MOT Fail!!

ThisTurkey

ThisTurkey

Just had my 'N' reg K11 in for it's MOT, had no advisorys last year, but this time it's failed on a lot! The garage quoted £700 for the work, which is more than I can spend on it, going to get some more quotes tomorrow, but was hoping to get some opinions tonight, really don't want to part with my micra!

*nearside and offside front constant velocity joint gaiter split

*offside front, offside front to rear and nearside front to rear brake pipes excessively corroded

*nearside rear suspension component mounting area excessively corroded

*parking brake below requirements (12%)

Last year I had the rear sills welded, the front crossmember has been done, the bodywork and everything else is really tidy, anybody got any suggestions?

Thanks
 
I don't want to say that you should just chop it in, because you don't want to get rid of her, and you've already had a lot of work done to her and she sounds pretty clean. But £700 for the work you've listed? That sounds a bit steep. The brake pipes can probably be done yourself with a few simple tools and a bleeding kit. The parking brake is probably just low pads (which can be changed over in a matter of minutes), and the rear suspension mounting area shouldn't be too expensive to get welded up. I'd just do a bit of shopping around, I think you'd be getting done over at £700 for that type of work
 
The brake pipes can probably be done yourself with a few simple tools and a bleeding kit.
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Agree but also check for leaking rear brake cylinders, not unheard of on K11s :).
 
The quote included adjusting my headlight aim as is failed on that too, but that won't take much compared to the rest! There is no way I can fork out £700, so will not be going back to get the work done there! (Thought it was a bit steep as well Daniel!) Have done some bits and bobs to the car myself, but haven't really got the space or tools to do anything major,will have a look at the brake though and get some prices and decide where to take it from there, at least I know that it is probably not going to be that amount! Really hope I get to keep her!
 
"constant velocity joint gaiter split" - This was the first major repair I tried my hand at on a Subaru Impreza. Parts are cheap (max £10 each +other little bits like split pins). I don't know about the other jobs but if the others say it's not too much of a problem might be worth checking out how much to get the parts to do it yourself (apart from the welding), take it off the road and spend a few weeks learning some new skills if you've got the time? There's always people on here to help if you get stuck :grinning:.
 
A bit of advice mate - go down to Halfords, buy yourself a set of tools. I'd recommend a full set of ratchet spanners, socket set, screwdriver set, allen key/torx key set, various misc. tools (hammer, wire cutters, torque wrench, axles stands, trolley jack, car creeper - the last 3 of which come in a set), and a cheap tool chest. Maybe set you back about £250 in total if you buy cheap or second hand.

These tools will enable you to do pretty much ANY job on your K11. You'll save yourself a hell of a lot of money on labour in the long run, especially when some garages are known to charge up to £60 per hour. A lot of jobs on Micras are fairly easy, only requiring a bit of manpower and some spare time. You don't even need much space to work on, as long as you have a space that's flat and level. Chances are, you can drop that £700 repair cost by at least half if you do most of the work yourself (though I'd recommend getting a professional to do any welding, of course).

And like DG says, if you need any help, just ask :grinning:. There's lots of people on here who will be more than happy to advise you, or even lend a hand if they live close enough (Y)
 
The brake pipe is fairly easy if you have the correct flange kit and cutter, it's not just a flexi pipe! You also need fixings and a length of pipe! Not really worth buying unless your gonna go mad and do the whole car, may as well let the garage do the pipe
Cv joint gaitors are a pita but fairly straight forward, and universal fit ones are pretty cheap but don't buy the glue together type!!
I'd imagine the big lump of that 700 will be in the welding, as the suspension mount could need allot of work as you don't know how bad the rust is and how deep it goes
The parking brake handbrake probably just adjust it in the car if you can on a k11? Around the handbrake should be a threaded bar with a 10mm nut just take the slack out of it should lock the wheels nicely once hand brake is on
 
or better still, buy or make some decent ramps and spray some chainlube on any scabby bits and grease the brakepipes BEFORE they rot away (prevention is far better than cure :grinning:)
me and my misses have both had k11,s since 99, and never failed a mot yet (on rust)
 
frank said:
or better still, buy or make some decent ramps and spray some chainlube on any scabby bits and grease the brakepipes BEFORE they rot away (prevention is far better than cure :grinning:)
me and my misses have both had k11,s since 99, and never failed a mot yet (on rust)
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"Excessively corroded" is it worth the risk to save a few quid? I had a flexi go when I was fast approaching a t junction once, scared the crap out of me since then I never take chances with brakes. Plus if they didn't need doing it would have been on the advisory
 
gtsnissanb said:
"Excessively corroded" is it worth the risk to save a few quid? I had a flexi go when I was fast approaching a t junction once, scared the crap out of me since then I never take chances with brakes. Plus if they didn't need doing it would have been on the advisory
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yes you protect them BEFORE the become excessively corroded (like i said :))
 
Cheers for all the advice, had a look underneath, can see where they have scratched about a bit on the break pipes, doesn't look bad to me, checked the old paperwork (car came with loads) and the break pipes were replaced in 2009, Can one MOT testers opinion override another if they think that they don't need replacing?
One gaitor is split, one is cracked, think I should be able to manage that, going to give the hand break a go tonight.
Getting a quote on the suspension mount welding tomorrow!
Will let you know what happens!
 
ThisTurkey said:
Cheers for all the advice, had a look underneath, can see where they have scratched about a bit on the break pipes, doesn't look bad to me, checked the old paperwork (car came with loads) and the break pipes were replaced in 2009, Can one MOT testers opinion override another if they think that they don't need replacing?
One gaitor is split, one is cracked, think I should be able to manage that, going to give the hand break a go tonight.
Getting a quote on the suspension mount welding tomorrow!
Will let you know what happens!
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you can appeal against a testers opinion, but if it is a suspect tester you may be better to get it mot,d elsewhere tbh
 
Cheers Frank, I am going to be going elsewhere. Hopefully I won't sound like a complete spanner here, but what if the car was grotty underneath when you got it (I know not buying it would be a good start but it was all I could afford! :blush: ) Would trying to keep on top of it with cleaning and greasing it help to prolong its life much, with welding when needed, or is nothing going to help once it has set in so to speak?
 
ThisTurkey said:
Cheers for all the advice, had a look underneath, can see where they have scratched about a bit on the break pipes, doesn't look bad to me, checked the old paperwork (car came with loads) and the break pipes were replaced in 2009, Can one MOT testers opinion override another if they think that they don't need replacing?
One gaitor is split, one is cracked, think I should be able to manage that, going to give the hand break a go tonight.
Getting a quote on the suspension mount welding tomorrow!
Will let you know what happens!
Click to expand...

I would have thought they'd last longer than that :eek:
 
ThisTurkey said:
Cheers Frank, I am going to be going elsewhere. Hopefully I won't sound like a complete spanner here, but what if the car was grotty underneath when you got it (I know not buying it would be a good start but it was all I could afford! :blush: ) Would trying to keep on top of it with cleaning and greasing it help to prolong its life much, with welding when needed, or is nothing going to help once it has set in so to speak?
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underseal is a bit limited in halting the rot, i mix engine oil with shutz and spray it under mine but chainlube clings to rust pretty good, inside the rear 1/4 panel/sill area etc
you,re best to get a quote on that rear chassis repair first imo (that could make or break the situation)
 
frank said:
underseal is a bit limited in halting the rot, i mix engine oil with shutz and spray it under mine but chainlube clings to rust pretty good, inside the rear 1/4 panel/sill area etc
you,re best to get a quote on that rear chassis repair first imo (that could make or break the situation)
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Yeah, thats a very good point! If I get an affordable quote on the work tomorrow, I get to keep the car I will be giving that a go!
 
Just got a quote for £140 for the welding and the gaiters too. The guy showed me underneath the car, and pointed out the break pipes that were done two years ago, which he said were fine, the other garage were basically taking the p***.
He charges less for the MOT too, even with my supposed 'discount' at the other place!
So pleased I get to keep my Micra! :grinning:
 
That's crazy, £700 in the first instance, and they were basically just trying to take your money anyway? Avoid them like the plague :glare:.

But at least you're getting your Micra sorted though (Y)
 
That's a £100 job bro, my advise is to clean up the corroded areas yourself. Use underseal or paint where appropriate, and check the gaitors for yourself to make sure that they acctually are split.
Either adjust your handbrake cable or have some new rear shoes fitted. And most importantly; NEVER GIVE THE WORK TO THE GARAGE THAT MOT'D THE CAR!!! Can't stress that enough, and make sure you change testing stations every year too.
 
Had a good look under the car last night, and one gaiter is split, the other is cracked, but not leaking yet. Need the job done before the current MOT expires, so paying a garage is my only option at the moment! I have certainly learned a LOT about garages now though!! Cheers for the advice!
 
Well if you need to get it done, get it done. Just don't get the work carried out by the same place that is doing the MOT, because they will end up charging you more just to line their own pockets. I've heard of some garages (including one I use quite regularly - but they give me discounts because I know a couple of the guys that work there, so get free MOTs as well :grinning:) raising their hourly rate as well, just for one job. They can be theives :glare:
 
I think £140 is a decent price to do that cv boots as well. Can be a very time consuming job the first time you do it with rusty bolts and everything. Well done for not coughing up the £700!
 

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