MOT Advisory Notes

Joe_Horner · 10 October 2016 at 8:46PM

If you're determined to glue a joint boot you may as well just glue the original if there's no bits missing - actually works quite well on simple splits as a stop-gap.

salubrious · 10 October 2016 at 9:51PM

I can tell you this much, the prices are ridiculous.

Robisere · 10 October 2016 at 9:55PM

I was also in the trade a long time nickcc, and I remember seeing a few of those boots. They were split and intended to be glued together. I never saw one that lasted more than a few miles. The old boot had to be cut off and the old grease removed, boot folded around the joint, new grease inserted, boot superglued. Problem was, the surfaces of the new boot had to be completely grease-free for the glue to work. Practically impossible!

BeenThroughIt All, you obviously share the prevalent attitude that all mechanics and all garages wear a stetson hat and ride to work on a mustang pony. No, we're not all the same, no more than in any other job. However, I met a few customers in my time who could fit that description.

EdGasket · 11 October 2016 at 10:00AM

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

You mean in 50 years you've not once seen a car owned, maintained, borrowed, hired or sold by someone dodgy?

You must be the only one.

BTW, before anyone takes the link I posted as evidence of my own dodgy antics, don't bother. Split boots are !!!! and I would not recommend wasting money even trying them.

There were some split boots available once that actually zipped together; not seen them for years now though. The stretch boots aren't bad if you are strong enough to fit them over the cone! Otherwise if the shaft is off, you may just as well knock off the joint and fit a standard boot. This is of course, driveshaft boots; doesn't apply to ball joint boots which is what the OP needs.

BeenThroughItAll · 11 October 2016 at 10:53AM

Robisere wrote: »

I was also in the trade a long time nickcc, and I remember seeing a few of those boots. They were split and intended to be glued together. I never saw one that lasted more than a few miles. The old boot had to be cut off and the old grease removed, boot folded around the joint, new grease inserted, boot superglued. Problem was, the surfaces of the new boot had to be completely grease-free for the glue to work. Practically impossible!

BeenThroughIt All, you obviously share the prevalent attitude that all mechanics and all garages wear a stetson hat and ride to work on a mustang pony. No, we're not all the same, no more than in any other job. However, I met a few customers in my time who could fit that description.

I don't know what flawed logic process has led you to that conclusion, but if you read my posts again nowhere will you find any statement implying that all mechanics and garages are cowboys. I deal with plenty of perfectly honest and trustworthy people in the motor trade on a weekly basis. Nor am I a dodgy customer.

I was making the point that I found it hard to believe that after a claimed 50 years in the trade a person would not once have come across a split boot. Let's just do the maths:

Assume 50 years at 200 working days a year = 10,000 days.

Assume 1 car seen every two days (conservative) = 5000 cars.

I posit that it is incredibly, vanishingly unlikely that out of 5000 cars not one would have been placed in front of a person that would have had the attention of a dodgy person; and I further suggest, as I did in my post, that if one was to go 50 years without seeing such, one would likely be the only person lucky enough to do so.

Oh, the irony of being accused of tarring all mechanics with the same brush, by a mechanic keen to tar me with the brush of a prevailing attitude which I do not, contrary to accusation, share.

BeenThroughItAll · 11 October 2016 at 10:56AM

EdGasket wrote: »

There were some split boots available once that actually zipped together; not seen them for years now though. The stretch boots aren't bad if you are strong enough to fit them over the cone! Otherwise if the shaft is off, you may just as well knock off the joint and fit a standard boot. This is of course, driveshaft boots; doesn't apply to ball joint boots which is what the OP needs.

Mm, I've seen the odd zipper boot. Equally !!!!. I've used stretch boots as temporary repairs on a couple of occasions (I used to carry a manual cone and stretchy boot in my toolkit). Much easier with an air driven stretcher, and only worth doing if you can't easily or quickly remove the driveshaft or joint.

Mind, for a ball joint I can't understand the logic of not just splitting the joint and replacing the boot properly, or whole joint if it's damaged. Not a big job just to split a joint.

King_Nothing · 11 October 2016 at 12:07PM

Ball joint price sounds like cost for replacement arms, if they're similar to my focus; the ball joints will be riveted into the ends of the arms so the only option is to replace the whole arm... or drill out the rivets and replace with £20 ball joints that just bolt back in place + labour costs, for what it's worth I wouldn't be replacing the ball joint boots and just replace the whole joints instead.

BeenThroughItAll · 11 October 2016 at 12:14PM

King_Nothing wrote: »

Ball joint price sounds like cost for replacement arms, if they're similar to my focus; the ball joints will be riveted into the ends of the arms so the only option is to replace the whole arm... or drill out the rivets and replace with £20 ball joints that just bolt back in place + labour costs, for what it's worth I wouldn't be replacing the ball joint boots and just replace the whole joints instead.

At that price, they must be quoting for gold plated arms. As mentioned above, Mk7 arms are available from 30quid upwards, and they're a doddle to change, perhaps half an hour a side. Two bolts, one pinch bolt on the ball joint. Job done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFtzedpr-AI

safp888 · 14 October 2016 at 10:25AM

Thanks for your replies. What about the other issue (Slight play in o, s, f rack drumstick)? Is it worth doing? Is the price fair? Could it last me for another year until the next mot?

My plan was to leave the car as it is until July-August time, and then sell the car and get a new one. I don't want to invest all this money into an old car. Cam belt is up for renewal next year too, so not sure if it's worth fixing it.

There are other issues as well, like the wing mirrors (case is broken) and other bits and bobs. The total advisory bill is £1.1k. Obviously it's over priced, but keep in mind that I need to change the cam belt too. So is it worth investing £1k in a car that's worth less than £2k?

It's got 65,000 miles on the clock - base model 09 Ford Fiesta.

Thanks.

BeenThroughItAll · 14 October 2016 at 12:11PM

safp888 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. What about the other issue (Slight play in o, s, f rack drumstick)? Is it worth doing? Is the price fair? Could it last me for another year until the next mot?

My plan was to leave the car as it is until July-August time, and then sell the car and get a new one. I don't want to invest all this money into an old car. Cam belt is up for renewal next year too, so not sure if it's worth fixing it.

There are other issues as well, like the wing mirrors (case is broken) and other bits and bobs. The total advisory bill is £1.1k. Obviously it's over priced, but keep in mind that I need to change the cam belt too. So is it worth investing £1k in a car that's worth less than £2k?

It's got 65,000 miles on the clock - base model 09 Ford Fiesta.

Thanks.

Assuming by 'drumstick' they're referring to the inner steering tie/track rod (they are reminiscent of a drumstick to look at, so are often called that by people who either know no better or wish to obscure the meaning for others), they're available for less than £30 (for a decent Lemforder item) and should take no more than half an hour to fit. £247 sounds a bit salty to me.

Context: both inner tie rods replaced on my Volvo V70 at MOT time cost me £60 in labour as the parts (which I'd paid less than £50 for, for a pair) were already in the boot from where I'd purchased them after the advisory on the PREVIOUS MOT. They didn't need replacing even a year later, but since the car was in the garage and it'd save me doing it myself, I asked them to do it, as much as anything to stop the bloody things rattling about in the boot.

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