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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.

Audi A8 – Head Gasket Service

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Timing belt replacement on the Audi A8 requires a fair amount of disassembly on the front end of the vehicle. The Audi 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines are high compression types, failure of the timing belt will result in major engine damage. Although scheduled by Audi for 90,000 miles, we have found loose or severely worn timing belts and tensioners at the 75K mile mark. When replacing the rubber timing belt, all belt rollers, water pump and thermostat must be replaced. This is a service you only want to do every 100,000 miles. We have noted a number of the Audi V8s with head gasket leaks or seepage, this is a straightforward matter to correct when the car is disassembled for the timing chain.

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BMW 525 – Defective Heat Exchanger (Heater Core) in Dash

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

This car has was diagnosed with a defective heat exchanger, also know as a heater core.
The heater core as used in this BMW’s climate control has hot engine coolant flowing through it during operation. The heater core, which is comprised of a an aluminum core and nylon tank ends had developed at leak at the interface. This area is often sealed with rubber o-ring which fails after long term exposure to heat and coolant.

Once the o-ring seal fails, coolant will begin to seep out of the heater core into the heater box producing a strong burning smell from the dash vents. This can lead to long term problems if the antifreeze gets onto or into control motors, servos or air direction flaps. Like most heater cores this unit is somewhat buried in the dash, necessitating a fair amount of disassembly to remove and replace. Its always a good policy to flush the cooling system at least every two years, or 30,000 miles, and to use a quality antifreeze with corrosion inhibiters.


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Mercedes 300SDL – Fault In Climate Control System

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Car presented with Incorrect air flow out the heat/ac vents. Upon inspection we discovered that a previous servicing facility had worked on the vehicle and left the ACC system in total disarray. Vacuum lines were disconnected, flaps were wire tied closed, actuators were disabled, vacuum manifolds were plugged, in short, the ACC air direction system was non-functional. This required removal of the dash pad and center console to fully inspect and access what was needed to make the system operational once again. Subsequently upon removal we found broken flaps, damaged cable actuators and stripped gears. This is a major undertaking, and it all has to be right before the dash is reinstalled back into the car.



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VW Passat V6 – Engine Oil Sludge – Incorrect Oil Grade Used

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Engine oil sludge does not just affect Saabs, take at look at the oil pan and lower engine on this VW Passat. That black gooey substance is not tar, but engine oil sludge. Unfortunately the car was switched over to a full synthetic engine oil too late in its life, for the first three years it was run on a conventional oil, you can see the results. It is cheap insurance to always use a fully synthetic engine oil on all European autos newer than 1999. We use Castrol Syntec in our workshop, it is the factory fill on many of the European imports.

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Mercedes 300SL – Rodent Damage to ABS Wiring

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

With only 22,000 miles, rodent damage on the ABS rear wheel speed sensor data cables.

Somehow a mouse found its way inside the car, under the seat, under the carpet, under the foam padding, and into the rear wiring harness conduit for a quick snack. Required extensive work to diagnose and then removal of the passenger seat and carpeting to service.

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Audi A6 Quattro 2.8 V6 – Scheduled Timing Belt Service

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Audi/VW timing belt replacement is a bit of a project as it requires the removal of the front nose of car. When replacing the timing belt it is critical to also replace the engine water pump and thermostat as they are located behind the timing belt, requiring belt removal to access. Not the most technician friendly design. It is also strongly recommended to replace the tensioner roller, serpentine belt and inspect the tensioner seals for oil leakage.

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Audi A4 Quattro – A/C Evaporator Core Replacement

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

A/C Evaporator Core Service, requires extensive dash removal.
Car suffered repeated loss of refrigerant, testing dye did not indicate external leakage but internal to dash. Note the yellow dye stains on the removed evaporator core, lower right photo.


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Audi A4 Avant Quattro V6 – Engine Oil Leaks

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Engine oil leakage from timing chain tensioners. Previous service facility had replaced the timing belt but not checked/serviced the tensioners seals. The new timing belt had been ruined by oil leakage and required replacement. Continued use of the car with the oil leakage and damaged timing belt would have resulted in severe engine damage. The timing chain tensioner seals should always be inspected for leakage during timing belt service.

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VW Passat V6 Engine – Water Pump Failure

Case Studies
Atlantic Motorcar Center

Failed engine water pump, requires removal of the front nose of car.
The engine water pump and thermostat are located behind the timing belt, requiring belt removal to access. Not the most technician friendly design. Always replace the water pump and thermostat when servicing the timing belt.


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