MOT FAIL!!!!

[mike-evans]

Just failed my car on the MOT..Inbalance on the front brakes, he said it could be, Discs, Pads, Sliders????

Told me they would change the Discs and pads and go from there...

So I said I'll change them and bring it back...started going on about could also be a number of things resulting in the inbalance of the brakes and then if it was to fail again after I had fitted them it would be another £35 charge for the MOT....

£99 for the new pads, new discs and labour quoted from the garage..how does that sound? ( expensive to me as budget is TIGHT )!!!

Can get the Discs and pads for £63 myself and fit them but not guarenteed to pass as I have not got the machine to check...


Any views suggestions on this???

 

[Andyman]

Change MOT testing stations because it looks like he's out to fleece you as he should know if its discs and pads causing the problems just by a simple inspection

 

[Rossy197]

Fit them your self mate, I did discs and pads all round on my 182 at the weekend and was a piece of pi*s, I got no mechanical knowledge what so ever but gave it a crack and came out fine, Brakes work fine and no squealing so im happy, I paid :-

£45 for front discs
£95 for rear discs ( OEM Renault ) as comes with ABS ring and bearing pressed
£20 front pads
£15 rear pads

2 1/2HRS of my own time job done

 

[mike-evans]

I cant change MOT stations now as that will incure another MOT charge and it wont get me anywhere/any cheaper!!!

 

[James.f]

pads and discs dont take long to do, so if i was you change them,

theres a pre-mot checklist on the net somewhere,

 

[mike-evans]

Fit them your self mate, I did discs and pads all round on my 182 at the weekend and was a piece of pi*s, I got no mechanical knowledge what so ever but gave it a crack and came out fine, Brakes work fine and no squealing so im happy, I paid :-

Got no problem in changing them myself, done them on my old 182....I just dont want it to go back and fail, resulting in more work need doing and another MOT charge....catch 22 I think, do it myself-face another fail, another charge....get them to do it and pay for it!!!!(dont like that one)!!!

 

[Andyman]

Which side is causing the problems?

If theres a inbalance he will know as they meausre it on the rollers in percentage form

 

[Rossy197]

Just out of curiosity if there was this said "inbalance" would it not be felt under braking ??

 

[Alastair.]

i would just clean em up tbh if u wanna save dollar

 

[mike-evans]

Which side is causing the problems?

If theres a inbalance he will know as they meausre it on the rollers in percentage form

It did show up as an in balance on the roller gauge, I think the passenger side showed alot less on the gauge....



Just out of curiosity if there was this said "imbalance" would it not be felt under braking ??

I have felt the car pull to one side before, but not recently...

 

[Rossy197]

Maybe the caliper pistons are sticking ? Clean em up maybe as stated above

 

[mike-evans]

Just checked fail sheet, it says: RBT front brake Imbalance 31%

Really want to do them myself and save £50!!!!

 

[mike-evans]

Guys, my car is 172 02, are the front discs 280mm diameter?

 

[Rossy197]

Yup

 

[mike-evans]

OK, can get 280mm discs and pads for £37 on eBay (extemely tight budget at the mo)..

How are the discs held on, is it buy 1 or 2 locking screws? I had to grind them off my old BMW, seized and rounded, so dont want that again...

As for checking for pistons to be moving and not seized, is it just press pedal will wheels off and pads out and look for movement, and then prize back in? good to give them a squirt with WD40 then?


Also clean sliders and graes up with Antiseize, or clean up and leave dry?

 

[Rossy197]

Front discs have 2 Torx screws holding them on,

Dont press the brake too hard when you got the calipers and pads out as will be hard to press the pistons back in, I'd just spray them with some brake cleaner or WD40

 

[Rossy197]

BTW my pads came with anti squeal pads on the backs of them and so i did not use any copper grease at all and my brakes are fine, No squealing what so ever, If it does start then i can put some on but to be honest brake pad design has come a long way

 

[mike-evans]

OK cheers. As for the sliders, shall I leave the dry once I clean them, or grease them?

I've done this job loads of times on my other cars, just added pressure now with the MOT fail!!

What else could be causing the imbalance other then pads and discs?

 

[Rossy197]

Not sure what could be causing it totally ? maybe crappy brake fluid or dodgy brake lines maybe ? Im no expert so wouldnt like to give you pony info but maybe with new discs and pads and the calipers nicely cleaned you may be on the road to recovery

 

[Rossy197]

I left my sliders dry, cleaned them with WD40 and slid em in nice and tight against the pads.. No probs what so ever

 

[mike-evans]

Servieced at Nationwide about 10 months, 9000-10000 miles ago, and the brake lines and fluid was flushed and replaced, so that should be OK????

Well I may aswell give it a go, could be cheaper, or turn out expensive...only one way to tell!!

 

[James.f]

^ good luck,

atleast you havnt got a whole exhaust system to find like me

 

[mike-evans]

My backbox went about 6-8 weeks ago, that cost me £140!!!!
BLOODY cars...2 new front tyres needed soon.....pushbike time I think :approve:

 

[Rossy197]

^ good luck,

atleast you havnt got a whole exhaust system to find like me

Was in the same boat yesterday funny enough, Did my brakes all round at the weekend and my exhaust started blowing yesterday, Luckily enough it was able to be welded back up so happy days aye

 

[Rossy197]

Original exhaust 5 yrs later with 43k on the clock ! Not bad for a RS exhaust lol

 

[James.f]

^ ye but mines a 1.2 16v, and iv fitted a 172 cat back with magnex exhaust as it was only £100 for the lot, but now since iv decated the original cat, a mate wouldnt lend me his due to his car is still in the garage gettin fix but hes sayin its not lol,

so now iv had to purchase a 2nd hand cat £60 and a 1.2 centre pipe £40, now need to weld the back box on, Mot ran out last week

 

[mike-evans]

Luckily enough it was able to be welded back up so happy days aye

Wish I done that, nothing wrong with the backbox itself, just the pipe going into it had split...even the guy in the garage said that...they didn't have welding gear there tho...coincidence...

 

[Rossy197]

Wish I done that, nothing wrong with the backbox itself, just the pipe going into it had split...even the guy in the garage said that...they didn't have welding gear there tho...coincidence...

Yeah coincidence and a half fella... ROFL My exhaust is defo on its way out though.. think its practically welded together but im gonna run it till it drops trust me !

 

[MK3 Dan]

I had my MOT done last sat and was chatting to the guy doing the MOT and he said that the garage can overrule the brake balance results by driving it down the road and braking and seeing if the car pulls to one side, if it does not they can pass it. Maybe worth mentioning to the garage?

 

[iimushroomzii]

Just check the sliders are moving freely, might not even need new pads and disks, Check yourself before buying some. Cant understand why the charge if you fail twice though? I failed twice on my old car, took it back the third time and all was fine?

 

[mike-evans]

He did say the pads are low. He said that to try and solve they imbalance the would replace the discs and pads and see what effect that has.. MOT is £35 with a free retest, I think once the free retest is done thats it..seems like he wants money out of me!! He quoted me £99 for labour new discs and pads,he said thats how much it wil be to have it done, so to me he's saying it needs new pads and discs job done. But when I said i wil do it to save money he started to ratle of other faults it could be..looking for money off me if you ask me!

 

[Rossy197]

Yep sounds like it ! Recession FTL

Everyones feeling it i think, whent to my local Renault to collect my rear discs, there giving cars away for free no joke ! Buy a Scenic for like £19K and get a meg free !! i was like WTF

 

[mike-evans]

Yep sounds like it ! Recession FTL

Everyones feeling it i think,

I am defenately...

 

[Rossy197]

I am defenately...

+1

Brassic and no pay till 24th ! Monthly pay FTL :dapprove:

 

[mike-evans]

Been out to just have a look at the discs and pads and spray some WD40 onto the caliper bolts before I change them on the weekend, and I noticed that there is about 2-3mm left on the pads, are they completely worn?

The discs seem OK, there is a lip on the edge of about 0.75-1mm, how does that sound for wear?

Also, on the drivers side caliper, there seemed to be like a residue on it just behind the back of the housing where the piston is located, which was covered in all the dirt and brake dust that has been atracted to it, what could the residue be, would it be brake fluid, caused by a leaking caliper resulting in the Imbalance of braking?

Also, my neighbour was out while I was looking at the pads, and he has a 52 plate Megane which he had new rear discs and pads fitted last week, he said it was about £279 for the lot of the rear fitted!!! becasue they have the bearings fitted into them, how much are they for my car, will they also have the bearings fitted?

 

[mickstoke]

rear discs have bearing in yes but front are pressed into the hub.

 

[Rossy197]

rear discs from renault are £95 + vat and that comes complete i.e bearings pressed in and abs ring fitted, cant go wrong at that price

 

[Icarus83]

Front discs have 2 Torx screws holding them on,

Dont press the brake too hard when you got the calipers and pads out as will be hard to press the pistons back in, I'd just spray them with some brake cleaner or WD40

N.B. If your discs are corroded onto the hubs (like mine were):

I've been told if you can get the Torx screws out, find yourself a couple of bolts of the same thread and pitch.....but that are longer. If you screw both longer bolts in and once they are tight, give each a half turn in sequence and continue until the disc 'pops' off........saves hammering/levering the sh1te out of the old disc with a rubber/wooden mallet!!

I was on a bit of a budget too when doing my rears before my MOT this year:

I got rear discs (Apex) from a local motorfactors but only £59.80 for both (Renault OEM ones mentioned above for £95 can be got from GSF, didnt think they came with bearings tho, you will need to check.....they were in a double pack about £88 inc vat).....bearings from GSF, about £14 each......had them pressed into discs at a friendly garage for £5 (cash :rasp....think pads were £18.....

 

[ceaselesspig]

Sounds like the stations just trying to get money out of you, change them yourself its nigh on impossible to c**k up, then if he fails you tell him where to go, bite the bullet and go to another station, at least you know not to trust him in future!

 

[W17GLE]

I had this problem on the old ph1 the driver side front had siesed completly so was giving un even braking. I ended up changing the calliper as we managed to snap the slider it cost me £10 from a scrapyard i got it of a 2.0 laguna as they use the same calliper.