MOT Happiness

Well, yesterday I took the Audi back in for its retest - it failed on anti-roll bar bushes, one CV boot and front discs, so all easy things to check, and got quickly checked over and a new ticket handed to me within a couple of minutes.

Then I asked how busy he was today as my newly-bought Seat Inca van is coming up for its first MOT - he says to come back later in the afternoon, which I do, then he's got two more to do so I pop back in an hour and it gets tested. Fails, but only on having no sidelights or number plate lights. One of the number plate lights came on just as I was unscrewing the bulb-holder, but the other 3 needed replacing. They supplied the bulbs, I changed them over, and despite having to take half of the front end off to get to one of the sidelights (passenger side, battery v.close to headlight unit) - well, just the front grille which is the whole width of the van, and clips into both wings, it only took a couple of minutes. Job done. Never had an MOT so easily! I'm a happy bunny.

Peter

*Why* take a vehicle in for an MOT without doing the most basic of checks?

I *Always* give a vehicle a quick once over before taking it in as it'd be really silly to have a vehicle fail on a split wiper or blown bulb or whatever..

sPoNiX

Yeah, should have done really. I did check the less obvious things like CV boots and front suspension bushes (which I'd just had the Audi fail on) and also tyres but overlooked the lights. Partly because there wasn't anyone around to help me check the brake lights, so I wouldn't have been able to do it fully anyway. Anyway, it would have still meant a trip to Halfords anyway to get the bulbs, and I got them at the MOT centre (ok, would have saved a small amount by getting them from Halfords, but probably offset by the extra fuel and time in going there). And they were working when I picked the van up last week - I know that because I started off driving just on sidelights (it was still light anyway - about 8:30pm) and full beam went on when I turned the dipped beams on. Took me a wee while to figure out the full beam switch :-)

Peter

Do you actually like having a vehicle fail? ;-)

Most would check the simple things like lights etc themselves before paying for a test.

LOL!

Yeah yeah :-)

Well for the Audi I did check the lights thoroughly, and all that it needed was one brake light. Tyres, windscreen etc were all fine, and it drove fine wth no knocking from the suspension, and it failed on discs, CV boot and bushes. After that I became disillusioned. I checked the bushes, CV boots and tyres but didn't bother with obvious things like lights. Still, I would have paid for the test whether it failed or passed anyway.

Peter

My Peugeot 305 needed a new MoT back in January. I'd been in Peru for a month from mid december to mid january and during that time, it hadn't moved anywhere. The MoT ran out a few days before I got back. Now, this car was in terrible condition and it hadn't moved for a month. Before I left, it had so many bad knocks and noises I'd lost interest in trying to figure out where they were all coming from and it was burning oil like no tomorrow. If I left it on idle for a few minutes, blue smoke would start coming out the back with vigour. I thought, at the very least, it's gonna fail the emissions test. My dad drove it down there and told me the news on the phone a day before I got back to the UK. Failed. But on one thing - O/S front wishbone bush. £14 for the pair and I fitted them the weekend I got back. Drove it back down a day later and it passed without a problem. I couldn't believe it. That car was, at the very least, an environmental hazard and probably should've been condemned. I've now pulled it off the road and it's awaiting an engine rebuild, new front and rear shocks, a new driveshaft and hub, new discs, rust repairs and a respray. God knows what else is wrong with it.

Still, at least all the lights work, eh? ;)

Chris.

Because while the MOT man is busy finding bulbs out, he might be missing the bloody great holes in the floors :)

Because most people can't be bothered.

I've never gone straight through any of mine. Always needed one or more little things.

I thought all peugeots did that.

No.

Ha ha ha.... 'Ello 405... ;)

:)

Funny thing is, the reason my 305 pumps oil out everywhere is because of the

405 injection cylinder head I have fitted on it. They're known to have weak valve stem seals which start leaking oil (approx. pre-92 ones anyway). I've seen plenty of 405s in this predicament since I made the engine swap - none quite as bad as mine. Last time I drove it somewhere, it had started pumping out massive quantities of blue smoke continuously at idle! Mmmmmm! Smell the burn, baby!!

;)

Chris.

All it needs is new valve stem seals, hardly a major bit of work.

Hurrah - my '89 1.9i did that ! It was only very slight though, and never got any worse, so I never bothered fixing it. And it had done about 100k...

Well, that wasn't exactly *all* that was/is wrong with it... at the very least, the cylinder head needs rebuilding - although I really want to rebuild the engine or get a replacement one, as my current engine made up of a 305 XU9S main block with 106,000 miles on it and a 405 XU9J2 (IIRC) with somewhere over 130,000 miles on it that I got out of a breaker's yard two years ago. Then there's all the other mechanical problems and the rust, which constantly reappears all over the place.

Hence, got another car and took it off the road. The only way I'm gonna repair all those problems is with it off the road - it was my main car but I can't fix it in a weekend or two ;)

Besides, I was thinking about getting an Mi16 engine for it. However, now that I'm used to driving this 924, I'm beginning to think having that much power in a lightweight FWD car really is a waste of time.

Chris.

I can't agree, I used to have a BX 16 Valve, which was a very lightweight car. It was umm great fun, although acceleration was inevitably limited by wheelspin, to about 7 seconds ish to 60.

Oh I'm not saying it wouldn't be fun - I got my 305 up to around 120-130bhp and I didn't stop laughing for days! It's just that as you say, acceleration becomes limited by wheelspin, understeer is a problem and the fact is the car originally had a 105bhp engine in it. I was looking at putting in the

16v engine and uprating the brakes. But, it would put extra weight at the front of the car, upsetting the balance even further and to be honest I haven't got a clue what it'd drive like - probably insanely funny in a straight line and pant-wettingly horrifying into the corners ;). When I took the 305 off the road I had the idea that I wanted to turn it into the fastest damn thing I possibly could. Now I'm beginning to think that would be a waste of time simply because it wouldn't have the cornering ability to match. It's a well-mannered car, but I think it's more suitable for long distance cruising. Reckon I might stick with an 8v XU unit if I start the rebuild.

BTW, I've drove a Citroen BX14 for a while. Every corner was like a mini-event ;)

Chris.

AFAIK it doesn't hurt the engine to burn oil in this way. But it does consume oil and might affect the Mot at some point.

Not a very challenging replacement, but that depends on the engine. ;)