MOT PROBLEM

efuller

Hi all,

I went for an MOT around 3 weeks ago and this failed on the drive shaft boot joints both sides. Before I went there I told them that the drive shaft’s needs looking at as I know that there is a problem there. They fixed the drive shaft boot joints and said everything else was fine and then passed my MOT. I had the car back for 2 weeks and then the left side drive shaft snapped on me randomly didn’t even make 200miles since passed MOT. I went back to the garage and they said this is no fault of their own as they did not actually touch the drive shaft only the boot. Should they have checked this as part of the MOT as I did warn them about this a few times before. Who is liable?

Baldytyke88

Vehicles break all the time, I don't believe you can prove it was the fault of the garage.

FlorayG

For MOT they only check the things on the MOT list. Did you ask them to MOT or did you ask them to MOT AND have a proper look at the driveshafts?

Hoenir

efuller said:

Who is liable?

You are responsible for the maintence of the vehicle. Over time parts wear out no one can predict when. As can depend on how the vehicle is driven over it's lifetime. 

DullGreyGuy

MOT is a prescribed set of tests based on safety, the car has to be able to run to be able to do some of the tests but its not a test on reliability or the general condition of the vehicle and certainly not a substitute for a service or other maintenance. 

Mildly_Miffed

The shaft actually snapped? That's... unusual.

To replace a boot on an outboard CV joint, behind the wheel, the shaft doesn't normally need to be removed. The balljoint is unbolted, the CV joint unbolted from the hub, then the joint removed from the shaft with a little bit of tapping to get the sprung clip unseated. Then the boot's swapped over, and the joint popped back on and refilled with fresh clean grease.

Alternatively, a split boot can be glued on without dismantling anything, but they don't tend to last.

If the boot isn't replaced, grit and muck and water get in, wash the grease out, and the joint will deteriorate in fairly short order.

Shafts themselves usually only break in collisions or in severe abuse.
Much more likely is that the joint failed. Perhaps the garage should have noticed it was so badly worn and replaced it instead of just the boot. But it's not always that straightforward, without dismantling the joint - which there's no need to do for just changing the boot.

eskbanker

efuller said:

Before I went there I told them that the drive shaft’s needs looking at as I know that there is a problem there.

How did you know there was a problem with the drive shafts?

Goudy

Mildly_Miffed said:

If the boot isn't replaced, grit and muck and water get in, wash the grease out, and the joint will deteriorate in fairly short order.

There's your answer.

The boot keeps grease in and dirt, grit and water out.

A broken CV boot has caused excessive wear of the CV joints as water and grit have got in there.

If you catch a broken boot early enough you can often clean and regrease the joint, then fit a new boot.

What tends to happen is a garage fits a new boot, often a split boot as the are easy to fit without checking, cleaning and regressing the joint, then the joint soon fails.

You have basically put a new sticking plaster on an infected cut when the cut first needed cleaning and treating with antiseptic first 

Iceweasel

This is definitely not an MOT problem.
Any problem is with the instructions you gave the mechanics prior to the MOT or after it failed for faulty drive-shaft boots.
It really needed new shafts and new boots.

sheramber

that the drive shaft’s needs looking at as I know that there is a problem there. 

What was the problem you knew about?

Mildly_Miffed

sheramber said:

that the drive shaft’s needs looking at as I know that there is a problem there. 

What was the problem you knew about?

Clicking and clunking with some steering angle on...?