mot question.

[torquey]

Ive got my nova going in for mot this week , the car has custom rear springs which are very low when the car is jacked up the springs are free to pull out. Daft question is this a mot failure?

[Andy]

Yes it is a daft question.

[brucer]

yes it will fail, cable tie the bottom half and hope that they re-seat correctly once the jack is let down. if they don't its a reason to fail.

[millworm]

Leave a fifty sticking out of the ash tray ;)

[torquey]

Lol i know it was a daft question but worth asking lol. They dont fall out they are just free to move around i will cable tie the bottoms in. Thanks.

[Novasport]

Yes it will fail. I remember people putting straps in to limit the rear axle drop when jacked up, not sure what the legalities is with that but it works.

[torquey]

Well took it for mot and the springs passed i asked them if it was a fail and they said no. Aslong as they dont fall out when jacked up they will pass.

[Alan lig]

You can use mk1 cavalier front shocks (if you still get them) same fitment as nova rear shocks but are approx 25mm shorter so less droop and keeps spring in

[torquey]

Right thanks for the info mate iam after a set of rear coilovers now anyway. cheers

[meritlover]

I hope you have strengthened your rear tubs then.

[staggy_gsi]

They changed legislation last year.....as long as the springs locate properly when in running position they will pass. So not quite as daft a question as people think, unless of course VOSA have changed their minds again and I havent seen the special notice.

cut springs also pass if they locate properly too. Seems stupid to me, after driving cars on cut springs I would defo say they are dangerous!

[meritlover]

if they locate properly then there isnt an issue whether they are cut or not.

[staggy_gsi]

Precisely. But you used to be able to fail a cut spring even if it did locate properly, because it was classed as incomplete.

[Andy]

They changed legislation last year.....as long as the springs locate properly when in running position they will pass. So not quite as daft a question as people think, unless of course VOSA have changed their minds again and I havent seen the special notice.

cut springs also pass if they locate properly too. Seems stupid to me, after driving cars on cut springs I would defo say they are dangerous!
See when he said you could lift them out,i presumed he was dancing round the fact of them dropping out lol
Cut springs aren't dangerous mechanically in themselves,its the way they make the car behave in certain conditions.
Btw who now has your old astra van that's loud?
I was behind it last week and one of the back wheels was about to fall off,no joke lol

[Andy]

Precisely. But you used to be able to fail a cut spring even if it did locate properly, because it was classed as incomplete.
So what about broken springs?
Because it used to be more than a certain amount broken off (say at the end of the spring) and it was a fail??

[mowgli]

didn't baxter once pass an mot, even after his cut spring hit the tester on the head??

[Andy]

Oh yes.In the 500bhp supercharged saloon,that did 70mpg?

[mowgli]

it did more like 7mpg, between the engine & the leaking fuel pipes.... and it scared me when I saw it...

[staggy_gsi]

See when he said you could lift them out,i presumed he was dancing round the fact of them dropping out lol
Cut springs aren't dangerous mechanically in themselves,its the way they make the car behave in certain conditions.
Btw who now has your old astra van that's loud?
I was behind it last week and one of the back wheels was about to fall off,no joke lol


So what about broken springs?
Because it used to be more than a certain amount broken off (say at the end of the spring) and it was a fail??

a broken spring will still fail because it wont match the other side.

lol I swapped it for a corsa sport and a fair bit of cash. And the lad i swapped with has now sold it to a lad called danny. The wheel isnt loose.....its buckled lol

[Andy]

Buckled?!!!
jesus it must be like a banana lol

[Andy]

a broken spring will still fail because it wont match the other side.


So aslong as you chopped the other side to suit,you would be ok????
If so that's interesting lol

[staggy_gsi]

If both springs locate properly still, yeah. See, each tester is slightly different. Some would fail it for being broken still but me personally if it matched the other side it would pass.

oh jeez it was horrible, it was on the front when i got it and anything over 50mph was unbearable! Chucked it on the back and you couldnt tell lol

[Andy]

I can imagine,iv got a slight buckled wheel on my td5 and its like its breaking up at 60 hahaha lol steering wheel shakes violent,yet you can hardly notice til a DTI gauge is on it.
I stay under 60 lol