Demand from workshops for remanufactured turbochargers is continuing to rise due to the high cost of purchasing a brand new replacement, remanufacturer Ivor Searle reports.
The Soham-based company is experiencing similar strong levels of demand for its professional DPF cleaning service which was launched earlier this year.
An Ivor Searle spokesperson said: “There’s no doubt that this growth in turbo failures and blocked DPFs has become more commonplace as the high proportion of diesel cars and light vans in the vehicle parc for continue to age.
“By virtue of their design, it is inevitable that contamination will build up over time in the turbochargers fitted to these vehicles, resulting in faults such as the vanes on variable geometry turbos sticking.
“Contamination also occurs in problems downstream in the exhaust system, typically resulting in DPFs becoming blocked beyond the point of regeneration.
“With this in mind, we always recommend that workshops replacing a customer’s turbo always check the vehicle’s DPF at the same time and, if necessary, get it professionally cleaned to ensure full exhaust system cleanliness.”
Remanufactured turbochargers
Ivor Searle remanufactured turbos for diesel and petrol vehicles offer a saving as much as 40 per cent.
The best ‘core’ units undergo a thorough thermal and chemical cleaning to remove 100 per cent of contaminants.
A final blasting treatment on the housings ensures the unit is returned to the same condition as new.
Once fully clean, each component is inspected and measured for the correct tolerances.
They need to be certified for re-use and if any don’t make the grade, they are discarded.
Gaskets, bearings and seals are always replaced with brand new.
The CHRA (Centre Housing Rotational Assembly), turbine shaft, turbine wheel and compressor wheel are replaced with a new OE specification unit, following which the unit undergoes a dynamic balancing test prior to final assembly.
The spokesperson added: “Only when the unit meets Ivor Searle’s exacting standards is the final assembly of the compressor and turbine housings carried out and additional pre-running checks undertaken.
“This includes the setting and calibration of the actuators and flow test for optimal performance.
Following the successful completion of each test the remanufactured turbo is signed off for packaging, which comes with the added benefit of a two-year, unlimited mileage warranty.”
Professional DPF cleaning
As the diesel vehicle parc ages and more customers take their car to the garage with the DPF warning light showing, Ivor Searle say workshops have three options: purchasing a costly brand new OEM unit, a cheaper generic aftermarket replacement with the risk of potential fitment problems, or professional cleaning of the original DPF with the reassurance that the component can be easily reinstalled.
Against this backdrop, Ivor Searle has entered the professional DPF cleaning market, where we’re applying over 70 years of remanufacturing expertise to our new fast-turnaround DPF cleaning service.
Costing just £225 + VAT, the new direct to workshop service includes collection and delivery, as well as the reassurance of a 12-month unlimited mileage warranty.
The spokesperson said: “Utilising ‘flash cleaning’ technology, our water-based cleaning process removes all contamination, including PM10 particles, cerium oxide deposits and oil residues, from the DPF.
“It is also worth noting that unlike chemical-based DPF cleaning processes, which only remove soot, ‘flash cleaning’ eliminates both soot and ash deposits.
“This returns a DPF back to OE levels of performance at a fraction of the cost of buying a new unit.”
For further information, call Ivor Searle on 01353 720531, click ‘more details’ below or visit your local motor factor.