October 2021

OCTOBER 2021 AFTERMARKET 45 www.aftermarketonline.net DPF resulting in terminal damage.” It may seem unusual that an additives specialist is advising against the use of such additives but Mike offered this advice: “A professional standard fuel additive or DPF treatment, such as the JLM DPF Cleaner, is designed to do a specific job well, with a single dose. If, following the use of any such additive, the problem has not been resolved then the technician must find out why. It could be a false warning, a sensor problem or any other issue but not the DPF itself. So constantly regenerating or treating the DPF will simply lead to damage. If in doubt the technician should consult the additive or parts supplier, or refer the problem to a local DPF specialist such as the DPF Doctor network.” For more information on this visit www.the-dpf- doctor.com or www.jlmlubricants.com Regeneration Also looking at the issue from a live-from-the-workshop- floor perspective, Gary Wood, The Diesel Doctor at Intelligent Auto and a technical advisor to Randstad and TerraClean service centres commented: “As a garage owner myself I have been extremely busy throughout the pandemic with DPF issues, as a result of vehicles not covering as many miles over the past year and now vehicles getting back to ‘normal’ levels of travelling. This in turn causes them to fail regenerations of DPF or start logging frequent regeneration faults. “There are many DPF cleaning products available on the market from a variety of different manufacturers. The problem is that a lot of these products claim to remove or reduce the ash content of the filter, which can be misleading. This is because the ash cannot pass through the filter as the particles that make it up are too big to get through the filter walls. Companies that claim to reduce ash are merely reducing the volume, but at the same time increasing the density of the ash by turning it into a cement, which is pushed to the back of the filter. As a short-term fix this sounds appealing but it’s actually compromising the capacity of the filter.” Gary continued: “TerraClean’s cleaning products and services will not cause this to happen to the ash and Randstad’s TerraClean service centre will advise an off vehicle clean by other means to remove, not reduce, the ash from the filter, so when refitted it’s back to around 95 percent of its as new capacity. This means a vehicle with 120,000 on the clock should be able to cover another similar mileage before an ash removal service is required again.” Gary added: “The key to becoming a successful DPF specialist is assessment and diagnosis as to why the vehicle is suffering from a DPF related issue - and not just cleaning for cleaning’s sake. For me, only about 40% of vehicles booked into my workshop for DPF related issues end up having a DPF clean.” Spotlight Vehicle emissions are not just a problem for individual owners of specific vehicles, and the mechanics working on their cars however. According to BM Catalysts, the whole UK aftermarket needs to get serious on the issue of emissions, or risk the kind of media storm experienced by other industries in recent years where pollution is an issue, including the VMs. Managing Director Toby Massey believes the spotlight is on the entire supply chain: “The message is loud and clear from the authorities that manufacturers, parts distributors and garages have an important role to play in ensuring the products they supply and fit are legal. Ignorance is not an excuse, and the market needs to be properly educated on areas such as type approval in order for it to remain compliant. “Catalytic converters are required to pass strict emissions testing procedures as part of the type approval process before they can be sold. These tests ensure that the relevant emission standard is met, thereby reducing the vehicle’s impact on air quality and health. “During the Type Approval process, a replacement catalytic converter is tested on a representative vehicle that the type of catalytic converter is intended to be Below: Darren Darling performing a pressure test on a DPF Left: When using additives, such as the JLM DPF Cleaner, always follow the instructions