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Another year, another MOT

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Old Dec 4th, 2019, 15:30   #1
malc-c
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Default Another year, another MOT

It's that time of year for my 'Ol gal' to have her annual checkup.

Took her to the same test centre I've been using for decades and drove straight in (normally have to queue). I normally stay in the viewing area and watch the testing, and this time was no different. The tester was writing lots of notes whilst under the car which made my anxiety increase. Why I fret so much I don't know, but to to quote a line form meatloaf's "paradise by the dashboard light" I was "praying to my god and on my mothers grave" that what he was finding wasn't serious...

When all done he met me in the reception - and she had passed !! yahoo !

The only minor defect listed was the small stone chip in the screen that was reported last year. I was hoping to get it fixed earlier this week but despite emailing pictures the mobile repair guy never got back to me, and as it hadn't changed couldn't see it being failed this time round.

There are a list of advisories, mostly tyres showing signs of ware, but then you can get that with any car. One advisory was a small leak at the flange of the centre joint of the exhaust, something common on these cars with that centre clamp. The advisories that I will get looked at are :

Deteriorating rear suspension bushes
Rear inner wheel arches / axle mount area showing start of corrosion
N/S front lower suspension arm ball joint has slight play.

The corrosion was reported on the last MOT, and it was mentioned that it's not bad, but like all things if they notice something they have a duty to report it.

Can anyone advise what work would be involved in replacing the rear bushes and replacing the suspension ball joint - are these a big job for someone with no garage and only a set of ramps / axle stands

Still - I've celebrated another year with an MOT pass - The car is 21 years old in January, 162K on the clock and I'm really impressed. I've never had a car this age, and never had a car of this age successively passing MOT's - I'm hoping my next V70 turns out to be just as good and reliable
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Old Dec 4th, 2019, 15:53   #2
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The front ball joint isn't replaceable on it's own - you replace the entire arm. It's either a 3 bolt arm (1 for the ball joint, 2 for the subframe) or, if it's an R or diseasel it is a 5 bolt arm (1 for the ball joint, 4 for the subframe). Either are fairly easy to change but you will need an alignment doing following the work.

On the 5 bolt version some of the bolts are a PITA to completely remove/replace but from memory the nearside is ok, it's the offside which had that issue. Ideally you should replace all the bolts but the way they are set up the bolts themselves don't actually take much load/stress from the suspension movement so might be ok to reuse the ones you can't remove (without significantly moving the engine/subframe anyway).

The rear outer bushes are fairly easy to do but the inner ones are a lot more involved. Personally I've found the inner ones will last longer if you replace the outers early - if you let the outers go then the extra movement causes the inners to wear out quicker. Maybe it would be wise to obtain clarification as to which bushes the tester is reporting as needing looking at.
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Old Dec 4th, 2019, 16:51   #3
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"Deteriorating rear suspension bushes"

This usually means that they are visibly cracked when viewed.....as it's passed that means there is probably no play in them at all, if there was it would be a fail.

Ask me how I know.....my MOT man took me under and pointed it out.

It was an advisory each year till the old gal passed away.


"N/S front lower suspension arm ball joint has slight play"

Now this one will need addressing.......Advice...as acshortt5 says above it's the whole arm...Buy cheap replace every year !!!!

Hope this helps.
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Old Dec 4th, 2019, 18:56   #4
malc-c
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Thanks guys for the advice.

The car is a 2.5 10v petrol - non turbo, so I'm guessing will be the three bolt unit.

I must admit this was one of those tests where there was some vague remarks so I have no idea how bad the corrosion or degradation of the bushes are. I wasn't invited into the pit to be shown, so as you say, it can't be that bad or they would have failed the car.

I've e-mailed my local inti volvo specialist for a quote to have the works done in the new year.
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Old Dec 6th, 2019, 16:51   #5
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I think I am having deja vu. Was it you who also posted about your MOT pass last year? Either way, we have our MOTs due around the same time and I am glad to say mine also passed today. As you say, this is always a nerve-racking experience. My own car (also a 2.5 10v petrol - non turbo) is now almost 26 years old and I am very pleased to say, still going strong - even with my mediocre maintenance.
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Old Dec 6th, 2019, 17:08   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by volvo2 View Post
I think I am having deja vu. Was it you who also posted about your MOT pass last year? Either way, we have our MOTs due around the same time and I am glad to say mine also passed today. As you say, this is always a nerve-racking experience. My own car (also a 2.5 10v petrol - non turbo) is now almost 26 years old and I am very pleased to say, still going strong - even with my mediocre maintenance.
LOL - yup https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=289625

I just can't believe how solid these cars are, and my maintenance is could do with improvement as my old teacher would say..

Glad you hear your car passed as well... hopefully we can both post the same next December
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Old Dec 10th, 2020, 12:04   #7
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Hi malc-c, It's that time of year again. Thankfully my 1994 850 passed its MOT yesterday, I hope yours did too!

Quote:
Originally Posted by malc-c View Post
LOL - yup https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=289625

I just can't believe how solid these cars are, and my maintenance is could do with improvement as my old teacher would say..

Glad you hear your car passed as well... hopefully we can both post the same next December
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Old Dec 10th, 2020, 12:11   #8
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Hi,

Glad to hear you're passed. My actual MOT expiry is 2/1/21, and whilst I normally take it in earlier, this year it will be 30/12 as I can't deal with the hassle of trying to sort out repairs should it fail etc before Christmas.

I'm quietly confident as I have only clocked up a couple of thousand miles since last year, but you can never tell.
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Old Dec 16th, 2020, 11:41   #9
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Just taken the car to a local center that has done a few repairs for me such as sealing up the join in the exhaust etc, and they found a hole in the rear section, on a bend just a few feet from the end of the tail pipe. "Needs a complete mid section and tailpipe mate" was the conclusion. £326 !!!!!!!!!

The actual exhaust to me seems fine, and it's only blowing slightly around the clamp in the middle and this hole.... so I'm ringing round to see if any other garage can do a fix, even if its just to bandage the thing so it passes its MOT and gives me the time to raise the cash for a new exhaust section.

They will fit a 3rd party part, so if anyone knows of a cheap budget exhaust supplier, please let me know.
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Old Dec 16th, 2020, 14:26   #10
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Have a trawl around on the Bay for exhaust parts. If you find what you need post here to see if there are others who have used that supplier.
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