Sold Sierraman's (dad's) Mondeo - Long MOT Hundreds spent Ice Cold Aircon M9

[Bren]

Get it done and run it into the ground

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Not wanting to teach my grandma to suck eggs or owt.

 

But I've found with fails like this, that suggesting to the garage that if it could end up with 12 months ticket for say £200 or whatever, I'll do it ,otherwise I'll scrap it, usually results in a satisfactory outcome for all involved. The welding costs them nothing but time , so depends how much they've got on this week.

[sierraman]

Where had it failed then on the corrosion? I'm only going on where they usually fail.

[AMC Rebel]

This place is decent - they only charged me £95 for the Puma and that included the welding.  I have used them before and they are very reasonable.

 

Thinking about it tonight, I have in my head that if it's less than £400 I will get it done, much more and I'll give it some thought, but it's a decent steer.

[AMC Rebel]

Where had it failed then on the corrosion? I'm only going on where they usually fail.

 

I haven't looked - I only have what's on the fail sheet, but it's the rear sills on both sides I think

 

nearside rear outer Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded (5.2.6)

offside rear outer Seat belt anchorage prescribed area is excessively corroded sill (5.2.6)

[AMC Rebel]

Not wanting to teach my grandma to suck eggs or owt.

 

But I've found with fails like this, that suggesting to the garage that if it could end up with 12 months ticket for say £200 or whatever, I'll do it ,otherwise I'll scrap it, usually results in a satisfactory outcome for all involved. The welding costs them nothing but time , so depends how much they've got on this week.

This place doesn't do their own MOTs so in a sense have no axe to grind.  They are pretty fair, though.

[AMC Rebel]

They did the quote today while I was out and dropped the car back off -

 

Welding £250 (good)

Drop links £85 less good - but I can do them.

Brake pipes - £278.50 - bugger!

 

All plus VAT so making a total of 733.80.

 

I could get the bill down a bit by doing the brake pipes myself but I only have a couple of spare days over Christmas and I am chokka in January and it needs to be done by mid Jan when the MOT expries really.

 

On the whole, a trip to the bridge is looking more likely, even though I have bought an alternator and rear brake shoes for it.  I will ponder over Christmas though, no immediate rush.

[Bren]

The quote for brake pipes tels me they don't want to do them. Not difficult to do yourself.

[AMC Rebel]

The quote for brake pipes tels me they don't want to do them. Not difficult to do yourself.

Agreed - except in the freezing cold on the yard at this time of year.  I should really get off my fat arse and finish the ZTT - then I could use it, and I'd have space in the garage too.

 

The brake pipes quote includes £250 labour (plus VAT).  I am not sure of their labour rate but I suspect it's £100 an hour as they are quoting £50 labour for the drop links (I know I could ask but they have all gone home now).  

[sierraman]

I'd look at another garage. £500 to replace brake pipes is bordering on ridiculous. A garage tackling those type of jobs should be charging no more than £45 an hour

[BorniteIdentity]

I'd look at another garage. £500 to replace brake pipes is bordering on ridiculous. A garage tackling those type of jobs should be charging no more than £45 an hour

Concur. Also see if you can find somewhere half respected that's not vat registered. That's an instant saving of a good amount of dollar.

[AMC Rebel]

Agreed chaps although on a point of order, it's not £500 to do the pipes, it's 333.00 (ish)

[AMC Rebel]

Got chance to take more of a look today.

 

 

[Bren]

Not too bad.

[AMC Rebel]

I've certainly driven a lot worse.

[sierraman]

As I thought, end of sills. It's been plated before on drivers side at a guess 4-5 years ago. Not a bad job to repair if you can weld that, I'd reckon on £30-40 a side to put that right at a decent garage that does jobs like this.

[AMC Rebel]

The welding doesn't look too bad - I have a welder, but I wouldn't attempt this as I can't be sure I'd be up to MOT standard (or indeed safe).  

 

I have a brake pipe flaring tool, too, but I just remembered the die broke last time I tried using it on a steel pipe (on the AMC) so I will probably get another (any excuse to buy tools).

 

I have ordered the front drop links so I guess that means I'm going to do this and keep it going for another year at least.

 

On the upside, the bit of pipe the MOT guy has failed it on is the straight piece that runs up to a (non factory) joint where replacement pipe has already been fitted.  I can't see the point in running a new pipe all the way up into the engine bay and to the master cylinder so I plan to make another joint somewhere near the front and just replace the straight pipe on the underside.  On the downside I didn't remember what was on the fail sheet when I went out earlier, so not sure about the other front and rear bits - but none of it should be that bad.

[vaughant]

 

 

Here you go!!!

[theorganist]

I'd look at another garage. £500 to replace brake pipes is bordering on ridiculous. A garage tackling those type of jobs should be charging no more than £45 an hour

 

 

I think it cost me about £80 to have some made up and fitted on my Princess, my garage charges £50 per hour. Although as I am a regular often knocks some off.

[AMC Rebel]

Decided to do the easy job first - the droplinks.  As always happens with jobs where there are two to do, the first one was a piece of piss, and the second one put up more of a struggle.

 

 

 

 

 

That was until I realised there are a couple of flats on the inside of the joint where you can use a 16mm OE spanner to stop the joint from turning as you're undoing the 17mm Nylok nut. The new ones have a hex in the end too - but the old ones didn't.

 

Of course the droplinks are actually fine, just the dust covers were completely shot - in the olden days I'd have changed the them - but it seems daft not to do the whole thing - they aren't ruinously expensive.

 

Whist under there I decided to try and size up the brake pipe job.

At first glance I thought the MOT man was being a bit harsh, what with his "offside front Brake pipe excessively corroded (3.6.B.2c)" -

 

 

But then I realised he must mean this bit -

 

[sierraman]

Sometimes the centre of the bolt on the droplink has a hex so you can hold it while you twirl the spanner. Sometimes if you've got the gun on it it'll just rattle the nut off, it's the bottom nut that's a swine, sometimes you just end up grinding the nut clean off.

[AMC Rebel]

Sometimes the centre of the bolt on the droplink has a hex so you can hold it while you twirl the spanner.

Indeed - hence my comment

 

The new ones have a hex in the end too - but the old ones didn't.

 

 

 

I couldn't be bothered getting the compressor out so I didn't use the windy gun - didn't need it really, they weren't that tight.  The ratchet spanners I bought a while back from LIDL came in handy though.

[sierraman]

Last ones I did I took a look at them then went back inside for the grinder. I've tried the cheap links and the Lemforder ones and it's made no difference, it's just a weak part of the design.

[egg]

This is good work! Probably need to do mine, here's how it looked last year. Possibly original? Bet they'll be fun to undo. Probably won't be me then!

 

[AMC Rebel]

Actually, my drop links were fine, the fail was on the rubber dust covers which had disintegrated.

[AMC Rebel]

Got the first of the brake pipes done, although it did take me all morning.  Short version - inept old git has to make 3 versions of pipe to get one that's going to work.

 

 

 

[AMC Rebel]

Grrr why is it that no matter how many brake spanners you have, the fittings are always between the sizes you have?  I have eleventy million brake spanners, imperial and metric, and yet there are still some that are a duff size.

 

I don't think this job is being helped by the fact that Ford seem to have put the pipes on before fitting the rear subframe either, but onwards and downwards.

 

I am actually having a decent day - the weather is glorious.

[AMC Rebel]

Day 2 weather not glorious.  No longer pissing down but not anything like as much fun as yesterday.

 

First job was sorting out the downpipe on the guttering.

 

I have made one more brake pipe, but waiting for a lull in the rain before fitting.  By the way, I meant to mention that after several weeks just sitting there, the mondy started up first time.

 

This is where I got to yesterday

 

 

Three (well six if you count the balls ups) pipes made and fitted.  Three to go (plus balls ups).  Oh, and did the rear drop link on this side - despite not being failed for that or even advised, the rubbers were totally shot.  Will do the other side when I get around there.

 

Since it was raining I went into the garage to do battle with the track rod end on the MG (thanks to all for all the ideas) finally removed the old 'un (which was only buggered due to my hamfistedness in releasing it).  I celebrated by fitting the new one from the wrong side, which I noticed whilst doing something else.  Now corrected.

[AMC Rebel]

[AMC Rebel]

4 drop links and six brake pipes done. Booked in tomorrow for welding, MOT ahoy.