Failed MOT-self levelling rear W210 -66kmls!

[stivesvelo]

Just failed my mot this am on my E class estate (02 reg), one leaking shock & an advisory on the other.

Car has done 66k (no towbar or sign of heavy usage) & this seems somewhat premature to me, so I asked for a few quotes, ending up with £920 ish incl vat etc. from Merc (similar from the dealer who mot'd it -independant general garage specialising in better cars, who was handy for the mot) & a slightly lower one from Merc indi.

The Merc dealer is contacting Merc to see if any goodwill is forthcoming in the circumstances.

Merc Indi requested to see it as he also thinks it's a bit premature, he inspected it and says it is fairly normal for a bit of weeping & not a problem & would have issued an advisory note & would expect it to be unchanged at next mot. in a years time. No great loss of fluid since last service -July 06, 12k miles ago (next due in 5k mls) so doesn't appear to be haemmorageing fluid.

He suggests requesting that the mot people clean off the thin mud coating etc (or do it after it has been cleaned, test driven etc) & reinspect it & if they still fail it to request a decision from the mot authority

Any opinions out there on this and any advice on the different opinions of mot testers & what should I do?

Thanks
Rob

 

[television]

The area can be damp or mist coated, with oil but must not drip, they are the words on these things for the MOT

 

[stivesvelo]

No drips that I could see, maybe cleaning it off will give a better guide, then drive around a bit. Just need somehow to get into a good grovelling position, or borrow a pit.

 

[television]

The problem with cleaning off is that there is no dirt to soak up the fluid, I made that mistake. most of these things are slightly coated.

It all depends on if you want to pass the MOT or have it fixed

 

[Daeths]

BlackC55, a good indy on this forum, gave my car a B service last month and advised that the rears are weeping (my words). I had kittens, to be comforted that most of them do that and not a lot to worry about at this stage.

Mine is an E320 CDI estate, also never towed, self levelling with 89,000 on a 2001 year and until last B service a FMBSH.

I also had a belt changed locally two weeks ago in a friendly garage and asked him his view he said nothing to worry about and deffo would pass an MOT.

If I were you, I would take it to another garage. If you want to be absolutely safe. go on a day when it's wet (not too hard at present - but be quick because summer is coming) so the underneath of the car is all wet.

I wouldn't worry if I were you and would suggest it is a garage that is either looking to hard for work/your cash or do not understand the delights of the suspension (similar to thos sh*tty cracks you get on new houses which they call movement LOL!!)

BlackC55, if I have misquoted, please do correct me...I'm the numpty, he's the pro.

Rgds

Adam

 

[stivesvelo]

I've talked to the testing station & they tell me that they had a similar one recently & weren't too sure, so rang the ministry up & they said fail it, so they've done the same to mine!

The independant says it's ok in their opinion & they specialise in these & are fine like this. I'll give it a good clean with a pressure washer & get them to retest it as it's not going to cost anything to do.

Mercedes won't give any goodwill on this but the dealer will do the job for £859.44 all in (incl a 10% discount for club members) which is the best quote so far. They advise against just doing one unit as it will put extra load onto the old one & accellerate it's demise (doesn't really make sense to me). Any idea if these units can be rebuilt with new seals? Makes sense with the price of replacements, I could keep the old ones as a rebuilt set for when the next ones go.

I'm inclined to get a new test from the one who says it's ok as it hasn't lost much fluid in the last 13months/12k miles (approx 3mm) as he is confident that this is fairly normal & they will give good service for many more miles.

 

[BlackC55]

BlackC55, a good indy on this forum, gave my car a B service last month and advised that the rears are weeping (my words). I had kittens, to be comforted that most of them do that and not a lot to worry about at this stage.

Mine is an E320 CDI estate, also never towed, self levelling with 89,000 on a 2001 year and until last B service a FMBSH.

I also had a belt changed locally two weeks ago in a friendly garage and asked him his view he said nothing to worry about and deffo would pass an MOT.

If I were you, I would take it to another garage. If you want to be absolutely safe. go on a day when it's wet (not too hard at present - but be quick because summer is coming) so the underneath of the car is all wet.

I wouldn't worry if I were you and would suggest it is a garage that is either looking to hard for work/your cash or do not understand the delights of the suspension (similar to thos sh*tty cracks you get on new houses which they call movement LOL!!)

BlackC55, if I have misquoted, please do correct me...I'm the numpty, he's the pro.

Rgds

Adam

Spot on!

 

[stivesvelo]

Well,

Followed the advice, cleaned the rear suspension with a pressure washer, came up very clean, used the car for a bout 150mls or so, slipped the gaiter up a little & no sign of any leaking (same as before cleaning!).

Took it for a retest & it passed, the buggers charged me £25 for the retest & said they could see I had only cleaned it without doing anything when I pointed this out. Not what I would call good PR as I won't be keeping this to myself, anyone in the Cambridge area wants to know who to avoid for garage work let me know? (great for tyres though).

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll keep an eye on them but am hoping they will continue to give good service in the future.

Rob

 

[television]

Thanks Rob for posting back with a good outcome

 

[stivesvelo]

Passed the mot retest this morning after having cleaned the rear suspension with a pressure washer, I could slide the gaiters up & down and there was no fluid or leaking (before cleaning) or to be seen after around 150 miles of mixed driving (if needed I would have changed the units but the advice here has been spot on).

Was charged £25 for the retest & when I pointed out that nothing had changed apart from cleaning, they said they knew but as I hadn't got them to do the work, there was a retest fee to pay (no work needed or done!!).

A point of interest - the units fitted are made by Sachs, when I enquired about replacements I was quoted by a supplier for Boge, anybody have any opinions or comparisons to make on this?

Thanks for the advice

Rob

PS the repost is because I thought I had deleted the original by mistake!

Not the best bit of PR they are going to do, maybe they are trying to drum up a bit of business

 

[jberks]

I had exactly the same experience with a power steering pump. Very slight leak and failed the MOT. Cleaned it, ran it for a few days and submitted it to another station and it passed.
I rang the DOT as I felt this was not a safety issue. Sure if fluid was flowing out but this was a slight seepage and when it whined on full lock I topped it up. This would then be fine for another 3-4 months. (less than 1/4l per year based on what I put in). As the DOT put it, its not as laid down as most people believe, a lot of MOT issues are simply down to the personal opinion of the examiner. Whilst he agreed it sounded over zelous, the examiner was still within their rights to fail it.
So golden rule, as with most things, if you're not happy always get a 2nd opinion.

 

[ShinyF1]

My nearside self leveller went, but was flagged up as a 'Steering Gear Oil' fault on the dash display. No discernable sign in the way the car behaved but came up on STAR diagnostics when checked. £300 to fix, most of which was the shock...