July/August 2019

V ehicle need a fully functional cooling system to run properly. Changes to technology, legislation and the rose of EVs and hybrids mean that garages need to keep a close eye on cooling, or face being caught out. There are opportunities out there too, if you know where to look. As vehicle manufacturers pursue the engine emission and fuel consumption reductions that have been imposed by worldwide legislation, there is a trend to integrate more of their engine systems. As a result, there are an increasing number of vehicles with engines that now incorporate the water pump into the primary drive system, rather than as part of the auxiliary drive system. “There is complete logic behind changing both the water pump and timing belt at the same time,” says Dayco UK’s National Sales Manager Steve Carolan, “as it provides garages with a profit opportunity and their customers with the confidence that their vehicle has benefitted from a full and thorough repair.” Dayco offers a range of more than 300 water pump kits that provide workshops with the opportunity to increase their profits by combining timing belt kit and water pump replacement. “Sometimes,” continues Steve, “for the best of intentions, workshops will try to save their customers money and carry out a partial repair by replacing only the component that has failed or is specified for change in the service schedule. However, this policy runs the risk of their customers having to face a much larger bill for a full repair, if the component not replaced goes on to fail at a later date. “Therefore, for the peace-of-mind of motorists, as well as the most profitable result for garages, Dayco recommends they opt for a full timing drive system replacement, rather than change just the water pump or timing belt in isolation.” Check and change “Another important factor that should not be overlooked,” says Steve, “is the condition of the auxiliary belt. As it will need to be removed to carry out the water pump/timing belt replacement, technicians have the ideal opportunity to examine, not only the belt, but the auxiliary tensioner and idlers for any wear and to replace them where necessary. “To help technicians correctly assess the condition of the belt, they should use a Dayco aWEARness gauge, which provides them with three ways to check whether the belt needs to be replaced or is okay to be reinstalled. The two most relevant to a standard EPDM belt are the wear indicator bar, which highlights material loss and the profile indicator, revealing whether the belt retains its correct form. Both reflect the level of wear and if the belt fails either check, it must be replaced. “Designated by the KTBWP classification, each kit includes a water pump alongside the belt, tensioner and idler combination, with 75 of these references containing the patented Dayco High Tenacity (HT) or ‘white’ belt. This range provides workshops with all the components necessary to undertake a full water pump and timing drive system replacement.” Steve adds: “When fitting an HT water pump/timing belt kit, Dayco can also provide workshops and motorists with an even greater level of reassurance by extending its existing two-year warranty by a further year.” Supply On the air conditioning side, the UK, as well as the rest of Europe could soon be heading for supply issues with regards to R134A air conditioning gas. Simon Ravenscroft, Regional Sales Manager at National Refrigerants comments: “Since January 2017 all new cars produced in Europe have had to use a new much more environmentally friendly air- conditioning gas.” It’s all about the Global Warming Potential (GWP): “Every year thousands of cars find they need their air-conditioning systems re-gassing for one reason or another meaning that tonnes of air-conditioning gas 40 AFTERMARKET JULY/AUGUST 2019 COOLING Above: Bosch filters www.aftermarketonline.net BE COOL All the latest on cooling and related systems