News

The grit applied to roads and paths in winter has left its mark on and inside the vehicle. Particularly affected by the dirt: the entry zones. In cars, the footwell and doors can still be easily cleaned. But things often look a little different for vans with sliding doors.

The report, which was published at the end of September last year, shows that the situation is particularly bad for vans, which make up the largest proportion of commercial vehicles in terms of numbers. According to Dr. Joachim Bühler, Managing Director of the German TÜV Association (TÜV-Verband e. V.), this is partly due to the heavy use and sometimes rather harsh handling of these vehicles in daily delivery traffic. Added to this are poor care and inadequate maintenance.

In general, it’s actually quite simple: If you want something to burn, you’ll need oxygen – otherwise the fire will extinguish itself in no time. The same applies to a combustion engine. The only difference is that a highly complex interplay of different, precisely harmonised components is required in order to optimally supply the engine with the air required for combustion.

Many hobby mechanics – and also some experienced mechanics at professional automotive workshops – think that it is enough to simply replace individual defective or corroded parts of a component if there are problems with the car. However, in some cases this is not recommended at all – such as when it comes to the intake manifold module, sometimes also referred to as the inlet manifold, intake bridge or intake plenum.

It’s a good thing that, unlike most OE items, all AIC splash shields are galvanised and therefore effectively resist rust. Road salt, splashing water and hot brake dust are always take a heavy toll on these components that are also often referred to as “backing plates”.