Engine repairs
From a timing belt that is due to a noise you would rather not hear.
Service One Automotive carries out engine repairs at Factory 9, 266 Osborne Avenue, Clayton South VIC 3169. Timing belts and chains, oil and coolant leaks, overheating, misfires and rough running, and the diagnosis that comes before any of it. Ring 0434 949 091 to talk it through. Please call to confirm current opening hours.
The timing belt conversation
If your engine uses a rubber timing belt, it has a replacement interval in kilometres and in years, and the years matter even on a car that barely gets driven. Rubber ages sitting still.
On an interference engine, and most are, a belt that lets go while the engine is running will put the valves into the pistons. The repair bill after that is often more than the car is worth. This is the single clearest example of a scheduled job being cheaper than the alternative.
Belts are usually replaced along with the tensioner, the idlers and often the water pump, because all of them are driven by the belt and all of them are behind the same covers.
Leaks
A small oil leak is mostly a nuisance. A leak onto a hot exhaust is a fire risk, and a leak that drops the level far enough is an engine.
Finding the actual source takes cleaning the area and running the engine, because oil travels and the wet patch you can see is often well below where it is coming from.
Noises
A ticking that follows engine speed, a rattle for the first two seconds on a cold start, a deep knock under load. They point in very different directions and they carry very different bills.
Bring it in while it is still making the noise. A noise that has gone quiet because a component finally seized is a worse starting point.
Questions about engine repairs
My car overheated once but seems fine now. Is it fine?
Have it checked. Overheating can warp a cylinder head or fail a head gasket, and neither of those necessarily shows up as a problem on the next short drive. There is more on this in our overheating article.
Is it worth repairing an engine in an older car?
Sometimes yes, sometimes clearly not. We will tell you what the repair costs and what else that car is likely to need soon, so you can weigh it against what the car is worth to you.
Does a timing chain need replacing like a belt does?
Chains are generally designed to last the life of the engine, but they stretch and their tensioners and guides wear, particularly on engines that have had long oil change intervals. A rattle on start up is the usual first sign.
Book engine repairs
Six short steps, or ring the workshop.
Open weekends by booking only, at the same rates. The booking has to be confirmed before the day, so ring or text ahead.