MOT advisories

miniyazz

miniyazz

miniyazz

Soldato
Joined
25 Dec 2008
Posts
5,976
Location
Sheffield/Norwich
Hi guys,

As you may or may not remember, I passed my MOT about a month and a half ago needing just a replacement number plate light @ 29p :D (car in sig)

Anyway, I got a couple of advisories and am planning on sorting/getting them sorted at some point in the not too distant future. They are as follows:

1) n/s and o/s Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated

2) Front brakes only just met the front brake imbalance requirments. It would appear that the braking system requires adjustment or repair.

So I was wondering - does anyone know how much I should be expecting to pay for each of these, so I get a ballpark figure for when I start ringing around? Also, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but don't have a ramp available (and my Haynes is currently in my car, out in the cold) so presumably I won't be able to DIY the CV joint gaiters? At this stage I don't know what that involves so it may be a silly question.

Any suggestions/tips/insults (I'm waiting, JanesyB :p)/whatever also welcome.

Cheers
 
Brakes will cost you £80 - £100 inc labour and parts. Halfords do a vehicle lifting kit which consists of axle stands, wheel chocks, body trolley, 2 ton jack for £60. Parts will cost you £20 - £30. So if you want to do the brakes, you'll save £10 or more or less break even with the advantage of having the lifting kit from Halfords.
CV gaitor can be replaced but I think it's advisable to replace the whole joint.
 
Not sure why you're expecting an insult. I'd get the boots done as a matter of priority before the grease finds a way out and the joints nom themselves. As for the brakes, it could be anything from discs to the calipers needing a service/rebuild.
 
BigglesPiP said:
CV boots - ~£15 to buy and 30 minutes to fit.

Brakes will need freeing, lubricating and bleeding, next to no parts and about 45 minutes.

Assuming the car in your sig is accurate.
Click to expand...

Yes, 1995/N reg 1.4l Pug 106 Aztec.

Good to hear it's nothing too expensive!

Is something like this what I'm after or is that just going to be too cheap and nasty?

Ricochet J said:
Brakes will cost you £80 - £100 inc labour and parts. Halfords do a vehicle lifting kit which consists of axle stands, wheel chocks, body trolley, 2 ton jack for £60. Parts will cost you £20 - £30. So if you want to do the brakes, you'll save £10 or more or less break even with the advantage of having the lifting kit from Halfords.
CV gaitor can be replaced but I think it's advisable to replace the whole joint.
Click to expand...

I take it I'll need the lifting kit then? Can't do it safely with the aid of a jack and some bricks, for example? :p Basically I'm in student accommodation and have nowhere to store an entire lifting kit, so I'd be better off getting it done at a garage if I can't do it without buying bulky equipment :(

I recall a thread a couple of months ago describing bleeding the braking system as a PITA - is it really that bad? And as above, really, can I do it without the whole axle stands fiasco?

Cheers for the advice.
 
I suppose you could use just the jack and hope it doesn't come back down and trap you under the car ;) If you have no room to work, no real desire to do it and no tools then it's probably a job for a local garage.
 
Janesy B said:
Not sure why you're expecting an insult. I'd get the boots done as a matter of priority before the grease finds a way out and the joints nom themselves. As for the brakes, it could be anything from discs to the calipers needing a service/rebuild.
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Oh, just a general lack-of-knowledge-therefore-silly-question insult :)
Yes, I heard bad things about dodgy CV joints; that's the main reason I'm doing something sooner rather than later.

AFAIK the discs/bads themselves are ok. I checked the pads before the MOT and they had a fair bit left on them, but I didn't check the discs particularly because I don't know how to tell if they're on the way out..

BigglesPiP said:
It takes a really long time leaking the grease out before you do any damage.
Click to expand...

Hope you're right :)
 
Janesy B said:
I suppose you could use just the jack and hope it doesn't come back down and trap you under the car ;) If you have no room to work, no real desire to do it and no tools then it's probably a job for a local garage.
Click to expand...

Haha yep lol well in the past I've driven it up on bricks to get under it, but given that this involves disengaging the brakes I'm guessing that wouldn't be such a smart idea ;)
There's a fairly deserted car park next door so room to work isn't a problem, and I've got a decent selection of regular tools, just not the bulky lifting/chocking stuff; and the experience would be good, but I'm starting to think I should indeed just get it done by a local garage instead of risking life and limb under a poorly chocked-mobile. Which I think leads me to the question, would I be alright replacing the CV gaiters with my limited lifting equipment, or should I get that done at the garage as well? I'd rather DIY if possible.

Cheers
 
A big ass jack and axle stands (and a big hammer) are usually the most important tools. Safety first and all that. Have a read through the Haynes manual and see if you reckon you could manage it on your own.
 
Janesy B said:
A big ass jack and axle stands (and a big hammer) are usually the most important tools. Safety first and all that. Have a read through the Haynes manual and see if you reckon you could manage it on your own.
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That I shall. And maybe persuade someone else they need use of them too so go halves on outlay, and persuade them they have somewhere to store the things too.

BigglesPiP said:
That kit should work for a while.

I usually use genuine parts on my car, but that's only because I can often get them at cost.
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A while - as long as it's more than a couple of years - is exactly what I'm after :)

Thanks guys, I'll post back in a week or so with what I'm doing/done if anyone's interested.
 
Ricochet J said:
CV gaitor can be replaced but I think it's advisable to replace the whole joint.
Click to expand...
Not really, unless it has been leaking for some time. If the joint is still covered by a boot that has not been perforated, it will almost certainly be in excellent condition. They generally only wear when the boot splits and allows the grease to leak out.
 
OK I've had a gander at the Haynes, and will probably be taking it to a garage, unless they're looking to charge a considerable amount for labour in which case I'll be borrowing a mechanically-minded friend to give me a hand with it (I've not yet decided what would be too much for labour).

However, I remembered about the cam belt - I unfortunately have no service history and don't know when it was last done. Recommended is every 72k miles according to the Haynes, and I've had it since a couple of hundred miles under that (now on 77k :o). So I was hoping for a bit of advice on how to tell if it's on its way out, if anyone has any? I've checked the belt and surroundings for any indication of if it's been changed (e.g. date of manufacture) but can't find anything. It's manufactured by Goodyear if that means anything to anyone (for example, are 106s stock-fitted with Goodyear timing belts?)
The only thing I can see is very slight *fraying* (not the right word - when rubber ages it develops cracks etc in it. There appear to be multiple, shallow (<0.5mm deep), thin (<0.5mm wide) cracks on the rubber over each of the 'spokes' holding the cam belt onto the cog, but they seem very minor and I don't know how long they take to appear.)

Also there seems quite a bit of oil in the engine bay, although my oil level doesn't drop particularly fast (topped up once, then fairly soon after changed the oil, in 5k miles) - thoughts?

A few photos will be forthcoming to help demonstrate what I mean, but will have to wait until I can persuade photobucket to accept my uploads. :rolleyes:

Cheers again for any help.

Pics:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/miniyazz/Timingbeltcrop_01.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/miniyazz/Timingbeltcrop_02.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/miniyazz/Timingbeltcrop_03.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/miniyazz/Timingbeltcrop_04.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/miniyazz/Oil_01.jpg
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g198/miniyazz/Oil_02.jpg
 
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miniyazz said:
However, I remembered about the cam belt - I unfortunately have no service history and don't know when it was last done. Recommended is every 72k miles according to the Haynes, and I've had it since a couple of hundred miles under that (now on 77k :o). So I was hoping for a bit of advice on how to tell if it's on its way out, if anyone has any?
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You cannot judge a cam belt. Replace as per the schedule, or when you see obvious damage, or when you're in doing a water pump anyway or something.
 
BigglesPiP said:
You cannot judge a cam belt. Replace as per the schedule, or when you see obvious damage, or when you're in doing a water pump anyway or something.
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That's a shame :( I guess I'll have to get it done when I get the CV gaiters done too then.

Oh, and - the front braking imbalance. That is presumably an imbalance between the two sides, and actually not too much to worry about until it actually fails its MOT? Since I'm not going to be using it for track use or anything! (12% imbalance IIRC)
 
miniyazz said:
That's a shame :( I guess I'll have to get it done when I get the CV gaiters done too then.

Oh, and - the front braking imbalance. That is presumably an imbalance between the two sides, and actually not too much to worry about until it actually fails its MOT? Since I'm not going to be using it for track use or anything! (12% imbalance IIRC)
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Its not a shame.

Driving along happily listening to radio 2, then BANG all of a sudden you start getting a stutter then clunking noises and death to the engine follows with all valves gone potentially is way more of a shame than needing to service an engine. :p

Also, that belt looks old and past it but isn't original but don't hold me to that. Oil over it corrodes the rubber, making it weak. I would change that, not a hard job. You get a look at bearings too then.

Get the oil mopped off everything, and sort out rocker cover gasket, tighten up bolts or new gasket. a couple of quid.
 
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The main cause of cam belt failure is the chords running inside it.

That oil is definitely leaking past the rocker cover seal, be aware that on most cars you can over-tighten and damage the seal.
 
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