MOT Fail - Advice Needed Please

c129876

Took my car for MOT yesterday and it failed. Here's what the fail note says, word for word:

Reasons for refusal of test certificate:
Offside front (outer) Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc [2. 5. C. 1a].
Advisory Items:
Oil Leak.

The MOT guy tried explaining it but I'm still clueless :undecided He said he can do it for about £90. But he also mentioned I may or may not need wheels realligned after, additionally.

I then went to a shop where I often buy car bits and spoke to a chap there, who said I'll probably find that when the garage remove things to fix it, they'll probably find I need something else done, but again I didn't understand what that 'something' was.

So I guess I'm after some clarity over what I have actually failed on, and is it related to the advisory item 'Oil leak'?

Is the part I need a "joint gaiter"? How much am I looking at for that roughly, inc VAT?

Any ideas what part the guy in the shop could've been referencing with regards to what they will probably find when fixing it?

Hoping someone can shed some light?

jaybeetoo

http://www.samarins.com/glossary/cv_joint.html

Tilt

Failed on the gaiter which is minor and if I was you, I would of just told them to do it.

Advisory oil leak (which it hasn't failed on). But I would of expected for them to have mentioned where the oil leak was. Obvious thing is to ask.

kevin0410

what car is it?

to replace a cv boot (gaiter) properly you need to at least separate the driveshaft from the hub. As it's the outer that needs replacing, it can be done with the driveshaft in situ.
none of this work should affect the wheel alignment.

ignore what the parts man said. Nothing will be revealed that couldn't already have been spotted during the MOT.

Lomast

I wouldn't be overly worried about the oil leak advisory, all three of my cars get this every year when the go in, basically if there is any oil visible they will put this as and advisory, as long as you are not having to keep topping it up i wouldn't worry about it.

Not sure what the cost to fix will be as that is something i would do myself as the gaiter itself is only a few quid the main cost is the labour.

I suspect what the parts place guy was suggesting was the knack some mechanics have of suddenly finding other things that need changing while they happen to have the car in bits. ie ah well, when we had it appart we noticed the bush was a bit worn so that'll be an extra £xx please

Wywth

c129876 wrote: »

Took my car for MOT yesterday and it failed. Here's what the fail note says, word for word:

Reasons for refusal of test certificate:
Offside front (outer) Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc [2. 5. C. 1a].
Advisory Items:
Oil Leak.

The MOT guy tried explaining it but I'm still clueless :undecided He said he can do it for about £90. But he also mentioned I may or may not need wheels realligned after, additionally.

I then went to a shop where I often buy car bits and spoke to a chap there, who said I'll probably find that when the garage remove things to fix it, they'll probably find I need something else done, but again I didn't understand what that 'something' was.

So I guess I'm after some clarity over what I have actually failed on, and is it related to the advisory item 'Oil leak'?

Is the part I need a "joint gaiter"? How much am I looking at for that roughly, inc VAT?

Any ideas what part the guy in the shop could've been referencing with regards to what they will probably find when fixing it?

Hoping someone can shed some light?

A1.
Offside front (outer) Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc [2. 5. C. 1a].


A2.
About £90 using the guy you spoke to (plus however much he's going to charge you for wheel alignment unless you are happy to wear your tyres out quicker than necessary)

A3.
Anything. But that won't be discovered until the work is being carried out

c129876

kevin0410 wrote: »

what car is it?

to replace a cv boot (gaiter) properly you need to at least separate the driveshaft from the hub. As it's the outer that needs replacing, it can be done with the driveshaft in situ.
none of this work should affect the wheel alignment.

ignore what the parts man said. Nothing will be revealed that couldn't already have been spotted during the MOT.

It's a 2001 clio, sorry I should have said.

A friend usually does my repairs, but waiting to see if he has time to do it when I need it by. Otherwise, no choice but to pay labour costs.

So am I right in my understanding that if it can be done with the driveshaft in situ, then it involves jacking up the car and cutting the old one off and replacing it? There isn't anything that needs to be removed in order to do it?

Was just reading a little about it. Few places saying that often when the joint gaiter goes, the CV will have worn without sufficient grease. Could this be the "suprise" the garage could hit me with?

ILW

c129876 wrote: »

It's a 2001 clio, sorry I should have said.

A friend usually does my repairs, but waiting to see if he has time to do it when I need it by. Otherwise, no choice but to pay labour costs.

So am I right in my understanding that if it can be done with the driveshaft in situ, then it involves jacking up the car and cutting the old one off and replacing it? There isn't anything that needs to be removed in order to do it?

Was just reading a little about it. Few places saying that often when the joint gaiter goes, the CV will have worn without sufficient grease. Could this be the "suprise" the garage could hit me with?

Think you will need to remove the hub. Will need slightly more than basic tools.

c129876

Wywth wrote: »

A1.
Offside front (outer) Front constant velocity joint gaiter deteriorated to the extent that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc [2. 5. C. 1a].


A2.
About £90 using the guy you spoke to (plus however much he's going to charge you for wheel alignment unless you are happy to wear your tyres out quicker than necessary)

A3.
Anything. But that won't be discovered until the work is being carried out

A1. Jeez, thanks.
A2. I was referencing the part cost only! So being smart didn't pay off and was uncalled for.
A3. Thank you for your one constructive answer

londonTiger

dont replace worn CV boots, it's a waste of money, and you don't know if it's done damage to the bearings or not, if it has and you just replace the boot and regrease you may have problems down the line again.

It may be worth just replacing the axle, replacing the CV boot is labour intensive and doesn't garantee that you won't have problems later on by permanent damage to internals. A whole axle will be brand new and will be cheaper on labour. Axle cost something like £150, a cv boot cover, and bearings cost about £30 - but like I said already the cost may increase because it does take time to fit a new boot.

c129876

Lomast wrote: »

I wouldn't be overly worried about the oil leak advisory, all three of my cars get this every year when the go in, basically if there is any oil visible they will put this as and advisory, as long as you are not having to keep topping it up i wouldn't worry about it.

Not sure what the cost to fix will be as that is something i would do myself as the gaiter itself is only a few quid the main cost is the labour.

I suspect what the parts place guy was suggesting was the knack some mechanics have of suddenly finding other things that need changing while they happen to have the car in bits. ie ah well, when we had it appart we noticed the bush was a bit worn so that'll be an extra £xx please

When you say the gaiter is only a few quid, what's a few? Sorry if I sound completely clueless about this, but I am . I'm hoping to avoid the labour costs if my friend can do it in time, so an idea of the part cost would be really helpful