Ghost in the shell
This month, Andrew considers how Rolls-Royce has changed over the last two decades
Published: 14 July, 2022
By Andrew Marsh, Engineering Director, Auto Industry Consulting Ltd
The separation of Bentley from Rolls-Royce allowed both brands to benefit from significant investment, and better long-term prospects. Up until the sale of Rolls-Royce Motors, which hosted Bentley and Rolls-Royce, investment was hard to come by.
BMW is a technology partner with Rolls-Royce aero engines, which owned the brand name as well as the trademarks. Volkswagen Auto Group had no such link, so were unlikely to gain Rolls-Royce.
From 2002 onwards, the new architecture appeared for Rolls-Royce, which an aluminium alloy intensive bodyshell for the Phantom, unique versions of V12 engines and more. Usefully, Rolls-Royce pricing went upwards. The addition of the slightly less expensive BMW 7 series-based Ghost, Wraith and Dawn allowed even greater brand reach. With the renewal of the Phantom and new Ghost, the entire range uses aluminium intensive body structures.
Volkswagen Group also renewed most of the Bentley platforms, but tapered the legacy product for longer whilst re-using the D segment platform for the Continental series. This resulted in a less expensive vehicle range than Rolls-Royce, but one that was profitable. Engines ranged from the W12, bi-turbo V8, a hybrid V6 and Bentley’s first diesel – also a bi-turbo V8. Of course, apart from the original 6.76 litre V8 - extensively upgraded - and the W12, the other engines were adapted VAG units. As you can see very little of this would have happened if VAG and BMW Group had not stepped in.
Why use a V12 engine?
The internal combustion engine layouts with the least vibration are either in-line 6 cylinder or V12 cylinder units. Modern engine management systems - integrating fuelling with timing and multi-stage direct fuel injection for each combustion cycle - can address other cylinder arrangements that were very difficult to achieve with purely mechanical systems.
Of course, the objective is smooth power deliver with immense torque to deliver seamless acceleration and low levels of vibration (noise, vibration & harshness otherwise known as NVH) is now possible with the addition of electricity - either alone or in conjunction with an internal combustion engine.
The V12 is now deeply unfashionable, but I suspect it will reappear after the current production engines stop being made. As for efficacy, whilst the W12 in Bentley is magnificent it is the V8 that is the best choice in terms of performance, and economy, with a small NVH penalty. Rolls-Royce are unlikely to completely abandon the V12, but
it will not be the 6.75 litre bi-turbocharged giant of today.
- March MOT madness: Making the most of it
MOTs should be firmly at the top of the agenda for garages this month, for two key reasons. Firstly, it’s the last normal month of MOT demand until later in the year, as a result of the extensions granted in the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Secondly, the deadline for testers to complete their MOT Annual Assessment is just a few weeks away.
Here’s everything you need to know about making the most of the immediate opportunity, while ensuring you remain qualified and able to conduct MOT work from 1 April onwards.
Top tips
Use your data: Government research shows that 40% of MOT customers prefer to choose a garage they have used before, so work through your customer database to identify customers in need of an MOT.
Pick up the phone: Contact your customers by phone rather than blanket email or text. One garage owner reported a 43% uptake on bookings in a single day after switching to making phone calls to his customers.
Get social: Use your social media pages to let your customers know you are open, and to spark the reminder that their MOT could be due. Some might have forgotten that they have not been using their vehicles as frequently. Social media is also a great channel to mention the Covid safety measures you have in place, to help put customers’ minds at ease about booking with you.
Be searchable: Make sure you are listed on relevant online directories and local lists, so when potential new customers are searching for a garage, you are in the mix.
Think ahead: Use the opportunity to get ahead for next year and set up reminders for customers on their MOT deadlines. This way, you can ensure they come back to you next time.
Bolster your team: If you have created the demand, but do not have the resource to manage it because team members are off sick or on holiday, there is no need to turn work away. Use our dedicated recruitment partner, AutoTech Recruit, to bring in experienced temporary technicians at a low cost.
Prioritising the MOT tester Annual Assessment
Disruption to the MOT demand curve, not to mention disruption more broadly, with changing COVID-19 restrictions and staff absences, means many testers have overlooked their compulsory MOT training.
The DVSA recently reported that nearly 50,000 testers were yet to complete their assessment this year. While it’s understandable that some might have been focusing on other things, failing to get assessed in time could have serious consequences, both for workshop income, and for road safety.
MOTs are a critical and reliable source of revenue for garages. Private modes of transport, i.e. passenger cars, are the preferred choice for many at the moment, and given changes to the e-commerce landscape brought about by COVID-19, it has never been more important to keep delivery and other essential vehicles on the move.
The purpose of the MOT is to aid safety and drive quality, and each year, testing standards undergo vital changes to ensure it does exactly that. If testers are not up to date with what’s required, they might overlook key details that could put their both their customers and other drivers at risk.
This is doubly important when considering the impact of lockdown on vehicles, many of which might be in a poorer condition than typically expected, having sat idle at times in the last year. Components such as brakes, for example, can begin to corrode when there is not sufficient motion to prevent rust from building up. Similarly, tyres can begin to lose their efficacy when lying unused.
To ensure testers are prepared and able to pass their assessment first time, we offer IMI-approved MOT training. Technicians can complete both their full annual CPD and routine refresher courses via our LKQ Academy. We also run classroom-based and online training programmes to cater for different learning preferences and styles.
Ultimately, by providing training, equipment and business support, not to mention having the largest range, fleet and branch network in the business, it is our ambition to ensure that independent garages are run successfully and profitably, and that every job is completed to the highest standard.
- Liverpool garage shares secret of its success
A Liverpool garage has been enjoying new levels of success recently with slots now booked up to six weeks ahead of time, when previously their ramps were filled three to four days in advance.
- New UFI light vehicles catalogue
UFI’s Aftermarket catalogue offers an extended total of 3,359 filter references and heat exchangers.
This includes 2,176 LV, 1,065 HD and 118 for motorcycles. Its filters consist of customized media made from premium cellulosic, glass fiber and fully synthetic materials. The range continues to grow, with 227 products for LV, 211 for HD launched over the last three years. UFI covers more than 98% of European vehicles. The digital version of the catalogue is available to download on the website.
- Logic, process and intuitive thinking
Every so often a challenge comes along that demands, knowledge, skill, and a high degree of logic for the approach. But first, a little reflection over the last few months, and a trend I have noticed, namely that I do not quite understand why we are undertaking such major repairs on relatively recent vehicles.
What could be causing this? One possible reason could be a combination of complacency, lack of affordable maintenance funds on the part of the owner, or a substandard maintenance history. At ADS we have probably replaced six or more power plants with costs reaching very high thousands.
Are they owners purchasing vehicles they cannot afford to maintain properly, thereby leading to catastrophic mechanical failures? Or are these unlucky drivers simply not receiving the right kind of professional advice from the independent sector? If the latter is true, then we all need to take on the responsibility before we are branded bandits and opportunists cashing in on vulnerable owners. I’m not suggesting that a garage should become a charitable institution, but surely there is a profitable middle ground?
Distinct priorities
Back to the point at hand. This month’s problem could have developed into a major diagnostic failure had it not been for ADS’ Dave Gore, our diagnostic lead technician, a.k.a Diagnostic David. I would also like to thank James Dillon for th week’s boot camp training. Peter, our workshop technician, returned enthused and confident in his new skills.
The vehicle under consideration is a VW Golf 2.0 diesel EDC 17 common-rail with SCR after-treatment, which includes dual EGR.
I am going to begin with an overview of the potential complexity and problematic SCR additive system. Manufacturers are wrestling with a greasy pig in their attempts to clean up diesel combustion. I accept there has been big improvement, but it falls well short of the ideal and has without doubt introduced more problems than improvements.
The dual EGR system has two distinct priorities from cold. The hot exhaust gas is diverted by the high pressure EGR valve directly into the inlet manifold. The purpose is to rapidly heat the catalyst and DPF.
The low pressure EGR acts in a traditional manner with its priority to reduce combustion temperatures therefore reducing NOx. So far two valves, and the third valve is an exhaust brake. This throttle is fitted after the DPF/catalyst in the exhaust downstream, and is partially closed to raise the exhaust gas pressure during SCR additive treatment causing the gases to make a second pass through a water cooled egr cooler and DPF/CAT. This ensures the urea is fully saturated within the substrate reducing NOx.
The intake module, as it called with VAG vehicles, also has a water-cooled intake air cooler.
Discreet and regular
Our Golf was subject to a discreet and regular loss of coolant. No external leaks were detectable, except what appeared to be a leaking pressure cap. The car had no obvious issues, was smooth running with exhaust emissions that appeared normal.
Rather than just dive in and confirm the problem, I think it’s much more important to explain the tool options and diagnostic process. I have often used this phrase on my training courses many times; “The process is more important than the repair.” In other words, knowing how is a greater priority.
Water loss possibilities? External leaks or internal leaks? Given the current SCR additive system, engine layout, and lack of accessibility the process and tools will determine success or failure.
Cylinder assessment
Given that the pressure cap was showing deposits on the header tank spill, although not consistently, suspicion lay with compression entering the coolant jacket. Applying the chemical combustion leak detector on the expansion tank showed no evidence of combustion gases within the coolant.
So, a new cap was fitted with no effect. The next option was to conduct a live in-cylinder compression test. The problem with diesel vehicles is the omission of pumping losses (the resistance to engine Volumetric efficiency), so it is imperative to introduce an intake restriction this allows for a drop of in cylinder pressure during the intake stroke.
Most of you by now will accept my assertion that vacuum does not exist where as a pressure differential is much more accurate for in cylinder assessment. By restricting the intake, a greater pressure differential is present during the pistons descent, therefore confirming good sealing properties of valves, piston rings and hopefully cylinder head gasket.
Driving conditions
With faults still not found thus far, David’s next move, was in my opinion, a textbook in logic process and intuitive thinking.
The clue lay in the fact that coolant loss only seems to happen during driving conditions.
David attached the Pico WPS to both the charge pressure circuit and coolant jacket. When driving the vehicle on load, both pressure sensors indicated an increase in pressure during turbo assistance. In simple terms, the rise in pressure was symmetrical.
Convinced the head gasket was not at fault, David assessed the problem to be the inlet cooler.
Removing the cooler and conducting a pressure test confirmed an internal leak. So, in conclusion based not on opinion but actual test data evidence, David assessed the problem as a positive pressure differential during turbo boost, which was pressurising the coolant jacket, and pushing coolant out of the filler cap.
This is the reason why I always discuss pressure differential rather than suction, compression, or vacuum. Why? Pressure differential produces flow, from high to low.
In conclusion, avoiding the catastrophic error of a wrongly diagnosed cylinder head gasket, a new intake cooler
was fitted.
- The happy camper
It’s only when you visit the past that you realise how far the journey to the present has taken us. Some time ago Martin, a very good friend of mine from Londonderry, sent over a set of very early EVL Bosch injectors.
This injector pattern started life around the late 1960s and ran through to the mid 1980s and was used by Ferrari, Volvo, Opel, and many others. The set supplied to me came out of a VW camper van, and like many from this era were badly rusting and contaminated from in-tank corrosion. At the time fuel lines and tanks were made from untreated mild steel, and filtration did not meet current standards of 5 microns, or 2 microns with the latest HDEV 6 injectors. The biggest single cause of wear and failure was water ingress in gasoline due to condensation and external ingress.
The injectors were in a bad condition, sticking, blocked, and dribbling. I started the cleaning process with an external pre-clean ultrasonic tank before risking contamination in our ASNU bench. Several cleaning sessions later, with a varying degree of improvement, we arrived at a fully serviceable set.
I posted them back assuming it would be the last of my involvement. I should have known better. Martin and Matthew at Conlon motors have been involved with our training programme over many years. I travel over there several times a year for onsite training, and you have guessed it, waiting for me on my last visit was the camper van.
It was running extremely rich, blowing blue smoke. You could taste the emissions. If you have ever followed a vintage car you will know what I mean. This is where a trip down memory lane started. I have not worked on this system for many years. In fact it was on systems like this that our current-day diagnostic processes were developed.
