Cinquecento John Dragon Mans 998 SX

[nickg]

dont mean to sound ignorant but do u know the mot inspecter as in a first name basis and known him for a few years because might be bulls**t but cheap mot centers make their money on failing cars if you go it a place which is about 50 pound they more than likely not be so stricked or fake failings go to ur local mechanic if you know well and ask for a second opinion

 

[Dragon Man]

heh well this is the first time mot-ing the car lol well it is for me. i dont know.

what ever though i can see the front break line is bad, the rubber ones.. ok they had like a rubbing mark in them but you really have to look at it to see them (i had to take the wheel off, i could not see the marks from under when i was in our pit.)
maybe so. well ill replace the bad lines (lol when i can get some break line and a flaring tool and some break line joints)

its all about getting the stuff now. hell ill WELD some brackets on the bottom of the car to hold the break lines on with. lol

 

[nickg]

thats fair enough lol but like i say the cheapest isnt always the best a friend of mine is an mot inspector and if i remember right people that do mot for like 20 to 30 pound are making a tiny profit so they make their money on fails and fixing the car (wether their is something wrong or not ) i belive that just as close to theving what people like that do

 

[whitz]

Basically,
The front breaks are out of balance by 28%.
The rear breakes are both binding.(yet when i jacked the car up both wheels spin freely :/ hand break takes 5 clicks to come on)
I have loads of rusted break lines front drivers side and one on the back (back ones were replaced last year.. so... copper has corroded in a year??!)
Rear break line not supported correctly. (guess your not allowed to use a zip tie any more :/)
most of the the rubber lines are perished (2 fronts one back)
my exhaust is leaking.. (after i covered it in exhaust sealent -_-)
headlight refflectors are loose (WTF! they are solid as a rock!)
rear window washer does not spray water (it does now i fixed it - didn't think this was an MOT item?)
and one of my number plate lights was out, yet when i checked them when i got back.. both were lit. phantom electronics i guess.

not sure if trolling on some things...... or really has got a fault.

i know Damn sure that the headlights are A1+ in my books. the only thing i was unsure with them was if they were set correctly.

motoring is for the rich.. ill never be rich lol

brake imbalance on the front can be upto 25% so to clean the front up and re grease back of pads and lower pin, that is ofcourse if pads arnt worn too badly or disks either

for rear nothing a strip down clean and take the lip off the drum along with a re greasing the linkage to cable out side of the drum

rusted brake lines sort for a grey area as they only fail if they are leaking or 1/3rd corroded of diameter , for front just clean it up and either paint/grease or replace, rear hes just being an arse the copper/nickel doesnt corrode but simply oxidizes

i dont see the issue with cable ties

for zorst ive got a new mid lying around and a ok backbox(iirc) for a 900

as for lights have em on and hit with your hand rear them or on them, if they go out thats a fail


with all that id take it to a different place as the mot regulations book is VERY vague and mainly down to the moter

Ash

 

[slugworth1987]

personaly ill take it to a small local garage for a re-test even if its a £50 test atleast you'll get a 2nd opinion john!! ive seen your car mate and its a very clean neat little car the guys being a Sierra Hotel India Tango head, kill him with 50v AC @ 200Amps

on the plus side though he has pointed out small minor things which you can catch now before it gets worse lol like the rubber lines which could cause u bad times if they fail!

 

[Dragon Man]

thanks man, yeah i gave the lights a good thumping, i know what bulb holders are like on older cars but i did take all the bulbs out the car to check them all, and the holder. when i replaced them i used silicone grease on the holders :/ that goes for all the bulbs but the main headlights as they are H4 and get hotter than standard bulbs.

the exhaust i can live with. nothing my welder cant fix. its only leaking from the join in the centre.

pads on the front look new, i think that's what they replaced to get it through the MOT last year.

the rusted line on the front is bad, no "paint" left on it at all. i could sand it down and re-paint it but i dont think i would feel safe with a thin break line on the car. so i am going to replace that one.

god knows what i am going to do with the rear support for the break line. this guy hates zip ties so i guess i could hold it up with a bent welding rod or something. the pope doesnt hang down it actually sits level with the floor of the car.
as for the break imbalance.. yeah ill give it a shot. been told that if i squeeze the pistons in all the way (making sure the reservoir does not overflow) on both callipers that should sort out the problem.

the back breaks i have already stripped down. gave it a good blast out with the air line and a few smacks with the soft hammer to re sit the shoes.

 

[blu73]

its not so bad really, i would be going to another garage though by sounds of it. I have had someone fail a cinq on the reflector being loose - i just took it back and said it was a different one without doing anything and he passed it lol. There is alot of jokers about.

Find yourself a little local garage (doesn't have to be local to you really but you know what i mean), one you know has been there for a long time, they are always the best garages and its good to get someone you trust.

And in future get the guy to show you the fails on the car before you drive it away - you may just find he can't If it is a good garage they won't mind.

 

[Dragon Man]

well i bought some brake line and a flareing tool of T'bay for just shy of £19. think we have some brake fluid left over, or i may just reuse the stuf thats in it as its only a few month old!.. depends on how much we have.

hope they will be here by Saturday. that way i can get on with it and maybe get the car back in for the free retest.

 

[fingers99]

Cable tie thing is that you can't use them in such a way as that the metal of the pipe is in contact with metal (if that makes any sense). Figure of 8 should be OK. Fluffy will have the proper clips on the shelf anyway.

MOT places doing them for £25 are actually making a loss, so, be a bit careful.

 

[Dragon Man]

yeah i understand. the clips are all there, but the bits that hold the pipe in have snapped off. i can force the pipe in then cable tie them in place so they wont jump out. i guess that would be fine.

ahh heres another thing, i got an advisory for under sealed break lines.
does that mean that my dad could be fined if he got stopped and the police inspected his 58 plate swift with factory under sealed break lines? as on the cars first MOT he got cautioned about the brake lines being under sealed and is marked down as an advisory.

i find it kind of.. silly having that bit of the test stand on a 3 year old car having its first MOT.
on my car.. yeah you could be hiding paper thin break lines with its age so i could understand it.

 

[blu73]

tbh, if you got decent copper-nickel pipes there really is no need to underseal them at all.

 

[Dragon Man]

ive been busy:

new line fitted
new hose
zip tie ALL the pipes in
bulbs sorted
ALL brakes totally striped, cleaned and all moving parts greased (pistons pressed all the way in too)
All window washers now work.

he failed it on the wiper not moving water from windscreen. i check it by blasting the hose on it and all the water gets wiped off with out any streaking? i have not changed it as to me it is fully working.

i need to acquire a filler cap seal as mine is starting to perish.

he marked it down that the near side hose starting to perish. i gave the hose a Very close inspection and it has NO marks, NO nicks and NOT perishing the ends are not even corroded.

at high noon tomorrow, the car has its re-test. this time if he fails it on the wiper, i'm going to ask him to show it me failing.

 

[blu73]

good luck, if he fails it give him a slap from me

 

[Dragon Man]

the car passed its MOT but only just. apparently i need new pads and discs. the pads were replaced 2 years ago by the last owner and still have loads of meat left on them.

heh the guy didnt even check the windscreen wiper lol
and also even though it was 1 day over my "10 day" free retest time, i still got it free

the brakes feel spongy now though even though i bled the front.
i will bleed the back tomorrow. easy job. 8 mm spanner and the rest of the break fluid i have left over from Thursday (when i did all the repairs).
oh and a helping hand from my brother hehe. he dont know that yet though lol

 

[blu73]

may be your bleeding wrong order.. its passenger rear, drivers front, drivers rear, passenger front.. So if you have just bled the fronts there is more than likely still air in system

 

[GrandeGuy]

MOT pass dance

 

[Dragon Man]

yeah i know.
i was doing it quick. thats why i only did the fronts. gonna flush the whole system methinks. well the fronts are flushed.. the back ones still have the old in them.

got the job set for tomorrow. i was just too busy today. went to the scrap yard and got a almost full exhaust system (everything after the cat) that must of been less than a year old! all shiny and new and still with all the labels on!
£15 !

fit it in the after noon, and while i just got the old one off a mate came round. he helped me with the rest and we went for a drive around for a bit.

still a good find i think, £15 and its like brand new. should stop that little exhaust leak and hopefully give me better MPG with the back box having the baffles in.

 

[Dragon Man]

spose i should give an update.

ive done a few bleeds and full flushes. brakes are still spongy as hell. dont think i will ever get them as good as they were before i took it for MOT.

i run out of insurance soon (within the next 15 days). im not re insuring as i just cant afford to, last year i only did 500 miles in it, and those 500 miles have cost me an arm and a leg.

i am considering selling the car tbh, building up some money (fat chance) and maybe getting a panda. its the car ive always wanted, its cheaper to insure and ive been told that you get better MPG from them.

lol i can dream.

 

[Dragon Man]

well. lol being as i am selling the car, guess i should make a post.

i stripped both calipers right down and gave the whole lot a good cleaning and wire brushing. put it all back together and re-bled the system and now my break pedal barely moves!
breaks are sorted.. aint it always the same, you fix the thing and then sell it after a few weeks.

heh who'd of thought that with selling all my stuff, i got more than expected and was able to get the car ive been wanting.. ever since i saw one when i was a little kid.
F**K Yeah! one life goal accomplished.

so basically, all i am doing is selling this car to afford the insurance on my next car

yeah im sad to see it go, but i like to think that it will make some one else happy, of cause i will tell them to sign up to here! we want to keep following this cars future life, right?.. yeah!

 

[MFrV1]

So... what's the new car?