MoT help

[Nullsleep]

So the house brick passed its MOT, failed 1st time but some chrome paint on the headlights and a hand brake cable was all it needed but on of the advisarys

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Nearside Side repeater slightly discoloured (4.4.3 (a))
Nearside Rear Direction indicator slightly discoloured (4.4.3 (a))
Offside Rear Direction indicator slightly discoloured (4.4.3 (a))
Nearside Play in steering rack inner joint(s) ()
Offside Play in steering rack inner joint(s) ()
Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
Nearside Front Valve stem slightly damaged perished (5.2.3 (j))

The play in steering rack is coming from the rack as both inner and out joints are new, have been told this cane be adjusted maybe, how?

the oil leak is not one really, the intercooler had been cracked for some time and as such put oil all over the underside, will need to clean it off.

[amazondean]

I wouldn't worry about advisories, one test station to the other give different outlooks and comments. If it feels ok just leave it I say!

[Dippydog]

I'd take a good look at the valve stem to see how bad it is and consider having it swapped for a new one depending on result of that you don't want it letting go at any kind of speed.Discoloured indicators easy enough to sort with either coloured bulbs or if you can get to the inside of the lenses paint them with nail varnish or clear orange modelling paint.

[Martin Cox]

Well, that's not too daunting a list. The only potentially awkward ones are the play in the steering rack inner joints. I'd just keep an eye on it and see how it goes.

Unfortunately these cars were not fitted with the longest lasting of steering racks. My Tdi is on it's third one. I've never had to replace a steering rack on any other car I've owned although in fairness this one has by far the highest mileage.

Far too many people will apply large amounts of lock with the vehicle stationary. You see it all the time. This does nothing for good rack life and it puts additional stress on all the other steering components too and increases tyre wear. Unfortunately my wife is guilty of this despite my best efforts. So long as the vehicle is moving even slightly, the forces on the steering gear are lower which should reduce the rate of wear.

Back in the days of manual steering, people tended not to do it unless absolutely necessary because it was bloody hard work!

Well done on getting a pass.

Martin

1998 V70 Tdi Auto 227,000 miles

[400-ascona]

If you get an advisory on something like the steering, I would be seriously tempted to rectify it, if only because the insurance investigator will look there first in the event of any accident claim. The real reason to do it is for the safety of you, the people in your car and other road users. An advisory today may become safety critical in 11 months time.
Another good reason. When I buy a car, I always look at the MOT history. Consecutive advisories always give me the impression that a car hasn't been cared for.
Rob.

[turboboy]

Originally Posted by amazondean

I wouldn't worry about advisories, one test station to the other give different outlooks and comments. If it feels ok just leave it I say!

Absolutely agree. Not only different opinions between test centres but between testers at the same test station.

I have been using the same test centre for many years (they only test and do no repairs, so not looking for repair work). My V70 had no advisories this year whereas there were a couple last year that I didn't bother to deal with. Simply a different tester this year.

Additionally, 16 years ago (at a different test station) our Golf had an advisory on front strut bearings. Bought replacements but never got around to fitting. Since then they have never been mentioned at test time, not even as a casual "you might have a look at them some time, mate". They are still in the boot awaiting fitting at some time!

[amazondean]

My last car i had MOT'd failed on a very serious oil leek, it reads on the MOT history "Oil leaking continuously from engine posing a serious risk to road safety oil all over cat suspect main beaing seal"

I investigated and found minor oil on the bottom of the engine sump that had sprayed a small amount on the cat, I cleaned it up and ran it for half an hour jacked up so i could see the issue. Nothing. I then ran it on the road for 20 minutes, came back, still nothing. Took it for it's retest and passed with no advisories. That is because there wasn't a serious oil leak, just the usual minor oil leak that most old cars have!

Now i have this comment on the history whenever i sell the car, which is not excessive or indeed dangerous.

[phatboy130]

I have a brand new drivers side headlight listed for sale for £60 if you fancy it? Even if you get it for next year, it's cheap, and gives time to find another one

[Nullsleep]

most of these have been sorted now, new bulbs all round for the indecators, new indicator housing (only £15 new from euro), the valve was replaced free as its a new tyre, a week old now.

the only 2 things left is rack and oil leak, oil leak i suspect was just oil coming from the intercooler that had a big crack in it, poor turbo must of been working over time, the under tray was caked and so is under the car. the rack i am relucted to do any thing with seeing as this car cost me £0.00 and so far spent £100 in getting it to this point, new/reconed rack is £200 with a come back for £90 so £110 all in, will see if that ajustment thing will sort this out if not then new rack it is.

still need to sort out the pump belt and timing too, infact might be worth doing al the belts thats about £200 - £300 on its own

boot stuts need sorting too, getting the wifes mobility scoot out is a real pain right now so thats on the top of the list

[Martin Cox]

The tailgate struts is a straightforward job. The worst part is getting to them and even that's not too difficult.

I opted for genuine Volvo struts on the basis that the previous ones were still just about working on a warm day after 20 years. If the new ones last as long I shall probably be past caring by the time they wear out.

I'm sure good aftermarket struts are available too.

Well done on getting the rest of it sorted. It's obviously running cleanly enough to keep the MoT tester happy.

I did do the dynamic timing on my V70 using the 850 OBD 2 app and I was able to reproduce the results you were getting; an error of 600 degrees when the actual timing was just over -4 degrees.

I think what this means is that the timing is too far retarded to be within the range the software can cope with. Anything more than about - 4 degrees seems to throw up this nonsense figure.

I reckon if you advance the timing slightly you'll probably get sensible readings.

Martin

1998 V70 Tdi Auto 227,000 miles