Reliant Rialto

[oldcars]

This is in for its mot today. Fingers crossed but i think one brake has started to bind a bit. It really does'nt like the salted roads.

[oldcars]

  we adjusted and greased up the front hub last year, i have felt no knocking on it when driving. Thought the brake might be binding, and i cleaned and waxoiled the brake pipes before xmas.

 

• Parking brake lever has no reserve travel (3.1.6b)
• Offside rear brake binding (3.7.B.1)
• Brake pipe excessively corroded front to rear pipe (3.6.B.2c)
• Front wheel bearing has excessive play (2.5.A.3c)

Advisory notice item(s)

• Parking brake efficiency marginal
• Grease front stub assembly

[vulgalour]

Sodding handbrakes.  They're the BANE of old car MoTs.

[oldcars]

Sodding handbrakes.  They're the BANE of old car MoTs.

I looked at it before and to me it seemed fine. I greased all the linkage and stuff. I'm hoping that with a new wheel cylinder and some adjustment that it will pass. Bit worried about the play in the front wheel. Its a needle bearing but its been adjusted and greased and still comes up.

[plasticvandan]

lack of reserve travel usually means the cable needs adjusting.this needs to be done AFTER adjusting the drums.

[montytom]

You sir are living the dream. I used to see my mums friend on the floating bridge on the way home from middle school many years ago.Len his name was used to give me a lift home. Loved them ever since. I have seen one on Gumtree but I don't know if I would be able to fit in it now being a chubby beggar. Love this site.

[oldcars]

Some help needed. Mate is looking at mot stuff now and says the play in the wheel bearing is not the wheel bearing, the whole front wheel moved about half and inch. Is this the kingpin then? Hope not im sure it has less than 5k since it was done.

[dollywobbler]

Sounds possible. Was it greased before the test? Have to do the 2CV's kingpins before every test, and it still gets an advisory every time. A lot of testers panic about kingpin play, but it has to be pretty bad to actually be dangerous. They're not like balljoints, where play is a very bad thing.

[somewhatfoolish]

Half an inch strikes me as quite a lot of play, even if that's at the tyre rather than the hub it's a fair amount of wobble for the steering to deal with. Caveat; I've never wrangled tripods, so PVD should be consulted for wisdom.

[oldcars]

No, i didnt grease it before the test. I should have. The amount of play does seem a lot, and i have never felt it when driving 

[UltraWomble]

I really fancy a tripod, but they seem megabucks these days. Was looking last night on the bay of E which is when I found that Anadol.

[Eddie Honda]

Look direct from the front and see if the wheel is on the piss in a vertical plane?

 

It'll be the kingpin, but the tester should have know that.

[oldcars]

That's the thing, i don't think it is. I'm going to pop down tomorrow afternoon and have a look. Mate likened the play to trunions on a old minor he said, but i don't know about them. I guess it has to be either the kingpin or the wheel bearing. What else could it be?

[plasticvandan]

most mot testers would be familiar with kingpin play on a pig. jack it up,hold the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and rock it.if its got play there its the kingpin,but pump it with thick grease afterwards and re check. if it rocks from 3 and 9 oclock  its the wheel bearing.

[Eddie Honda]

most Class 3 mot testers wshould be familiar with kingpin play on a pig.

FTFY.

[oldcars]

most mot testers would be familiar with kingpin play on a pig. jack it up,hold the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and rock it.if its got play there its the kingpin,but pump it with thick grease afterwards and re check. if it rocks from 3 and 9 oclock  its the wheel bearing.

Cheers, i will do this tomorrow when i pop down to see it.

[Mally]

Would have thought that much play was more than advisory.

Wheel nuts are tight of course

Rock at 3 and 9 can also be track rod end / steering box. I forget how the steering works now, its been a while.

[oldcars]

Would have thought that much play was more than advisory.

Wheel nuts are tight of course

Rock at 3 and 9 can also be track rod end / steering box. I forget how the steering works now, its been a while.

It was a fail, on the wheel bearing and a few other bits.

[oldcars]

Been to look at the car on the ramp. Looks like wheel bearing and kingpin from dans test. We greased it and its still not great so will be replaced. Need a new drop link?? Too as there is play in that too. Is that what the bar in this photo is?

[plasticvandan]

Yes,used to be around £25 when I last had them.believe it or not out of all the pigs I had I never had to change a kingpin,god they are expensive now!

[oldcars]

Yes,used to be around £25 when I last had them.believe it or not out of all the pigs I had I never had to change a kingpin,god they are expensive now!

Spoke to the chap a Brook Road Garage, kingpin kit is £50 now. Think is a bit of a pain job to do, but i don't have the time or anywhere dry to have a go so my pal is sorting it for me.

[oldcars]

Just ordered all the bits from Brook Road. Some on back order so fingers crossed the arrive before the 14 day retest period. Costs mounting up for this old heap now.

[Eddie Honda]

kingpin kit is £50 now.

HOW much? Used to get them for less than a tenner!

[plasticvandan]

Lots of my staple Reliant stock parts have gone thru the roof since I was driving them 5 years ago,except for sumps because Reliant re ordered 1000 of them 6 years ago totally unaware that it will take years to sell them.

I do wonder what the future for new reliant bits are,Parts world are long past their ten yea obligation to supply spares,and have been throwing out large amounts of slow moving items,and not restocking on others when they run out.

Biggest future problem will be engines corroding internally in the block,The moulds having been destroyed by an irate diecasting MD following non payment by Reliant.

[somewhatfoolish]

If you use antifreeze and replace it at the recommended intervals the corrosion rate will mean tripod mobility stretching well beyond the point at which burning petrol in an engine becomes an amusingly eccentric hobby.

[RayMK]

If you use antifreeze and replace it at the recommended intervals the corrosion rate will mean tripod mobility stretching well beyond the point at which burning petrol in an engine becomes an amusingly eccentric hobby.

 

This is true, but cars which like to blow coolant from the overflow pipe (Reliant 3 wheelers, K series and rear engined Skodas come to mind  ) often end up with neat tap water in the system.  Depending on the local water supply, tap water water can destroy alloy blocks or heads within just a few years, hence PVM's concern about replacements.

 

Edit: I've only just noticed that Dan is Plasticvandan - I always read it as Plasticvanman, hence PVM  . 

[plasticvandan]

Reason for the concern is that its already happening,Reliant have for decades been run on a budget by people who often don't know any better.the newest engine is now nearly 20 years old.

[oldcars]

Is it true that some of the engines in the late MK3's were reconditioned engines from earlier cars?

[plasticvandan]

most of them were,due to the story above,thats why the mk3 has such a poor reliabilty rate compared to older models.

[oldcars]

Mate just text, all fixed. Will collect it Thursday and take it to the MOT station as its now expired. Front wheel bearing, kingpin, and drop link, new brake pipe, front and one rear cylinder and new pads fitted to. Hand brake is adjusted too he says. Result. Been missing the wee car.