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MOT On A Ford - Do they really check the rear brake shoes?


omen1314
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Just had my Fiesta back from the MOT centre and it looks like they never checked the rear brake shoes.

I performed the old Tippex trick and it doesnt look like they removed the drum to check the shoes - even by removing the rear 4 bolts as the Tippex was still where i put it?

Is there a way to check the shoes without removing the drum and that pesky centre bolt that they might have used?

It leads me to wonder because of the design of the rear brake disc on many Fords requiring the removal of that special bolt that can apparently only be removed 4-5 times before it

needs replaced that most MOT centres dont actually bother doing this and if they do never replace the bolt which could cause a nasty accident - they certainly never did it with my Streetka!

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If it passed the efficiency test and handbrake functions then it'll pass. What the can't see they can't test and they don't remove anything. 

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Ah i always thought they removed the wheels to check the front pads and the rear drum to check the brake shoes.

So its not really a proper job then.

I remember my old Opel Manta GT/J passed its MOT and a month later the front brakes burst into flames as the brake shoes were grinding the metal backplates on the brake disc.

I need to satisfy myself anyway so am going to remove the brake drum to check and have a look at the front pads!

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They won't do any dismantling on the MOT.  A by the book tester won't even remove dangly trophies from the mirror.  The car must be tested "as presented", not part dismantled.

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3 hours ago, omen1314 said:

Ah i always thought they removed the wheels to check the front pads and the rear drum to check the brake shoes.

So its not really a proper job then.

I remember my old Opel Manta GT/J passed its MOT and a month later the front brakes burst into flames as the brake shoes were grinding the metal backplates on the brake disc.

I need to satisfy myself anyway so am going to remove the brake drum to check and have a look at the front pads!

Sounds like you're getting what happens on a service mixed up with what happens on MoT.

a car could pass one day and fail the next, the test is to see if it's roadworthy at the time of testing.

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It was actually a service with MOT so they never removed the drums!

I usually do my own servicing but my mother had the car on a full service plan!

 

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Once smeared 'boat grease' over all my brake pipes so the road salt didn't effect them, the tester asked what the stuff was and said they couldn't check them so had to pass them. The stuff was like toffee so protected the pipes for as long as I had the car!

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I agree on the service side I would expect the drums to be removed at least to check the lining of the drums after all it is a health check

years ago I had a new Escort and took it to Ford for its first major service and used the tipex mark on my wheel nuts (had to remove ugly wheel trim first):blink: anyway got the car back and the wheels hadn't been off (how can you perform a service without taking a single wheel off) off I go back to Frauds explained the wheels hadn't been off and the mechanic was called in. Long story short and him treating me like I was born the day before, Outside we go with his manager, he explained how he had seen the tippex marks and simply replaced them when he put the wheels back on and I'm obviously out for some sort of freebie, Ah ok I said I didn't realize you had done that, did you replace the marks on all of the wheels for me.

Yes he said or course I did

Well ya doughnut as I'm whipping the other wheel trims off ..... yeah you guessed,, I only marked one wheel.. I accepted the free tank of fuel and another service but that's the last time I used anyone else for my servicing.

I do my own servicing ok you don't get the stamps in the book but if you keep all receipts and a self service log and get a full RAC or AA health report come selling time it doesn't make much of a difference other than you know its done properly

As above an M.O.T is judging the car on how its presented at the time so that's a totally different matter

just thought id share that with you as dealer or other service history isn't always what it seems

 

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Yeah Steve i have always done my own repairs and servicing there isnt a single garage near me that isnt a ripoff now.

I should post the photos of the estimates from kwikfit for replacing the entire exhaust on a Streetka and the front and rear suspension springs - Over a grand!

I priced it up myself and got the lot done for under £300 using decent parts.

Sorted the fuel pump last year and they quoted me £250 saying it was a big job but taking the fuel tank out of a Streetka Jenoliting and recoating it was easier than i thought - and I got it done for a tenner by buying an excellent quality pump from a guy who's mum and dad insisted he break his Streetka as they wangted it off his drive.
Its actually amazing how much you can save by buying genuine parts from a scrappie or eBay - I used to spend many a glorious weekend in the local junkyard grabbing all sorts for my kit car - great times with my dad!

Thats what propelled me into car mechanics when i was 18 and built my first and last lol Kit car!

I hadnt actually realised until this post how little they actually physically do on an MOT and how easy it must be to fudge a car to pass!
 

I am afraid to admit i am a bit of ana auld fairte i prefer the simplicity of a Ford Escort MKII - All these Ecu Ccu and maps just makes cars harder for us amateur mechanics to fix and i am a qualified electronics engineer and computer programmer.
It does make things easier to find faults though but that is only because the engines are so much more complex now.
Take me back to a Ford Escort MK I or II and i can fix just about any problem!
Give me a new Fiesta and it requires manuals , circuit diagrams and youtube lol

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I hear you, I love the 1980s 1990s or before era just before computers took over now if my car coughs my wallet shouts ouch and I shout Sh*te but before it was was dash for the toolbox and have fun,

Its the labour you pay for and fair play to anyone doing the job your labour and knowledge should be paid for but if I can manage the same job myself why would I pay someone else?

Id rather save the money on labour and treat my car to genuine or better parts

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My advice over on the Streetka forum was get yourself an OBD tester from eBay £30 will save you a fortune in diagnostics bills!

I have the D800 as well as a laptop full of tuning and Forscan , Mercedes and other scanners for cars my family have owned over the years and i reckon its saved me over £10,000.

This is the latest D900 I can really recommend these as they also give a realtime display of OBD parameters as the car is running and you can reset the MIL light to get you home if the problem isnt so serious.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2017-Universal-Car-Fault-Code-Reader-D900-OBD2-EOBD-CAN-Diagnostic-Scanner-Tool-/122028314392?epid=1475176574&hash=item1c69744f18:g:v-8AAOSwhvFZCY8A

There is a better one that collates the data and you can download it later on a laptop for analyzing enginer performance for tuning etc but its a few hundred quid!

The bluetooth dongles are also good and a copy of Torque pro on your mobile is invaluable and with addons you have a dashcam for free.

I am trialling a new dashcam app on android and another on windows as many of these cheap dashcams people buy are only vga so you would be better of saving £50 and just using your mobile as it has the motion sensor as well as many other things that make them better than a dashcam!

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4 hours ago, Jethro_Tull said:

A by the book tester won't even remove dangly trophies from the mirror

lol My Mot tester said that dangly mirror bits (smelly) would constitute a fail but if I was to remove them when he wasn't looking then they weren't there lol

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Indeed.  Decent testers won't remove them themselves, unless they know you really well, in case you're a plant from the Ministry.  Others will advise you when you book the test to remove such items before bringing the car in.

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1 hour ago, Jethro_Tull said:

Indeed.  Decent testers won't remove them themselves, unless they know you really well, in case you're a plant from the Ministry.  Others will advise you when you book the test to remove such items before bringing the car in.

look for the yellow chalk on the underside of the car DVSA lol

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3 hours ago, usersteve said:

Its the labour you pay for and fair play to anyone doing the job your labour and knowledge should be paid for but if I can manage the same job myself why would I pay someone else?

Totally agree but now i'm getting a touch long in the tooth I can't even be bothered to do that :wink:

Dripping taps? Let'em drip :biggrin:

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Yeah i know what you mean now winey.

Since my dad died i have lost the interest in car mechanics and the fun on a rainy Sunday afternoon , i just do it for necessity of saving money and avoiding taking it to a garage who will rip you off and do a job i would do 100 times better!

TRUST-NO-1 is my motto these days!

 

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