So MOT finally passed, with advisories for rusty brake lines and play in the steering rack, which at least matches up a little with the previous place.
Initially, Barry failed on emissions but they allowed me to pop out for an Italian tune-up and he passed fine. Trying to find driving space to get some heat into the system is not easy in this part of the world but it was fun. Basically, this can be my next excuse if I get caught speeding - if I drive too slow, I kill polar bears 😀
So time to get Barry ready for an MOT re-test.
Supposedly, he failed for a leaking brake line but after taking all 4 wheels off, there is no sign of a leak. Yes, the lines are corroded but not leaking, which is sort of sad. This is why I am cynical and don't trust garages; the indie I took Barry to has previously told me about my corroded brake lines and suggested they be changed and now I take him for an MOT and, shock, it fails on the things they want to charge me £1600 for.
I was all set to try cut off the corroded ends and replace them but that wasn't going to be a one day job. It would be nice to do but trying to get the brake lines out the caliper are notoriously difficult. If they were actually leaking, I would have definitely done it but as they're not, it's too much effort (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
Instead, we cleaned the worst of the corrosion off the pipes and sprayed it with rust converter stuff, which should keep them going a bit longer:
I'd bought new brake discs all round as they'd been advisories on previous MOTs and they always have looked a bit crusty and changing them was very easy (apart from realising I'd been given the wrong size for the fronts, so we had to rush to Euro car parts).
So, the dreaded MOT day and poor old Barry failed miserably.
Major defect was a leaking brake line and it is the hard line at the front that, in theory, needs the front subframe to be dropped. My indie kindly quoted me £1100 for that job!
Advisories were also on worn brake discs all round (I knew this) and some play in the front tie rod ends, which I didn't know.
Initially, I was pretty hacked off but, with some research, I'm actually feeling excited. Firstly, I've known my brake lines were dubious for ages - this same indie warned me about them 2 years ago! So I've wanted an excuse to sort them out and here we are...
My mate with the lift is happy to help which is a huge bonus and I found a video of someone who, rather than replacing the whole line, just cut the leaking bit off, re-flared it, bent some new brake line into the right shape and attached it to the original.
If this works, I'll also try do the small hard lines that go to the calipers and the line on the caliper that goes between the 2 halves; all of these are common corrosion and leak points. I've bought a roll of cunifer brake line (copper/nickel mix) for £30, Cearth has a flaring tool and pipe bender, so we should be good. I actually did this on my kit car years ago and that lasted fine.
I'll also have a look at the main lines that run the length of the car and the rear hard lines, although the O/S is a PITA as it goes over the gearbox. There is a braided flexible line you can buy for that, however, if needed.
I've also bought new tie rod ends and brake discs - £400 in total but should sort all the problems out, touch wood. Quite looking forward to it...
