Technical Failed the MOT...

Currently reading:
Technical Failed the MOT...

DJ_Punto

New member
Joined
Jun 28, 2006
Messages
32
Points
16
Put the car through the MOT on saturday, and it failed on 6 points.

1. The front pipe was leaking from a big hole...so took it to the local exhaust fitters who have quoted a new front pipe for £100 fitted?? Thought this was abit expensive, seen them for £49 on the net? The guy at the garage said that when you replace the front pipe, the other part of the exhaust may stop working a few months later?

2. The driveshaft gaiter split, so that'll need replaced. Any idea's on cost/availability of parts??

3. The rear brake pipe excessively corroded - a common problem im told? That'll need replaced!

4. The front strut worn and leaking, so that'll be replaced with 2 second hand ones!

5. Service break below requirements - only 49% efficiency!! Possible break shoes/drum to be replaced??

6. Parking break below requirements - only 14% efficiency!!!!! May need cable replaced and break adjusted!

Bet the garage will be pleased to see me, with my long list of probs! Does any of the above need to be sorted by Fiat, or can any motor engineer do the work/get hold of parts etc.

Everthing else was fine, so it's only really a few minor probs to be corrected. Any helpful advice/tips etc on the above would be greatly appreciated!
 
wow! did you have no idea that any of this was wrong? gonna be an expensive week for you! i tend to get quotes on it all from a garage then see if i can find the parts cheap from somewhere like partco.
check the haynes manual to see how easy they are to fit and if i can do it myself. if not will take the parts to the garage and just get them to fit them and only pay for labour.
 
cazz said:
wow! did you have no idea that any of this was wrong? gonna be an expensive week for you! i tend to get quotes on it all from a garage then see if i can find the parts cheap from somewhere like partco.
check the haynes manual to see how easy they are to fit and if i can do it myself. if not will take the parts to the garage and just get them to fit them and only pay for labour.

I could sort of tell that the breaks were out, especially the parking break...but i wasnt expecting that many failures! Im dreading the final bill on all the repairs, just one of those things i suppose? I did have alook at the haynes manual, but i dont have all the tools to sort it myself...plus i have no garage either!
I didnt really think about buying the parts, and just get the garage to fit them - thats a good tip! The garage that I have in mind is a Unipart/Partco car care centre anyway..so he should get the parts at a reasonable price?
 
DJ_Punto said:
Put the car through the MOT on saturday, and it failed on 6 points.

1. The front pipe was leaking from a big hole...so took it to the local exhaust fitters who have quoted a new front pipe for £100 fitted?? Thought this was abit expensive, seen them for £49 on the net? The guy at the garage said that when you replace the front pipe, the other part of the exhaust may stop working a few months later?

2. The driveshaft gaiter split, so that'll need replaced. Any idea's on cost/availability of parts??

3. The rear brake pipe excessively corroded - a common problem im told? That'll need replaced!

4. The front strut worn and leaking, so that'll be replaced with 2 second hand ones!

5. Service break below requirements - only 49% efficiency!! Possible break shoes/drum to be replaced??

6. Parking break below requirements - only 14% efficiency!!!!! May need cable replaced and break adjusted!

Bet the garage will be pleased to see me, with my long list of probs! Does any of the above need to be sorted by Fiat, or can any motor engineer do the work/get hold of parts etc.

Everthing else was fine, so it's only really a few minor probs to be corrected. Any helpful advice/tips etc on the above would be greatly appreciated!


As for the failures:

1) I'm unsure what the guy means by the other part 'stopping working'. Unless he has seen it is borderline, sounds like a scam to me.

2) Inner or outer gaiter (boot)?

3) The one from the flexi to the wheel cylinder or the main feed?

4) This is DIY-able with some assistance and some tools.

5)/6) Drums, shoes and cable are not too expensive to buy and not too difficult to do yourself.

Have you thought of DIY repairing what you can with the help of a mate/relative if need be and a Haynes manual? Where in the country are you? Maybe there are other members who would help you out.


Jamieboy
 
Jamieboy said:
As for the failures:

1) I'm unsure what the guy means by the other part 'stopping working'. Unless he has seen it is borderline, sounds like a scam to me.

2) Inner or outer gaiter (boot)?

3) The one from the flexi to the wheel cylinder or the main feed?

4) This is DIY-able with some assistance and some tools.

5)/6) Drums, shoes and cable are not too expensive to buy and not too difficult to do yourself.

Have you thought of DIY repairing what you can with the help of a mate/relative if need be and a Haynes manual? Where in the country are you? Maybe there are other members who would help you out.


Jamieboy

1. I thought it was a scam..he meant that the back box would go??

2. Not sure...

3. Think its the main feed.

4. I know...but i dont have a suitable place to do it!

I have thought of DIY, but i just dont have the time, the tools or the right place to do it. I would just rather pay a garage to do the work and get it MOT'ed and back out onto the road...especially as the MOT expires a week on wednesday.

Im up in south west scotland...dont think there are any members from there??
 
Give it a go yourself, that all sounds like diy mechanics to me. If you aint got the tools borrow em or buy some & youll have em for next time. The choice is yours, either diy and save a fortune or let the garage scam you now and scam you again next yr, you can get all the parts from a tat yard which is where alot of garages get theres. You can buy split gaiters for around £2 and that'll save you alot of work & grime. Suspension strut £10, Drums next to nothing(get a good one) but how does he know its the drums? it could be the cable, the brake cylinder etc.
 
The garage has qouted me £160 on parts ex vat, and £25 per hour ex vat. I have a set of second hand struts from a scrappie (£20 each). I have the choice of either taking it to the garage and getting it done in a day and a half, or DIY? Either way, I'll need it ready for my re-test on Saturday.
 
DJ_Punto said:
1. I thought it was a scam..he meant that the back box would go??

2. Not sure...

3. Think its the main feed.

4. I know...but i dont have a suitable place to do it!

I have thought of DIY, but i just dont have the time, the tools or the right place to do it. I would just rather pay a garage to do the work and get it MOT'ed and back out onto the road...especially as the MOT expires a week on wednesday.

Im up in south west scotland...dont think there are any members from there??


1) Maybe he thinks the back-box is on the way out - maybe he is trying to sell one - cast an eye over it to check for corrosion and any splits.

2) You can check this for yourself by having a look under the fron of the car from the middle - probably without even jacking the car up.

I found this pic to help you:

CV-boot.jpg


Left = Outer, CV boot. Right = Inner Driveshaft boot

3) If you are going down the DIY route, the main pipe (depending on how it is routed around the tank and other parts) can be easier than the flex to wheel cylinder one to shape.

4) If you are planning on keeping it, I hope you found decent ones from a rear-ended car in the scrappies! I know what you mean about not having somewhere to work on it - it's awful!

5)I agree with MATT - it's hard to pinpoint a braking fault without first an exploratory.

Because you need the car done fast and because the brakes are obviously safety-critical, you may have to bite the bullet this time, but if you can get the bits, as suggested, this could cut your bill immensely. Just be aware that if you are sourcing parts yourself, he may find "other things" for pure retaliation.

MATT 68 said:
You can buy split gaiters for around £2 and that'll save you alot of work & grime

This is true, but I have to say that I have only found them useful for an emergency - I can never get the damn things to seal and they always end up bursting open on me really quickly. Maybe I'm too impatient with them:devil:

Anyway good luck with getting it back on the road DJ
 
Cheers for that pic Jamieboy, its the Left one...CV Boot.

I've just booked it into the garage for tomorrow, as I doubt I will get the time to fix everything myself..as well as getting all the parts.

I got my ole man to get the struts for me, and im sure he would have got a decent set.

Lets just hope that the garage does a decent job, but he is part of the Unipart car care centre's so he should do a good job using decent parts.

I'll keep you posted and hopefully should have it past on saturday! (y)

And thanks for the help Matt and Jamieboy..much appreciated! :worship:
 
DJ_Punto said:
Cheers for that pic Jamieboy, its the Left one...CV Boot.

I've just booked it into the garage for tomorrow, as I doubt I will get the time to fix everything myself..as well as getting all the parts.

I got my ole man to get the struts for me, and im sure he would have got a decent set.

Lets just hope that the garage does a decent job, but he is part of the Unipart car care centre's so he should do a good job using decent parts.

I'll keep you posted and hopefully should have it past on saturday! (y)

And thanks for the help Matt and Jamieboy..much appreciated! :worship:

You're welcome chief. Have you agreed on an 'upper maximum' for the total repair bill? When I put a car in for an MOT, I'll ask the guy to phone me if it is going to be above a certain price as he gets underway, to let me know the score.

That way, factoring in the re-test cost, cadging a lift for a few days and the parts themselves, I can make an informed decision about whether or not I'll want them to go ahead with it, or if it's something I can fix so as not to bankrupt me!



All the best with it and hope it isn't too sore on the wallet
 
Jamieboy said:
You're welcome chief. Have you agreed on an 'upper maximum' for the total repair bill? When I put a car in for an MOT, I'll ask the guy to phone me if it is going to be above a certain price as he gets underway, to let me know the score.

That way, factoring in the re-test cost, cadging a lift for a few days and the parts themselves, I can make an informed decision about whether or not I'll want them to go ahead with it, or if it's something I can fix so as not to bankrupt me!



All the best with it and hope it isn't too sore on the wallet

I've been told that the maximum cost of parts will be £153 (ex vat), which is for the worst case scenario and its £25 per hour labour (ex vat). Thinks it will take 5 maximum to do all the work. Looking at a bill of £300 i would imagine.
 
Well thats me just got the punto back....48 hours later.

The final bill came to £298.76 :bang:..which was made up from £100 labour (4 hours) and £154.28 on parts all without VAT.

Part's fitted were: Wheel Cylinder x 2, Brake Shoe set x 1, Driveshaft Boot x1, Brake Pipes (rear) x 2 and Brake pad set x 1.

When i got it back.....I gave it a quick blast around the town, but the brakes dont seem any different? Is this normal??

Lets hope it passes the MOT re-test, otherwise the garage is going to have a very angry and annoyed customer first thing monday morning!!
 
dave said:
rear brake pipes are a recall item, take to dealer and get then replaced for free

Too late mate, i've just had them changed at a garage and paid for them :cry:
 
Back
Top