In this insightful video, Baz Meredith tackles a Ford Transit van suffering from severe loss of power and poor hill performance. What starts as a straightforward diagnostic quickly unravels into a cautionary tale about illegal modifications, poor repair practices, and the importance of proper diagnostics.
WHY WATCH
Baz Meredith breaks down the thought process, testing methods, and decision-making that separate guesswork from precision repair, offering practical insights every independent garage owner and technician can apply.
Initial scans flag a cylinder 4 glow plug fault and a damaged ABS tone wheel, explaining the warning lights on the dash.
However, Baz’s deeper inspection reveals the real problem: the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) has been drilled through, a deliberate but illegal modification intended to reduce exhaust pressure.
Instead of improving performance, this tampering created excessive backpressure, robbing the engine of power and efficiency.
Baz methodically smoke-tests the intake system (finding no boost leaks) and inspects the exhaust for leaks and wiring damage.
He identifies a deteriorated magnetic strip on the ABS tone wheel causing multiple warning lights and concludes that the van will require a software reflash to restore the original DPF function.
