S2C Forum Archives
Main Section => Welcome to our virtual Pub Meeting ... => Topic started by: Kernowcam on June 09, 2022, 07:43:02 AM
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I was talking to my local mot place / garage recently. They were kindly checking my brake hoses / lines after repair work.
We were discussing the mot exempt business and was being told of an old exempt vehicle which had an accident recently. The obvious question when you have to talk to the authorities is , is the vehicle roadworthy and are you qualified to comment on that.
Considering the benefit of an mot on an old vehicle for £54 it seems a bargain for the peace of mind to have a proper check over every so often.
Also we discussed the problem of bringing an old vehicle for mot and it being failed with serious faults thence off the road. The logical answer Is a pre mot check and a list of faults to rectify before a test.
A mate has bought an old exempt ‘kit car’ vehicle and to be honest I suspect would struggle to pass an mot but really needs it.
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^^ as said :ditto
I think it is a good idea to get your exempt Land Rover checked by a 'experet'
I have all my 3 series checked by a friend who does MOT's and is experienced with older Land Rovers and I have any problems fixed by my him/me/ an other. Whilst not a true MOT I now it would then pass one and I have some piece of mind that I have overlooked a issue
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I have heard of an MOT tester will do the test, then abort it at the end if the vehicle will fail. That way you get to find out what needs doing, but don't end up with an MOT failure on the record.
Chris.
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Considering the benefit of an mot on an old vehicle for £54 it seems a bargain for the peace of mind to have a proper check over every so often.
Completely agree!
My mechanic has an agreement with the local MOT station, whereby we take my S2 there, they issue the MOT, telling me & my guy what needs doing (if anything as my S2's well maintained), and we then go back to his workshop and do any work. I might have to leave it with him whilst I get a part, but that's rare.
It's worked very well for the past 15 years.......
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My nephew and I (both with years of mechanic experience) drive and inspect each others land rovers on a regular basis, much more frequent than the once per year MOT. The tester at the MOT station that I use has tested our cars and camper for years, he runs a classic Capri is happy with the cars and the camper which he says are some of the best kept vehicles he sees. I dont have the land rover tested but whenever I have worked on the brakes I take it for him to test the efficiency with his tapley meter. He thinks I over maintain it, he says I am paranoid about it.
Peter
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My nephew and I (both with years of mechanic experience) drive and inspect each others land rovers on a regular basis, much more frequent than the once per year MOT. The tester at the MOT station that I use has tested our cars and camper for years, he runs a classic Capri is happy with the cars and the camper which he says are some of the best kept vehicles he sees. I dont have the land rover tested but whenever I have worked on the brakes I take it for him to test the efficiency with his tapley meter. He thinks I over maintain it, he says I am paranoid about it.
Peter
Regarding testing with a tapley meter, I ask as I have 2 of these.
Besides a visual inspection of all brake parts, inc. inside the drums, is testing with such a meter all that is required ???
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I love my Tapley meter :first but more as a fire-side ornament than a tool.
Based on the toppling brick principle. If you don't have a Tapley a common or garden brick will give you a good idea of how your brakes are working.
You put the brick in the passenger footwell - just as you do with the Tapley.
(http://www.series2club.co.uk/gallery/technical/images/brick_brake_test.jpg)
I test my brakes on the bit of flat road to the junction at the end.
Driving at walking speed, with the palm of my hands on the wheel rim - I brake hard.
If there is an imbalance from one side or the other, you can feel the wheel turn away from the weaker adjusted side.
If it pulls up straight and the front wheels lock up, then the brakes are OK.
It should then pass the MoT brake test with ease.
The handbrake test is easy too - find a steep hill (yes they do exist in Norfolk) or driveway and see if the brake will hold the vehicle. It soon becomes clear if it doesn't.
:try-your-brakes
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The trouble is not all MOT testers are created equal, I have mentioned previously my local duos taste for alcohol and narcotics, and whether a vehicle passes or fails has little to do with its actual condition (one day VOSA will catch up with them no doubt).
The other issue is most testers these days are utterly clueless about any vehicle over ten years old.
Safety checks/a second opinion are the way to go, but likely have little legal standing in the event of an accident.
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I agree that not all testers are created equal. Took my '63 Series some time back when it was required. The young, to me, tester failed it as she only had a wiper on the drivers side.
I explained that there was no provision for a second. Luckily an older mech' explained to him that they where an option back then !
My local tester said he could do MoT but not a pre-MoT. So if it failed that would be recorded. Not sure I would want details on record and means even a relatively minor defect could potentially put me off the road.
Also on the subject of MoT's do they do a smoke/emission's test on older vehicles ? Not sure my diesel is up to it. ???
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Smoke test on older vehicles is "visual"
According to my tester friend who tests series land rovers with a tapley meter, he wont use the rolling road tester because it is not unknown for them to be stuck in 4wd with disasterous consequences.
Peter
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Just for fun the MoT tester will stick the probe in the exhaust pipe and give you the reading/results. This is handy as it gives you an idea of the state of tune of your engine.
The "emissions" test is subjective.
Providing you don't smoke the place out - it will pass.
:MoT
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MOT testers don't seem to mind smoke and fumes. Mine have usually left the engine idling throughout the test while checking non-engine stuff. Once it took ages because the computer was slow. He sat happily in his office with the exhaust pipe just outside the open door puffing exhaust straight in.
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The last time I got an MOT the guy who was used to MOTing the Landie picked up the hose to put up the exhaust then realised he didn't need it but said shall we do it anyway, the result was - it was cleaner than the Ford 'Fester' he had in an hour before.... :cheers
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4 years now since mine became MOT exempt asked my tester when he did the the test if he would do an MOT type exam for me each year with out putting it on the system , he was not interested.
Had used the same garage for 20 years for all my vehicles , do my own checks now on landrover , my son inlaw now gets my car maintenance.
My old tester got bored one year and did a smoke test on my 200DI engine and comment how clean it was.
He was happy chap the last test as he managed to find steering relay arm loose and a headlamp faulty so failed it took it home sorted head lamp earth 2 hrs later with new relay arm and bolt fitted he came outside rocked steering wheel then went back to the computer and issued the certificate.
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Completely agree!
My mechanic has an agreement with the local MOT station, whereby we take my S2 there, they issue the MOT, telling me & my guy what needs doing (if anything as my S2's well maintained), and we then go back to his workshop and do any work. I might have to leave it with him whilst I get a part, but that's rare.
It's worked very well for the past 15 years.......
Naughty he could loose his license for this and the place it's MOT status. (I know it goes on I was an MOT tester)
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What is needed in this country are much stiffer punishments for using unroadworthy vehicles. The MOT is an independent check and only represents the vehicle at the time of the test. I lived in the Isle of Man for a few years where they don’t have MOTs . If you import a car more than 3 years old it gets a one off check before it can be registered and that’s it. Vehicles supplied new on the Island may never visit the test centre. However should you be caught with an unroadworthy vehicle then you will be looking at a custodial sentence or a large fine in court, no pandering about with points on your licence, and in the Main Manx motors are to a much higher standard than their UK equivalent. Basically it was down to the driver to ensure the car is roadworthy at all times rather than relying on someone else to check it once a year.? Vehicle spot checks are fairly common during winter and busy times. My job over there entailed working with the Manx Vehicle Inspectorate closely and I know that they used to fail lots of freshly imported vehicles with new MOTs.
In Britain the same principles are being applied to older vehicles to start off and I think you will see the penalties for using unroadworthy vehicles being increase here before long.
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I love my Tapley meter :first but more as a fire-side ornament than a tool.
Based on the toppling brick principle. If you don't have a Tapley a common or garden brick will give you a good idea of how your brakes are working.
You put the brick in the passenger footwell - just as you do with the Tapley.
(http://www.series2club.co.uk/gallery/technical/images/brick_brake_test.jpg)
I test my brakes on the bit of flat road to the junction at the end.
Driving at walking speed, with the palm of my hands on the wheel rim - I brake hard.
If there is an imbalance from one side or the other, you can feel the wheel turn away from the weaker adjusted side.
If it pulls up straight and the front wheels lock up, then the brakes are OK.
It should then pass the MoT brake test with ease.
The handbrake test is easy too - find a steep hill (yes they do exist in Norfolk) or driveway and see if the brake will hold the vehicle. It soon becomes clear if it doesn't.
:try-your-brakes
I do like the brick test in the absence of a meter.
Re the meter were they date stamped and are the earlier ones all aluminium and the later ones black or coloured plastic on the lower part with alloy bezel.
My 88 has had roller and decelerator and blitz through the industrial estate. But it does have map fwh so I guess they could be certain not to damage transmission even if it had been in 4wd despite the stick position.
Have I imagined that there is a fancier version of the tapley that not only gave force but also imbalance as they had duel display?
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Hi,
To my mind, the benefits of an MOT test are nullified by not having the wheel nuts torque tested. This particularly applies to S1 and S2 Land Rovers with the wheel studs screwed (maybe) into the hub. Land Rovers do not have knave plates that require removal to access the wheel nuts.
And why did Rovers suddenly decide that 16mm wheel studs were necessary? Not that I'm objecting, only cost would prevent me fitting S2A, or preferably S3 hubs to any LR that I owned that did not come with splined wheel studs.
Yes, I have drilled S2 hubs to 9/16" to accept splined studs, but two problems ....
1. Hubs are made of very tough metal, which is reluctant to be drilled.
2. Drilling, in situ, by eye, is maybe not a good idea .... but I've done it several times.
It would be nice if somebody could offer a hub stud conversion service ... but the Jobsworths would probably argue that a hub with stripped threads is safer than a modified hub. Are there any statistics for wheels falling of early Land Rovers? A stipped wheel stud held in with chewing gum would probably pass an MOT.
A hub with two adjacent stripped studs will have an ominous creak. Don't ask!
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