MOT time

[Pudsey Bear]

It passed but it was touch and go.

I seem to have a problem with the lighting, they fitted new lamps at the back last week but I still had the bulb out icon on the dash.

So they brought the van home and the icon was there, we got back down to the garage and it'd gone, came home still gone, fired it up this morning and it was back on again (instant fail) it'd gone out when I got to the garage, bleedin gremlins.

Plenty of advisories though

 

[Millie Master]

I am sorry to say, but that sounds like you have some searious garage costs to consider, unless that is you can do all the work yourself.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I am sorry to say, but that sounds like you have some searious garage costs to consider, unless that is you can do all the work yourself.

Not really on a 15 year old van.

Only the bottom two might need attention, brakes bind and go out of balance when parked easily, discs get surface rust, plus one calliper has done about 1500 miles the other god knows so they could never be the same unless I get another new one for the off side or maybe just new pins and then it's only a tyre and roll bar joint, not going to break the bank.

 

[wildebus]

all looks relatively ok to me. Brakes are a very fickle thing. Best to give them a good old use on the way to the garage to burn off any residues and free up sticky bits (when they don't get used much, they end up as MOT advisories - that's the way it is!).
Anti-roll bar could well be just a bush that needs replacing if that.
On that list I would focus on the tyres (both spotted and the rest) and not worry about the rest.

Low mileage motor there for 15 years!

 

[SimonM]

Bulb failure light in the dash is there to advise you, it is not a failure item. Mine is permanently on as I’ve got non-canbus bulbs the system doesn’t like. Tester is fine with them.

 

[Millie Master]

As a golden rule on all of my vehicles, I always change brakes in pairs and I believe that is what is termed best practice.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

all looks relatively ok to me. Brakes are a very fickle thing. Best to give them a good old use on the way to the garage to burn off any residues and free up sticky bits (when they don't get used much, they end up as MOT advisories - that's the way it is!).
Anti-roll bar could well be just a bush that needs replacing if that.
On that list I would focus on the tyres (both spotted and the rest) and not worry about the rest.

Low mileage motor there for 15 years!

It says ball joint, I think it might be one of the dog bone types, two nuts, job done I think.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Bulb failure light in the dash is there to advise you, it is not a failure item. Mine is permanently on as I’ve got non-canbus bulbs the system doesn’t like. Tester is fine with them.

It's very reliable Si, it was the nearside headlight which was out but it keeps mending itself, more of a nuisance really as I don't drive at night.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

As a golden rule on all of my vehicles, I always change brakes in pairs and I believe that is what is termed best practice.

Not really, pads, shockers or discs, shoes and drums but not calipers which are serviceable or you have too much money.

 

[wildebus]

As a golden rule on all of my vehicles, I always change brakes in pairs and I believe that is what is termed best practice.

discs, pads and shoes for sure. don't think the same applies to brake calipers.

 

[Millie Master]

discs, pads and shoes for sure. don't think the same applies to brake calipers.

Yes in certain ways I agree with you, however when doing the brakes and not actually knowing if an individual caliper is working 100% efficiently I have always found it to be best practice to change the calipers as well and always buying them from EBC Brakes.

 

[wildebus]

Yes in certain ways I agree with you, however when doing the brakes and not actually knowing if an individual caliper is working 100% efficiently I have always found it to be best practice to change the calipers as well and always buying them from EBC Brakes.

Yup. It is certainly not as vital as doing the discs and pads in pairs, but it is good practice (and on my reply just now to Pudseys comment about brake pads, I said I replaced them as a pair when one was bad as it made sense in that situation).

Some things people think should be replaced in matching pairs but actually don't seem to be the case would be springs as well. I had a broken spring on my Corsa (only the very top broke off so didn't actually affect anything I could notice) and when the car was serviced and MOTed less than a week ago, the garage just wanted to replace the one spring and never suggested doing them as a pair (and this was a Vauxhall Main Dealership).
I imagined they would say they needed to do both, but no.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I'd just had new pads both sides on the van, it's failed it's MOT on brakes, they put new sliders etc in and greased both sides and it then passed but the calliper was goosed so another set of brake pads was bought but only fitted on one side so I have a spare set in the garage, no point in doing both sides again as it'd only done about 50 miles since the MOT and most of those on the M6.

Just had new pads fitted to the car.

 

[SimonM]

Wrong forum, but I’ve just removed the caliper from the Commando, cleaned up and made certain all 6 pistons were moving correctly before it gets its first outing of the year.

But on Friday I’ll be putting in new pads and a couple of front wishbone bushes in the MH. The bushes are likely to be an advisory at the next MOT but I’d rather know they are perfect, similar for the pads there’s a good 2/3000 miles left in them, but as we’re in the area why not?