave it to the Brits to call them 1-6A and 1-6B rather than 1-12. You’ll also find a whole lot of wiring, plumbing, vacuum switches and hoses. This “bad kitty” had a number of significant engine oil leaks, ran very poorly, and just needed general attention.

One of my past techs reminded me of that “If they don’t leak oil there’s no oil in them.”
While that is close to the truth, some oil is almost normal for the older British cars, unfortunately the oil was running right onto the hot catalytic converters and burning off…a recipe for disaster! Odd thing is another shop had just “passed” the car for state inspection…they sure didn’t do this fellow any favors…much longer and he would have had a very cooked kitty.

Enjoy the before and after photos, 60K maintenance and upper engine reseal.

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1998 Volvo V70 – Clogged Engine Breather/Multiple Oil Leaks

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

We’ve seen this before, this car presented with engine oil leaks from nearly every seal.
Using our special Volvo diagnostic tool, it was easy to confirm a severely clogged engine breather box. Not an easy job, but one that needed to be handled. This was not a regular service customer car, we find this type of clogging on cars which have been subjected to “quick lube” oil changes, or maintenance has not been carried out according to the factory schedule.

In the photos below, you’ll note the heavily clogged ventilation ports, both in the black breather box, and in the engine block. Such clogging is indicative of higher mileage, extended oil change intervals, or the use of a poor quality engine oil and filter. The build up of this material prevents the crankcase ventilation system from functioning correctly, and will lead to an increase in crankcase pressure, external oil leakage and/or contamination of the Electronic Throttle Module or ETM. In severe cases it can build up enough pressure to pop out engine seals, including the rear main seal. Any problem with multiple engine oil leaks, or with the ETM must first be dealt with by inspecting and serving the crankcase ventilation system.

Breather Box Port About 3/4 Clogged

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2004 Audi A4 Quattro 3.0 – Clutch Failure

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

This nice Audi came in with the concern of a slipping clutch. In fact the clutch seems to have failed in a very catastrophic way, with severe damage to the flywheel and pressure plate. The damage is so extensive that it is hard to determine exactly what did cause the failure, but my suspicion is the clutch release bearing hung up on the guide tube, keeping the clutch partially depressed and allowing slippage. After extended slippage, the heat build was great enough to cause the clutch friction material to fail and break apart.

I’ve seen this type of failure on the early Porsche 924S and 944 series, which uses a similar design. Correction entailed replacement of the flywheel – it is a fluid filled, dual mass type, the complete clutch, and the hydraulic actuating cylinder. With failures of this nature, it is important to always service as a system and replace all related components. For example, a sticking actuating cylinder, which disengages the clutch, can cause a repeat of the failure.

Audi A4 Quattro Flywheel and Clutch assembly
Clutch Pressure Plate – Note Heat Scoring Audi Dual Mass Flywheel – Note Heat Damage
Clutch Friction Disc Clutch Overview, Bearing and Guide in Front
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2001 Volvo XC70 – Turbocharger Lubrication Failure

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Volvo turbos on the 2nd generation cars generally last the life of the engine, so it was unusual to see this car here with a defective turbocharger. Half the battle in repairing anything is to figure out WHY it failed, so a repeat failure can be avoided.

You’ll notice on the turbocharger below the impeller or fan which drives the unit is severely worn at the ends. This is caused by the turbo fan contacting the housing, usually because of wear in the turbo bushings or damage to the shaft. In this particular turbo the shaft is actually broken into two parts, indicating a catastrophic failure at high speed. Under full load, the turbocharger can spin at 100,000 rpm or more, so most likely this was a lubrication failure which allowed the shaft to seize and the torque causing the shaft to snap in two.

It is very important on turbocharged cars to use a high quality of oil, the vast majority of turbo failures are lubrication related, often for poor quality oil, or infrequent oil changes. I believe that was the case here, for the service tech found the oil filter cup sludged up, as if the filter had not been replaced frequently. Or if the filter was the replaced, the previous servicing shop had neglected to take the time to properly clean the filter cup. Unfortunately it is not an uncommon occurrence to even find some general repair shops who lack the special tool to remove the Volvo filter cup, and in so doing skip filter replacement during an oil change.

Fortunately the engine seems to have experienced no internal damage, and after a proper service, the engine oil pressure returned to normal. Just to be certain, a full visual inspection of the lower engine reveled no damage to bearings or other engine parts. Replacement of the turbo unit with a factory remanufactured unit, along with the proper cleaning of the oil supply and return lines solved the problem and the car was returned to service.

Failed turbo and Volvo factory replacement Defective turbo unit
Note drive fan damage at edges “Hot” housing removed, fan damage visible
Broken shaft and damaged fan Back of damaged fan, note deep scoring
Close up of damaged fan, note fan damage Inside turbo, note broken end of shaft
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2006 Volvo XC70 – Handbrake Shoe Delamination Failure

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Volvos are great cars, but like every car there are some special service points which require attention. All too often these items are overlooked by general repair shops, the old adage “Jack of all trades, master of none.” applies here. One problem on the later Volvos is delaminating of the parking brake (handbrake) shoes. The friction material is glued, rather than riveted, onto the metal structure of the parking brake shoes. After time the adhesive holding the shoe onto the metal fails. This is often manifested by a “scrapping” or rubbing noise in the rear brake area. All too often this is ignored, or dismissed as simply rust on the brake rotors, when in fact it can be a danger sign.

Rust does occur on Volvo rotors, as it does on all cars. The only way to be certain if the parking brake system is OK is to remove both rear brake rotors and visually inspect the parking brake shoes. At any sign of delaminating, the shoes must be replaced before catastrophic failure occurs. When the friction material completely disbonds from the metal plate, it frequently gets wedged between the brake rotor and the metal backing plate, doing a tremendous amount of damage. The simple replacement of parking brake shoes, while adjusting and servicing the parking brake system may cost $130-170, but in the event of a catastrophic failure and subsequent damage to the wheel spindle and backing plate, the service cost can easily exceed $1500. As a general guideline, any car over 4 years of age, or with more than 50,000 miles on the odometer, should be carefully inspected for this problem.

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Mercedes CLK320 – Climate Control Link/Motor Defective

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Hidden in the dash of that nice C-Class are a series of small plastic levers, which, given time and use, may fracture, resulting in an unusual noise from the dash area. The noise is noted as a “snapping” or “popping” sound in or near the center vents, and the customer may also have a concern about incorrect temp or air flow from the vents. The problem, a small plastic lever which operates the foot well flaps via a servo motor. In this car, we found both the broken link as well as a defective servo motor. The servo motor had a damaged internal gear, but was not on the flap link which had broken, but rather was on a air direction flap on the passenger side.

Running a diagnostic with the Mercedes SDS computer should confirm the fault, before the teardown and visual inspection. The plastic lever in question has been redesigned to be more robust, and the update kit is available from Mercedes. The service correction is quite involved, requiring removal of the center console upper panel, radio, climate control head, and lover dash with the glove box. Once the arm is located and replaced, the SDS should be used to run a “normalization” routine on the flap system.

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Audi Allroad – Water Leak – ABS/ESP Brake Module Damage

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

When this Audi was serviced, the previous service shop neglected to properly clean the water drains under the hood. On many of the Audis leaves and other debris will block the drains and allow water to build up and enter the interior of the car via the cabin air intake. Water build up will overflow and enter into this opening. In this case the electronic module which control ABS brakes and ESP – traction control, was damaged by the water entry into the car. We cleared the drains, replaced and coded the ESP module, and the car was fine. It is very important to make certain that your service shop both aware of this problem and cleans these drains on an annual basis. If you do notice water on the passenger side floor, the car should be checked at once at a qualified service facility.

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VW Passat – Engine Damage – Use Of Non-Synthetic Oil

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

You’ll note the severe scoring and wear on the camshaft bearing caps on the Audi/VW 1.8 liter turbo engine. Audi and VW strongly recommend, and in some cases require the use of a full synthetic engine oil in their cars. No where is this more important than in the engine which use a turbocharger. Non-synthetic, or low quality engine oils will break down under the load, carbonize, and cause internal engine damage or turbocharger failure. This is why we always suggest the use of a full synthetic engine oil in model years 1999 or new. The oil does cost more, but does not have to be replaced as frequently, and the protection offered to your
engine is priceless.

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Volvo S60 Turbo – ETM and Crankcase Breather Problem

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

The Volvo Electronic Throttle Module (ETM) has earned a bad reputation, perhaps unfairly, for
problems and early failures on the 1998-2001 cars. The ETM is the subject of a warranty extension by Volvo, now up to 10 years from the date the car was first put into service, or 200,000 miles. Volvo has also released a number of updates, both software and in service procedures to deal with these problems.

This car in particular had a number of throttle fault codes stored in the engine computer. Volvo has released a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) addressing this problem, with the recommendations of cleaning the Electronic Throttle Module (ETM), inspecting and cleaning the crankcase breather system, and replacing a number of parts in the breather system. Finally a software update is downloaded to the ETM to improve its operation, and make it more fault tolerant. Should the throttle problem then reoccur after this service, Volvo can verify the fault and warranty the throttle under its 10 year, 200,000 mile warranty.

In the photos below, you’ll note the heavily clogged ventilation ports, both in the black breather box, and in the engine block. Such clogging is indicative of higher mileage, extended oil change intervals, or the use of a poor quality engine oil and filter. The build up of this material prevents the crankcase ventilation system from functioning correctly, and will lead to an increase in crankcase pressure, contamination of the ETM, and even engine damage. Any problem with the ETM must first be dealt with by inspecting and serving the crankcase ventilation system.

Volvo S60 Turbo Volvo Turbo Engine
Engine With Intake Manifold Removed Crankcase Breather Ports
Clogged Engine Breather Assembly Clogged Engine Crankcase Breather Port
ETM Properly Cleaned and Serviced Volvo Breather Update Kit
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