Jun 19
0

Resurfacing Flywheels

By | Library

What is Resurfacing?

Through normal use the surface of a flywheel can become worn, pitted or discoloured. Due to the surface being uneven, it doesn’t meet the clutch smoothly which results in clutch slippage or uneven wear and tear.

To remedy this you can remove imperfections by grinding or cutting, resulting in a smooth surface that meets the clutch evenly. Generally you address this when changing the clutch as this process will expose the whole assembly for inspection, allowing you to resurface or replace parts depending on their condition.

When removed you can perform an inspection using a straight edge and feeler gauge to determine its condition.

 

Why is Resurfacing Performed?

A resurfaced flywheel will have a completely even surface with no flat/hard spots of material. This means the friction across the whole face will be even, making engagement more predictable and smooth. It will also ensure your new clutch is broken in and wears evenly, allowing you to get the full life out of it.

The biggest advantage is more torque can be held by the assembly without slipping, prolonging the life of your clutch. It also makes for smoother and more predictable engagement, making the vehicle easier to drive. As the parts are already accessible when changing the clutch, preventing any premature wear by resurfacing doesn’t involve much more labour or cost.

Inspection

It’s also a good idea to inspect the flywheel before any resurfacing is performed. Any signs of cracking means the part is unsafe to use and should be replaced immediately. Cracked flywheels can explode whilst in use, which will require a new gearbox as well as serious injury!

On many flywheels the starter ring gear is a separate component, that’s pressed on at the point of manufacture. As it’s a replaceable part ensure that no teeth are damaged. If you can’t replace the teeth and there is damage, it’s strongly advised to source a replacement.

 

Precautions

You will need to consult your vehicle manufacturers tolerances, as material will be ground away to create an even surface you need to ensure this is within manufacturer specification. If there isn’t enough material to remove it will need to be replaced.

It’s also important to ensure the machined surface is flat and completely free from defects.

If resurfacing is required it’s a good idea to mark the index position in relation to the crankshaft prior to removal. This is vital with engines that are externally balanced using flywheel counterweights. This step isn’t necessary if the engine is internally balanced.

Dual Mass Flywheels

It’s not recommended to resurface all DMF’s specifically from BMW, General Motors or Porsche. If the flywheel on any of these vehicles is worn it should be replaced.

Other manufacturers such as Ford are able to be resurfaced, once removed you need to separate the primary and secondary flywheels and resurface within manufacturer tolerances. All bolts should be replaced prior to replacement.

 

How to Resurface a Flywheel

The two methods of resurfacing involve cutting or grinding. Cutting will be performed on a brake lathe, care needs to be taken to insure the flywheel turns true on the lathe. This is so that every area of the face is cut evenly to provide a smooth mating surface for the clutch. The cutting of material is performed using a lathe, with the advantage of removing smaller amounts of material compared to grinding. The disadvantage of cutting material away is it doesn’t address hard spots of material, leaving uneven areas.

Grinding is the alternative to cutting, and is generally the preferred method of refurbishing a flywheels surface. Although the disadvantage of grinding is more material is removed, a grinder will remove hard spots of material.

 

Symptoms of Failure

Vibrations

The most common indicator is vibrations at idle or low speeds. You can also feel the chattering through the pedal, and experience erratic behaviour when the clutch engages. Usually these vibrations are caused by a failed spring mount mechanism of the flywheels, therefore reducing the ability to absorb vibrations from the engine/drivetrain usage.

 

Burning Smell

Another indication of failure is a burning smell in the cabin, some describe the smell as burnt toast. The smell is caused by too much heat on the contact faces, this can also happen due to improper driving. If the smell is only temporary after slippage there shouldn’t be any lasting damage, and won’t require a replacement.

 

Jun 19
0

How to get Cigarette Smell out of a Car

By | Automotive Detailing

 

Not only is cigarette smoke an unpleasant odor, it’s difficult to remove from your car – however not impossible.
Here’s what’s worked for us:

1. Dispose all cigarette butts and ash from the car
2. Clean the ash tray and every other surface that’s come into contact with cigarettes
3. Deodorize all fabric surfaces
4. Clean all glass
5. Treat the HVAC ducts
6. Soak up the scent using household products

Clean-up

It makes sense to start with the source of the smell, therefore helping to rid the odor as quickly as possible.

Remove all Cigarettes from your Car

Cigarette butts and ash will keep your interior lingering of smoke, despite any effort you make to mask the odor. Start by cleaning out your ash tray and vacuuming the whole car, removing the source of the smell.

Vacuuming and shampooing all Fabrics

All soft fabrics in your vehicle need to be vacuumed, as odor particulate will accumulate into the material. If you hire a professional to tackle the job, they will perform a complete shampoo of seats, carpets, door panels, headliner and Air Conditioning vents. Read our full guide explaining how to clean car seats.
Consider performing the same thorough cleaning to completely eliminate the scent from returning, expect to shampoo the interior multiple times if smoking heavily.

Glass Cleaning

Nicotine will cling to all surfaces relentlessly, including glass. Not a place you may expect to be causing bad smells, but it’s something that can be quickly remedied using a white vinegar in a spray bottle.

Spray the white vinegar on the glass avoiding any interior trim around the glass, and wipe away with a damp cloth. If this solution doesn’t work, you can mix ammonia and water in a 1:16 solution of ammonia to water. Spray onto glass and use a lint free cloth or newspaper to wipe the surface dry.

HVAC Duct

Your cabin filter which filters air before entering the cabin will need to be replaced. The filter will trap the odor and keep the smell lingering when you use your vents. Each manufacturer has a different procedure to replacing cabin filters, however it’s a common service item and should be easy to find online or in your vehicle handbook.

 

Absorbing the smell

Using Everyday Objects:

Ground Coffee

For decades ground aromatic coffee has sparingly been used to absorb smells by truck drivers in their trailers. Due to its absorbent properties it’s perfect for removing remove smoke odor from your interior.
Simply fill up bowl or two and fill with coffee. Leave in the vehicle with the windows and doors closed for 24-48 hours to absorb the odor. Depending on the cars exposure to smoke, this treatment may be more than enough to completely clear the smell, however it’s easy enough to repeat should your car require multiple treatments.
It’s not a good idea to drive with open bowls of coffee in your car, however you could fill up a few pairs of tights and tie the end to keep it secure.

Charcoal

Similar to coffee charcoal is excellent at absorbing bad odors, which you can use instead of coffee if you don’t like the scent. Simply leave charcoal or charcoal briquettes in a container and close all openings of your vehicle.
When you return 24-48 hours later your car will no longer smell, just simply dispose of the used charcoal.

Newspaper

Newsprint is another great way to absorb potent smells. Roll up a few newspapers and place them under your seats. Within a few days you will notice the smells fading away, and you can periodically change out the newspapers to maintain the absorbing process.

Cat Litter

Extremely absorbent and easily available, cat litter is very porous and will soak up bad smells quickly. A great alternative to the above method if you already have cats, and has the added benefit of absorbing moisture within your car too.

White Vinegar Spray

Not a personal favourite of my own, however white vinegar sprayed onto fabric surfaces will get rid of the source of odours. Mix a 50:50 spray bottle of water and white vinegar, then spray onto your interior fabric.
Be sure not to spray onto any electrical devices or suede interior. I personally can’t stand the smell of vinegar, you have been warned!

Baking Soda

Among bicarbonate of sodas many uses, a natural deodorant is one of them. Firstly sprinkle the baking soda over as many porous surfaces as possible (Floor Mats, carpeting, seats) and work in using a brush.
Then go ahead and wait between 30 minutes to a whole day before vacuuming up the baking powder. The longer you leave it resting in the fabric, the more likely it will deodorize your interior.
When vacuuming, take at least two passes to ensure all residue has been removed.

Commercial Products:

If using our household solutions haven’t killed the smell, turning to purpose made products will rid that odor once and for all!

Ozone Generator

A machine that creates ozone gas from carbon dioxide. Ozone will react with particulate and bacteria, therefore neutralizing the source of bad smells. These machines are available to buy or rent, and are used in many different applications to remove bad odours.
It should be noted that caution should be exercised when using an ozone generator, as they’re harmful to health. By breathing in ozone it can cause respiratory issues, and should only be used in uninhabited areas that are sealed off.

Dakota Odor Bomb

There are many products available that you can use to deodorize your vehicle. Press the button onto the can until it locks fully, put it on a flat surface in the car and shut all openings.
After 2 hours, ventilate the vehicle to allow the product to escape. There may be a chemical odor that lingers for a few days, however this is a great alternative to an ozone generator and easier too.

Jul 02
0

Privacy Policy

By |

Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 15, 2018

Amansworldco (“us”, “we”, or “our”) operates the https://amansworldco.com website (the “Service”).

This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data when you use our Service and the choices you have associated with that data.

We use your data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions, accessible from https://amansworldco.com

Information Collection And Use

We collect several different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve our Service to you.

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Data”). Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

  • Email address
  • First name and last name
  • Phone number
  • Address, State, Province, ZIP/Postal code, City
  • Cookies and Usage Data

Usage Data

We may also collect information how the Service is accessed and used (“Usage Data”). This Usage Data may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

Tracking & Cookies Data

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Service and hold certain information.

Cookies are files with small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Tracking technologies also used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our Service.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.

Cookies and Web Beacons

We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features, such as forums.

We also use third party advertisements on amansworldco.com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google Adsense program) information including your IP address, your ISP, the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing Virginia real estate ads to someone in Virginia, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing fishing ads to someone who frequents fishing sites).

You can choose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.

Examples of Cookies we use:

  • Session Cookies. We use Session Cookies to operate our Service.
  • Preference Cookies. We use Preference Cookies to remember your preferences and various settings.
  • Security Cookies. We use Security Cookies for security purposes.

Use of Data

Amansworldco uses the collected data for various purposes:

  • To provide and maintain the Service
  • To notify you about changes to our Service
  • To allow you to participate in interactive features of our Service when you choose to do so
  • To provide customer care and support
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  • To monitor the usage of the Service
  • To detect, prevent and address technical issues

Transfer Of Data

Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to – and maintained on – computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from your jurisdiction.

If you are located outside United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to United States and process it there.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

Amansworldco will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.

Disclosure Of Data

Legal Requirements

Amansworldco may disclose your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

  • To comply with a legal obligation
  • To protect and defend the rights or property of Amansworldco
  • To prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
  • To protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public
  • To protect against legal liability

Security Of Data

The security of your data is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Service Providers

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service (“Service Providers”), to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform Service-related services or to assist us in analyzing how our Service is used.

These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

Analytics

We may use third-party Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service.

  • Google Analytics

    Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.

    You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.

    For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en

Links To Other Sites

Our Service may contain links to other sites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Children’s Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 18 (“Children”).

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Children has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

Changes To This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let you know via email and/or a prominent notice on our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the “effective date” at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

  • By email: admin@amansworldco.com
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Jul 01
0

What’s the difference between a Moonroof vs Sunroof?

By | Library

You may have heard moonroof and sunroof used synonymously, however there is a distinct difference between both. It can be hard deciphering the difference on your new cars option sheet, so let’s get straight into it.

Sunroof

A sunroof includes two types of panels, the first being a retractable panel mimicking the headliner. Once fully retracted will expose the glass panel above. The second is another panel made of glass which can be tilted open or fully open, essentially serving as an open window in the roof.

You’ll commonly see wind deflectors or wind nets used with a sunroof, otherwise you will hear whistling and air passing over the gap when travelling at speed.

Interestingly, there are different types of sunroof:

  • Pop-up: A manually operated panel which tilts open.
  • Spoiler: A panel which tilts up and slides towards the back of the car, providing an opening in the roof
  • Top-mount sliding: Mounted to rails, the panel will slide open on the vehicle’s exterior.
  • Inbuilt/Moonroof: Generally electric, this slides between the vehicles metal roof and interior headliner revealing the glass.

 

Moonroof

Technically a type of sunroof due to it letting air and light through the top of the vehicle. However, the moonroof earned its own name due to its functionality, and ultimately demand on vehicles.

A moonroof will commonly have an interior sliding shade matching your headliner so you can open/close when needed. However, the glass doesn’t retract or open, it’s just a fixed structure within the cabin.

The idea is to let light into the vehicle when desired or using the shade to block light out.

Jul 01
0

Can I Mix Different Weights of Oil?

By | Maintenance

Using the correct engine oil is imperative to a trouble free, long life from your engine. Sometimes you may need to top off your oil, choosing the correct weight and type specific to your engine ensures no issues further down the line.

But what happens if you don’t have the exact weight of oil needed for your engine. Can you mix different weights of oil?

Weights Explained

Mixing oils isn’t a straightforward yes or no answer, as there are many variables. The first is the weight of oil, identified by “0w30” for example. The first number represents the viscosity in winter, the lower the number indicates thinner oil when cold.

The second number indicates its viscosity at 100C. This is a standard measurement across all manufacturers. The higher the number indicates how thick the oil is, therefore 0w40 is thicker than 0w30 at 100C.

When you mix two different oil weights, its viscosity changes depending on the mixture. For example, if you have a 50:50 mix of 0w40 and 0w30, you’d expect the mixture to end up around 0w35. The issue lies if there is a large discrepancy between the mixed oil weights, altering the viscosity outside of manufacturers specification.

For a quick top off there shouldn’t be any issues if the viscosities are close like our example – providing the manufacturer is the same. Be aware using an extremely thick or thin oil can cause irreparable damage. Using your best judgement here is key.

 

Oil Types Explained

There are two types of engine oil used, Mineral and Synthetic. Mineral oil is used on older vehicles as it was the standard until more performance was required from combustion engines. A solution was needed to the increased temperatures and strain on oil, so a purer and better performing solution was required.

Synthetic oil has 5 main benefits:

  • It’s resistance to breakdown under higher temperatures is better, ensuring proper lubrication in hot climates or performance cars.
  • Performance in low temperatures (-40C) ensures protection despite being below freezing.
  • Better protection from degradation. Synthetic oils resist shearing much better, maintaining it’s viscosity over the life of the oil.
  • Lower consumption of oil as synthetic blends experience less boil off compared to traditional blends. According to Total, a quality synthetic oil will only lose 4% of it’s weight when exposed to 400 degrees for six hours. Mineral Oil will experience 30% loss under the same conditions.
  • Cleaner engines as synthetics don’t sludge up as fast. This means short trips or driving in winter results in better lubrication and protection.

Is it okay to Mix Different Brands of Motor Oil?

You can mix the same type (synthetic or mineral) from the same manufacturer. Different manufacturers use different additives to achieve the best performance from your engine oil. The issue lies in how these interact with each other inside the harsh environment of an engine – potentially causing failure.

Be careful you’re not mixing different types of oil, only ever mix synthetic with synthetic, and mineral with mineral. If in doubt don’t risk it, you can get oil the next working day from X.

Jul 01
0

Clicking Noise when Trying to Start Car

By | troubleshooting

Everyone’s been in the same situation, running late in the morning for work when disaster strikes. Your car won’t start, potentially leading to big repair bills.

If your lights come on, radio works, but you hear a clicking when trying to start the car, you’re in luck! This can be narrowed down to either the battery or starter motor in 99% of cases and is easy to diagnose.

 

Battery

Visual Inspection

First on the list is your battery. Most commonly located under the bonnet in plain view, and in the boot in BMW’s. This is the main culprit for starting issues, commonly caused by a worn-out battery from age. Batteries can last anywhere from 3 years to 10 depending on climate, cold weather is harsh on batteries and will shorten their working lifespan.

Remove any covers to expose each terminal and check for a blue/white crystal substance on each terminal. If you see this do not touch, as it’s battery acid that’s leaked from the cells and will cause chemical burns. Corrosion will look like the image below:

Battery acid leak

Instead mix 16oz (500ml) of hot water (not boiling!) with 1 tspb of baking powder, and slowly pour over the terminal. The mixture will bubble up and fizz, neutralising the acid.

Slowly pour clean water to remove the residual baking powder and dry off with a lint free cloth.

Swelling

Check the rest of the battery for swelling or visible leaks. Inside the battery is a mix of distilled water and battery acid, if this mixture leaks you will see a blue/white crystal substance. Swelling isn’t a good sign either – replace immediately ensuring proper disposal of your old battery.

Terminal Connectors

If there isn’t anything visibly wrong, you now want to check the connections to each terminal are securely attached. To check this, give them a slight wiggle to check for play. You shouldn’t be able to move these connections – if they are loose go ahead and tighten them up.

Check the terminals and connections for dirt and grime, as this can prevent a circuit being formed. An old toothbrush with a diluted baking soda mixture will clean up the connections perfectly.

If you need to remove the connectors, remove the negative terminal (indicated by a -) first, then the positive terminal.

When reconnecting the battery, the positive terminal needs to be connected first (indicated by a +) then the negative terminal.

Multi-meter

You can also test whether the battery has a charge by using a multi-meter. An extremely useful piece of equipment that should be in every DIYers toolbox. If you find yourself without one, I recommend the X.

To use simply turn the dial to X, then wait for the display to zero. Touch the negative and positive terminals to the corresponding terminal on the battery and wait for the number to stabilize.

 

Starter Motor

If your battery passed the above tests, our focus will move onto the starter motor.

If you can hear one loud click or no clicks when turning the ignition, this indicates a problem with the starter solenoid.

What is a starter solenoid?

A solenoid is a coil of wire wrapped into a tightly packed helix shape. This solenoid is then used as an electromagnet, as the device creates a magnetic field from the electric current passed to it when you turn the ignition.

This small surge of current from the ignition turn, creates the electromagnetic field which brings the two connections together, completing the circuit and providing the starter motor with power.

As this is a moving part it’s susceptible to breaking and will eventually need to be replaced. As we can’t provide specific tutorials for each vehicle, I advise you to grab a Haynes Manual which will guide you through the process of replacing starter components.

Jun 21
0

Why does my Car Smell like Rotten Eggs?

By | troubleshooting

Unusual smells and sounds from your vehicle shouldn’t be ignored, especially a pungent odor like rotten eggs. There are only a handful of reasons why your car will smell like eggs, fortunately this issue is easy to diagnose.

 

Cracked or Clogged Catalytic Converter

By far the most common reason for this smell is a malfunctioning catalytic converter. The odour is caused by Hydrogen Sulfide, which is a byproduct of combustion. This gas is converted inside the exhaust, to produce sulphur dioxide an odourless (and much less harmful to the environment) gas.

Symptoms

If your catalytic converter begins to malfunction or leak combustion gases, you will begin to smell this mainly at the rear of the car – specifically from the exhaust. (Note: Please don’t inhale your cars exhaust!).

Another symptom is rattling from the converter itself. Inside is a honeycomb like structure which can work loose or disintegrate. If you can remove this from your vehicle, try shaking or hitting with a rubber mallet to see if you can hear movement inside.

You may also see a check engine light on your dashboard, indicating a lack of efficiency from your catalyst. A code reader is a handy tool, which will tell you the corresponding tool – pinpointing the exact

Prevention

A major reason for your catalytic converter becoming clogged is due to an improperly functioning engine. Excess fuel being introduced into your exhaust can destroy the catalyst inside, resulting in foul smells.

If your engine burns oil, this can cool the catalyst preventing soot from being burned off. Generally these problems can be caused by a wide range of issues from faulty sensors, aging rubber parts or a failing engine – consider consulting a trusted mechanic to inspect your vehicle, or read our troubleshooting guides.

 

Battery Leaking Acid

A battery being overcharged will produce hydrogen sulphide, causing a rotten egg smell. This is due to the acid inside each cell escaping the casing, as most car batteries are sealed.

It’s easy to identify, as you will see a white crystal substance, typically seen around the terminals of the battery. You may also notice your battery swelling at the sides, due to increased internal pressure.

If your battery is leaking or appears to be swelling, immediately stop using your vehicle and get a replacement is installed.

You shouldn’t touch the battery without wearing proper protection, because the internal acid can cause serious injury to skin, even if it’s dried.

 

Transmission or Differential Fluid

Petroleum based oils can cause an unpleasant smell once aged or heated outside of the operating temperature range. In older vehicles it’s possible the transmission or differential is slowly leaking fluid, causing a bad odour once up to temperature.

A tell-tale sign of an oil leak is a small puddle in the morning, most commonly the drain/fill plug crush washers – fortunately an easy fix (and excuse to change your fluid!).

Another possibility is a crack in the metal casing causing the leak, carefully inspecting the trail of oil will quickly reveal whether you have a crack in the casing, or simply a leaking crush washer.

Solution

In this instance, changing the fluid will cure the odours source. Oil does eventually go bad with age and use, and is easy enough to change with simple tools.

Make sure you inspect the transmission and differential for leaks, to solve the underlying problem of smelling the oil. The leak will most commonly be from the drain and fill plugs, if this does turn out to be the source of the leak your local dealership can provide the correct parts extremely quickly!

A Haynes manual for your vehicle will show you the correct procedure to replace the fill plugs, as well as changing the oil itself. The manuals include pictures and manufacturer torque specs, and are easy to follow.

Jun 21
0

Why does my car AC Smell?

By | troubleshooting

When you turn on your AC, does it produce a weird odour? If this is the case, there definitely is a problem.

Fortunately it’s fairly common and is caused by a variety of issues, which we will address in our guide to bad air conditioning smells.

 

Mold and Bacteria Growth

The most common reason for foul smells produced by your cars AC is mold/bacteria growth. Air conditioning works by removing heat and moisture out of the air that’s already in your car, resulting in a nice cold breeze.

The side effect of this moisture removal is an ideal place for mold to grow, causing bad smells and potential health implications.

How to get rid of mold

Fortunately getting rid of the mold is straightforward. There are several methods of treatment, fortunately they aren’t too expensive.

Filter Change

Sometimes a dirty air filter can trap bad smells, pushing them back through your vents. Fortunately it’s a straightforward change, and cheap too. Using a Haynes Manual (https://haynes.com) will show you how to change your filter easily.

This filter should be changed according to your maintenance schedule, which you’ll find in the service book supplied with your vehicle or applicable Haynes Manual.

Anti-bacterial cleaning

Killing bacteria that’s grown in the intake ducting, or the condenser will eliminate bad smells. Condensation that builds up from cooling air is usually drained away, however if the system doesn’t get a chance to dry out, mildew can grow throughout the system causing unpleasant odours.

Turtle Wax Whole Car Blast is the product I’ve used to get results, which is an easy and cheap way to de-smell your cars HVAC system.

Step 1: First place the canister into the passenger’s foot well, nozzle facing upright.

Step 2: Next turn the car and air conditioning on, with the fan speed on full in recirculation mode.

Step 3: Depress the button on the can, which will release a continuous stream of spray. Shut the doors and windows on the vehicle and let the spray circulate around the HVAC system. This should take between 10-20 minutes.

Step 4: Keep the fans blowing full speed with the AC now switched off, for five minutes. Ensure the doors/windows are open – this is to dry out the whole system, preventing odours from re-establishing themselves.

 

Ozone Generator

An alternative to anti-bacterial spray is an ozone generator, which will kill all odours in the AC system. If all else fails this is one of the most effective way to eliminate the source of bad odours, and can get in every crevice ensuring complete cleaning.

Ozone isn’t safe to breathe in, therefore precautions should be taken to avoid contact with the produced gas.

To get started:

Step 1: Turn the car on, and ensure the air conditioning is set to full fan speed and recirculation mode, with the temperature as low as possible.

Step 2: Set the Ozone generator to work for 20 minutes, our generator outputs 5g/hr – if your machine outputs more, adjust the time accordingly. Overexposure can cause damage to interior rubber!

Step 3: Turn the vehicle off and allow it to ventilate for an hour or two. Be careful not to breathe any of the ozone gas in, as it can cause respiratory irritation.

 

Burning Rubber

Due to the complexity of a car’s HVAC system, there are multiple reasons why you may smell burning rubber.

Burning off Dust

If you haven’t used your AC in a while, dust and other debris can build up all over the system. When your HVAC system gets up to temperature, this debris will be burnt off releasing a burning odour.

If you still notice the smell after a few minutes, it may be a different problem and should be investigated immediately.

Clogged Air Filter

Despite being a maintenance item sometimes an excessive amount of particulate can build up in your filter, severely reducing airflow. This will put extra strain on the rest of the components, commonly producing a burning rubber smell.

To rectify this issue, changing your filter will immediately get rid of any unpleasant smells. In all cars they’re accessible and can be changed using tools you have around the house! I recommend using a Haynes Manual if you’re unsure how to get started.