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The updated 2008 Audi A4 introduced a selection of new engines, the most popular of which were 2.0-litre TDI turbo-diesel and 1.8-litre TFSI turbo-petrol engines.  Castrol points out that every engine in the current generation Audi A4 was designed to run on fully-synthetic, low viscosity 5W-30 engine oil.

It’s important that vehicle technicians top-up these vehicles with the correct oil formulation.  Using anything other than the recommended fully-synthetic 5W-30 formulation – including higher viscosity oils, such as 5W-40 and 10W-40, which lack the relevant Volkswagen Group 504 00 / 507 00 approvals – will invalidate the manufacturer warranty instantly and may reduce the efficiency, performance and longevity of the engine.

Common issues affecting TDI models include alternator clutch pulleys failing due to tensioner problems. The starter motor, again mainly on TDI models, can also fail prematurely because of clutch dust/Dual mass flywheel dust.

The good news is that on petrol models don’t have any common complaints.

George Osborne has delivered his budget, and the reaction is starting to roll in.

The Road Haulage Association

It’s nothing new for any reader of this magazine to be told that some parts are better than other parts.

Many claim to be of ‘matching quality’ to the original, a provision included in Block Exemption Regulation in order to allow alternative parts to be used and vehicle manufacturer warranties to remain intact.

Sogefi Group is flexing its OE muscles and aiming to retake a sizeable chunk of the UK’s aftermarket filtration business over the next three to five years.

Although it says it remains the market leader in the UK, with 26 percent of sales in 2011, ten years ago it would have had a 40 percent share of the sector, close to the one-in-two aftermarket position it has in France today.

The €1.1 billion company invited CAT to Vire in Normandy to pay a visit to one of its 44 worldwide manufacturing facilities and to talk to Andrea Taschini, General Manager of the Sogefi Aftermarket Division, and newly-appointed Country Area Manager for the UK Nigel Duffield.

OE and the courtroom

Mahle says it is adding its weight to the campaign to stamp out low quality and counterfeit products in the UK filters market.

The company has produced a comprehensive guide to automotive filter quality, stressing the importance of like for like replacements. Mahle says that although there are many brands in the market which claim to provide matching quality, the truth is sometimes warped by differing specifications.

Mahle says that technicians and businesses fitting these parts leave themselves open to embarrassment if the end user discovers that a part is inferior, often after it has failed.

The company is distributing its new guide to its network across the UK and Ireland.

Delphi has supplied the following technical information regarding the Ford Focus:

Schaeffler talks through its technical findings on the Ford Focus:

Wheel bearings are safety critical parts so garages need to obtain the best possible advice when replacing them on vehicles that enter the workshop.

The RMI's Terry Gibson talks through some good profit opportunities on the Ford Focus:

Focus' fitted with DPF filters are a good additional extra when in for service, we are receiving more calls to the technical helpline with vehicles in limp mode due to the drivers not completing the regeneration cycle. This could be avoided if the system was checked at service before the filter becomes blocked.