Nooooo!!!! Failed MOT (again, this time on my C) :-(

[Tempest 0]

What is it with MOT tests that I hate?

 

Spent all last week underneath my C looking around for rust or corrosion as the MOT likes to call it.

 

Failed on the right front brake line (didn't think it was THAT corroded when I inspected it, yes the sh*tty spring-type clips at the line-hose junction looked all ratty, but that's the way they look by merely leaving the car standing, as they rust in your hand :mad: ), and the rear left rubber brake hose (thankfully not the braided ones going to my Mk4 calipers, as I fitted those less than a year ago), where a ferrule was too corroded :mad:

 

Well, I didn't get my MOT certificate ;-)

 

Having looked inside the engine bay and following the brake lines (apart from the fact that I don't have a brake line flaring and bending kit anyway :roll:, so would need the garage to bend and flare lines for me), and then looking at my timetable, I'm at work right till we leave for Karmann next Wednesday, off Sunday to bl**dy Tatton Park, it leaves me with too little time to get this done before next Wednesday :mad:

 

Right, how much do you think the garage are going to charge me to have both front brake lines changed and one rear brake hose (not the ones to the calipers, the one before that)?

 

Answers on a postcard to the usual address, and there are prizes up for grabs, just none that you would want :lol:

 

Tempest (slightly miffed)

[Jim 2]

Time to sell the Scirocco's Eric.. you clearly dont have the time to look after 3 cars, and clearly those two (being the oldest and most likely to break) are a liability!

 

 

 

 

;) :D

[Tempest 0]

Time to sell the Scirocco's Eric.. you clearly dont have the time to look after 3 cars, and clearly those two (being the oldest and most likely to break) are a liability!

 

Luckily enough you placed the smilies there :lol: , as the Roccos have proven to be the most reliable in my fleet. Turns out the rear drum issue (having failed the MOT on my Mk2 Storm this year due to poor brake performance right rear wheel) was down to GSF having supplied me with the wrong wheel cylinder years ago, so not the Rocco's fault.

 

You hand over the keys to your Mk1 to someone and you get comments like that :lol:

 

Tempest

[Jim 2]

lol :)

 

So come on - whats the bill from the garage then for sorting that out? I know you're not exactly on good terms with the garage anyway.. are they giving you a ridiculous price to try and put you off or something?

[StuartFZR400 0]

Eric, I know two places under the railway arches in Leamington would work on a VW. Pete Holland (+44 (01926) 314 911) is a very fair guy, but in being so he is also very booked up - maybe worth a call.

 

Our rocco was dodgy on the hoses, so we wire brushed them and painted them in a hrad wearing paint. Looked like new afterwards. Just an idea!

 

For future, I'd brush off most safety items like that, clips and all, and paint them. The Golf failed the front brake lines a few years back at my regular MOT place - Im glad it did fail, because the line was cracking

[Tempest 0]

Thanks for the garage details, Stuart. Do they do MOTs, though?

 

I'm not interested really in normal repair garages, as I tend to do all the work on my cars myself. It's just that I need a slightly shall we say more lenient MOT garage, that will do the repairs (if any) as well, for reasonable prices and of high quality (repairs that last, too). Probably have found a good one in Coventry, albeit at the other end of town.

 

I was happy with my own local MOT garage, as I also don't particularly want to have to travel rediculous amounts just for an MOT, plus an MOT garage has to be able to accommodate my Mk1 (very often the bridge has a jack that stands too proud for my Mk1), until they changed some rules (probably set by the b*stard government/VOSA:

 

In the past, I would get a free retest irrespectively of the fault within 2 weeks, yes 2 weeks, allowing me ample time to get the repair done myself. When I failed on a bulging front brake hose on my Storm Rocco some 3 years ago, I simply got a cheap replacement from GSF (£3 instead of £12 which my garage want to charge me!!!), fitted it, passed the MOT, ripped the lot out again, and upgraded all hoses to braided hoses (Goodrich) all round.

 

Now, according to the VOSA poster on display at every MOT station, you're only allowed one day for a retest, and only on a few limited almost negligible items (like a bulb failing here or there), which is really crap for the DIY mechanic with a full-time job :-( You're then literally forced to have the MOT garage do the repairs, and they know this, too!! Hence time for rediculous charges, as the customer/car driver is at the short end of the stick thanks to the government's/VOSA's regulations :-(

 

Anyway, as a silver lining to a big cloud, I have decided to let the MOT station fit braided hoses alround (which I'm getting from GSF), as they'll probably fail me on the other rear one and possibly front ones next year. They're only charging me an extra £20 for the extra work, still hate doing that, but hey, when you've got a full-time job, a trip to Karmann looming on the horizon, and just not enough time, then so be it.

 

I will paste the stuff in Hammerite and grease afterwards, so that these darn things finally stop rotting so quickly.

 

Tempest