Class VII MOT

[Deleted]

So I took my van in for a mot test today, our VTS does not do class 7. The tester two years ago was advised by me that there was slight wear in the offside front lower ball joint. After the test he said he could not find anything wrong with it, but it definitely clunks slightly when going over a bump. Last year the ball joint was still fitted and he never mentioned it, its not got any worse. This year he failed the ball joint for excessive play. I have not checked it yet but being the driver of the van I know the clunk sound it sometimes makes and that has not got any worse. I only do local low mileage in the van. When he was carrying out the brake test, why Oh why do testers have to go for maximum braking forces they can get out of the braking systems, the test is a minimum standard test, not the maximum. The test is looking for 16% minimum park brake efficiency not 100% or more. I watched him pulling on the park brake lever which was correctly adjusted so no long travel present, his reading one one side being over 475 kg, and then the opposite wheel went to just under 300 kg before something snapped, which was heard across the garage. He then comes to me and says, it's failed on the ball joint and a broken hand brake cable, he never even looked at the damage he had caused, he just handed me the paperwork and walked off. 

Some people will say it is better that it snapped in the garage than out on the open road, but had he of looked at it properly instead of skimping over it he would have seen the cable through a guide with corrosion present and then calculated the minimum efficiency first and then applied those brake force readings to save causing unnecessary vehicle damage. It would be my call whether I wanted to change the cables or not, which could have been done at the next service. The evidence shows the strands of the cables had surface corrosion on them and have sheared together when failed. 

[studabear]

Well considering our roller brake tester tells you to apply to maximum that is what I do!

[studabear]

Plus its what every tester should be doing, perhaps you should refresh yourself with the manual.

www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/1-brakes#section-1-4-1

Or you could approach DVSA and cry that the mean garage broken your knackered handbrake cable and you would like the manual rewritten to ask the tester to stop the test if it makes 16%

[Deleted]

The thing here is interpretation. I agree that the method of inspection says apply the park brake until maximum efforts have been achieved, but the reason for failing says;


Defect Category

(a) Parking brake efficiency:



(i) below minimum requirement
Major


So as we know that the park brake only requires a minimum of 16% to pass the mot minimum test, it's not rocket science to understand how to work that out so a tester knows the minimum brake forces to apply. 

Now the cable condition;


Defect Category

(a) Cable damaged or knotted Major

(b) Component excessively worn or corroded Major

(c) Cable, rod or joint insecure Major

(d) Cable guide defective affecting operation Major

(e) Restriction in free movement of the braking system Major

(f) Abnormal movement of levers indicating maladjustment or excessive wear Major


The argument becomes the cable was not damaged until he broke it. There is nothing else in that list that he bothered to mention, completely oblivious to the actual condition until it snapped and he didn't even bother to look what had broken or where. When I drove the van away from the station and stopped down the road to have a look underneath, the cable was trailing along the road. had I not of tied it up it could have caused more damage to other vehicle parts. 

DVSA used to tell us to test to minimum standards. I remember trainers back in the day telling us to test to the percentages required, and so long as those percentages were achieved the vehicle had met the minimum standards. 

If you look at the updates DVSA have produced you will see that some areas introduced are not new but actually old test areas that got lost when the new reg's came in and now DVSA are bringing back some of what we had before. I don't ever remember the testers manual ever having written in it that we should test the brakes to 50% or 16%, but I sure do remember staff at DVSA verbally telling us on training courses.  

[valhalla]

I think you were lucky here. When you are careering down a hill with a failed servicer brake, you will be glad that this went on the rollers. Yes, the MoT minimum standard is 16%, but that doesn't stop a laden van for several hundred feet when travelling at 30mph on a 1in10 downhill gradient.

I am extra cautious about picking-up frayed, damaged, or corroded cables on rear axles. That comes from operating a 7.5 DAF on the Isle of Skye.

[studabear]

Thing is not all Dvsa staff sing from the same hymn sheet.

[sorted]

Personally speaking I would prefer my local guys test my cars to the max. I look after the 3 family cars plus the Stag, so that’s 4 cars a year and in the 15 years I’ve been using this garage I’ve not had a failure- so around 60 MOTs. So whilst I reckon that means I do OK looking after them and prepping them, I still prefer that at this once a year opportunity another set of eyes check it all thoroughly.

Likewise when the Stag is back together, even though everything will be new and it is exempt, it will be tested for peace of mind.

I see the MOT as a chance to spot anything I’ve missed rather than a necessary evil.

[Deleted]

Oct 10, 2019 9:15:20 GMT 1 sorted said:

Personally speaking I would prefer my local guys test my cars to the max. I look after the 3 family cars plus the Stag, so that’s 4 cars a year and in the 15 years I’ve been using this garage I’ve not had a failure- so around 60 MOTs. So whilst I reckon that means I do OK looking after them and prepping them, I still prefer that at this once a year opportunity another set of eyes check it all thoroughly.

Likewise when the Stag is back together, even though everything will be new and it is exempt, it will be tested for peace of mind.

I see the MOT as a chance to spot anything I’ve missed rather than a necessary evil.

That is the whole point, he did not check the park brake mechanism physically as per the above reg's otherwise he would have seen the rust on the cable. Then there is that point he did not even bother to look at what broke and whether it would have an impact on safety when driven. Had the cable become trapped under the driven wheels it could have caused further damage to the van. Watching him when the van was registered for test on the ramp he spent more time with the other lads fixing an engine in another part of the workshop. I did wonder what he was doing most of the time.  

[studabear]

I take it they know you are a trade customer?

[Deleted]

Because we don't do class 7 tests I take my van there every year. Given that they know I'm from a test station what does that say!

[studabear]

That you can sort your own parking brake problem out yourself.

[Deleted]

Oct 11, 2019 12:51:27 GMT 1 studabear said:

That you can sort your own parking brake problem out yourself.

I let you know after tomorrow then 

[Deleted]

Replaced the centre section of brake cable today. Had some slight free play in the offside front lower suspension ball joint, looked at it and wondered whether it might be difficult to remove it but after removing the driveshaft CV joint from the wheel hub, removed the circlip and hit it with a long drift and large hammer, the ball joint popped out no problem. Not sure the new one fitted will last as long as the OEM Ford just removed!

Started the engine after work completed and the spanner light stayed on. I noticed the mileage was blank at this time also, never seen that before on this van. Put scanner on and read fault codes and the only code that came back was the B2550 as posted, but my research suggests that is something to do with the interior lights that are or appear to be working. 

I decided to remove all the fuses and relays and clean everything up, the instrument display appears to be working again and the spanner light seems to be working as normal again, for now. I'm wondering if the instrument display is on its way out?