UNDERBONNET CHECKS & FILTERS

1 RENEW AIR FILTER

The engine air filter is located at the nearside rear of the engine bay and according to Haynes, it should be renewed every 18,000 miles or two years. The Blue Print air filter shown here costs £9.25 from CAAR. Compare the size of the new filter with the old and before fitting remove any dirt from inside the housing. As you can see in our inset picture, this housing needed a careful vacuum due to the amount of debris.

2 CHECK COOLANT

The engine coolant expansion tank is located on the offside of the engine bay. Release the pressure cap when the engine is cold and top up with the correct coolant (see handbook) if necessary. Lee at Vasstechnik uses a refractometer to test the freezing capacity of the coolant.

3 CHECK BATTERY

The battery is on the nearside of the engine bay. Make sure it’s secure along with its terminals – and check the terminals are clean. Measure the battery’s voltage, or if you have a battery tester, check its condition. There’s a fusebox next to the battery, so check inside to see if any fuses have blown.

4 CHECK BRAKE FLUID

The brake fluid reservoir is located along the engine bulkhead, close to the offside inner wing. The level of the brake fluid can be checked by looking at the outside of the transparent reservoir (look for minimum and maximum markers). If necessary, top it up with fresh DOT 4 brake fluid.

5 GREASE BONNET RELEASE

Spray a light grease (white grease is good) over the bonnet release mechanism to help prevent it seizing. Open all four doors and the tailgate to apply more of this grease to the hinges, locks and check straps.

6 RENEW THE FUEL FILTER

Haynes recommend draining any water from the fuel filter every

9000 miles and renewing it every 18,000. After prising off each fuel hose from the top of the filter, remove the protection plate from around the filter by undoing two 13mm nuts and lifting it free. Now unscrew the 10mm filter clamp a couple of turns, then lift and discard the filter. It will still be full of fuel so be careful not to spill any.

7 PRIME THE FUEL FILTER

After fitting the new fuel filter (Blue Print filter costs £29.75 from CAAR) and refitting all of the fuel hose connections, prime it by hand using the small hand pump located next to the filter. Keep pumping until you feel the primer getting harder to push. Switch on the ignition and start the engine to check that it runs. If it doesn’t, try priming the filter again. Check for fuel leaks before refitting the protection plate.