Practically Classics Forum

It must have been his less intelligent brother who worked at the branch whose miniMETRO-owning customers we would see regularly, when the rear cross-subframe pipe between the Hydrasag bottles had to be replaced and the fluid side of the system refilled after those numpties had a) removed it as they were changing the brake pipes and couldn't be bothered to see where that one went (OK, so BL could have avoided using brake pipe-alike to do the job so maybe that one was understandable) or b) crushed the pipe with their most vicious trolley jack.

Then there was the elderly owner of an Allegro who'd been told by KF that it needed new springs and dampers at both ends and wanted us to quote for the job since they hadn't been able to show him why the work was required!

Trading Standards got them for that though. One-nil to common sense.

Hydro-Citroen handbrakes can be a pain at MOT time- to allow for the suspension movement range from the lowest to highest ('inspection' according to the handbook...) the cables need to be a bit slack but the brake works just as well despite needing the handle to be moved through 12 or so clicks...some testers don't like it or more likely just don't understand it.

Bearing float on the rear hubs of FWD BL motors is always an arguing point with ignorant testers too! To save hassle I've often just nipped up rear bearings for an mot and then reset them afterwards.

mr rusty wrote:Hydro-Citroen handbrakes can be a pain at MOT time- to allow for the suspension movement range from the lowest to highest ('inspection' according to the handbook...) the cables need to be a bit slack but the brake works just as well despite needing the handle to be moved through 12 or so clicks...some testers don't like it or more likely just don't understand it.

Handbrake travel shouldn't be a fail anyway, provided you can pull it up far enough to meet the prescribed brake efficiency which any hydro-Cit should do easily. Mine measured 44% on the last MoT.

I've had advisories for "excessive travel" before, so I'm assuming there is a category to fail it on that...

It's because some testers don't understand the manual. The handbrake although fully operational can be failed if it's at the limit of the levers travel, so even at full efficiency with the wheels locked if the tester can't pull the lever any more clicks then that's a fail.

So really it depends on how hard a tester is prepared to pull the lever!Some testers will fail after a lot of clicks because they assume there's no more. I used to always adjust the BX's cables at the calipers and reset them again post test, it only took a minute or so. The irony is that the cables only set the lever travel, actual mechanism adjustment to allow for pad wear was done by putting your foot on the brake with the engine running and working the lever a few times.

There's always the option of appealing to vosa about this sort of failure but the reality is most of us need the car and just don't have the time to argue.

OneCarefulOwner wrote:I've had advisories for "excessive travel" before, so I'm assuming there is a category to fail it on that...

This is what the official manual says:

b. when the brake is fully applied there is no
possibility of further travel of the lever
because the lever is:
• at the end of its working travel on the
ratchet, or
• fouling adjacent parts of the vehicle
c. the lever is impeded in its travel.

Nothing about excessive travel

Then I shall assume that they've just pulled it past 3 clicks & feel that's inappropriate... Which as we're seeing, depends heavily on marque!

Hello Chaps

I had a Citroen fail because the tester didnt like the feel of the brake pedal! He accepted that the brake worked ( Quite well in fact) but he just didnt like the feel, so I asked I should do and he was a bit vague. So I phone my Citroen main dealer and they told me a new pedal valve thingy would cost £120, but that they didnt think it would help, and would I like the service manager to take a look at the car? I took it in and the man test drove it, said it was perfect, gave me a brand new car to comare it with. ... and then asked did I want to put the MOT station out of business as they were obviously a bunch of cowboys - With Citroen UK's backing.

Personally -all I wanted was a ticket.

So I phoned the MOT station and explained all this to the very sensible owner, who invited me to come back. Which I did and the inspector said " So you want an appeal form do you?, to which I replied 'Do I need one?' And he went off on one about not liking my brakes and the opinion of one main dealer manager didnt mean anything....
To which I said, OK tell me exactly what to do .. and exactly why.

At this point the owner stepped in and took the inspector to one side. He returned a minute later with my new certificate and then walked out the door. -Permanently.