Club 80-90 Forums

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on the forum, although I've been reading and learning for a good few months now.

I bought our camper - a 1982 2.0l Aircooled Devon Moonraker - this January, and have been working my way round it, fixing problems as I found them. Apart from standard things like the rear brakes, I've done a fair bit of welding to deal with some decidedly suspect areas that were stuffed with filler and covered with underseal. On the nearside, I've replaced the bottom of the B-post, front JP, areas of the outer sill and rear inner arch. I'm hugely grateful to those of you on this forum who have taken the time to post details of this work (especially metalmickey) so that I had somewhere to check how on earth some of these bits went together. When I get a chance, I'll post some pictures of my work to add to the pool of information.

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to ask a question: what experience do people have of MOT testers' attitudes to corroded cab steps? I recently took the van for an MOT, feeling pretty confident that I'd tackled all the MOTable structural areas that I needed to, and leaving the more cosmetic stuff for later. I should point out that I have at least seven years of MOT pass certs from the previous owner, and the tester never seemed to mention anything apart from the odd small advisory. When I took the van for its MOT this year I was a bit surprised that the first thing the tester did was pull back the cab step mat to reveal the crusty step under and tell me that I would have to have it repaired, because it was structural. I said that I didn't think that it was relevant for the MOT, according to the 300mm rule, but he said that, as the outrigger to the front impact panel passed within 300mm, it would be a fail. Has anyone had a similar experience, or was he being over-zealous?

I'd be grateful to hear what advice people can give.

Thanks,

James

A prescribed area is 300mm from a steering. Suspension. Brake or seat belt mounting point. Not 300mm from a structural member! Cab steps in 2wd are not fail able. They can be on a Syncro if I remember correctly.

Find a tester that knows his job or at least can show you the fail on the computer

What was the exact fail? Bet it wasn't corrosion within 12" of a load bearing member.

..lee.. wrote:
What was the exact fail? Bet it wasn't corrosion within 12" of a load bearing member.

nob head MOT tester wrote:....but he said that, as the outrigger to the front impact panel passed within 300mm, it would be a fail.

take it elswhere

Mine has passed an MOT for the past three years with a large hole in the cab step.
I've been meaning to get it done, for nearly three years now!

steps not applicable on 2wd
mm

Thanks everyone. That's what I thought, really. The tester was a bit weird all round - he even queried the van's VIN, and corrected it on the computer, when there was no discrepancy as far as I could see.

What actually happened was that we didn't get as far as a fail certificate issue. He started talking about the steps being a fail, I said that I was pretty sure that they weren't ("but you're the tester, and it's your job" so as not to undermine his authority). He then asked me if I wanted to abort the test at that stage, so I said yes. I'll take it somewhere else this week, and see how we get on. After all my recent work, it's certainly in much better condition than it was when it passed last year, so it b***dy well ought to pass!

I'll report back after the test.

Cheers,

James

Any news ????

Well...

I took it for another MOT last week. There are a couple of issues that would need addressing anyway (like a front suspension bush) but the tester picked up on the cab steps, just like the other one had. We had the same conversation, and I mentioned the advice I'd received from this forum, but he insisted that they would be a fail. I still can't, for the life of me, see what is within 300mm according to the Tester's Handbook. My tester mentioned a body mount being close.

I'm just going to get on with repairing it, I think, because it needs doing anyway. I wouldn't have chosen to do it at this time of year, as I'm working outside, but never mind.

Thanks for all the advice.

Cheers,

James

Just cut the steps out for now - they can't fail that!!!!

Now that sounds like a plan!

Body mounting FFS. The body is mounted to the chassis every inch by spot welds on a t3.

There are no "body mountings" Go back to the tester and punch them in the face and tell them it's from me.

Cheers lee.

..lee.. wrote: Go back to the tester and punch them in the face and tell them it's from me.

Both testers are wrong, as correctly stated above by several posters.
This happens far too often, probably by testers who are younger than the vehicle being tested. Maybe someone could get a definitive ruling from the top at VOSA? (But chances are they'd find a list of other faults to fail it on instead - now that would open a can of worms for the test centre!)

From GOV.UK website

Appealing against a failed test

If your vehicle fails its MOT, you need to discuss your test results with the test centre before anyone starts repairs.

You can appeal a failed test result by filling in an appeal form ‘VT17’. You can download form VT17 (PDF, 66KB) or get it from any MOT test centre or by calling:

Vehicle Operator Standards Agency (VOSA)
0300 123 9000

If you’re unhappy with your MOT service

Contact the area manager at your local VOSA office. You can find the address from your MOT test station or get it by calling 0300 123 9000.

When logging onto a test the computytater shows the prescribed areas...and that's the chassis if you like, after that its anything within a seatbelt or seat belt or steering/ suspension mounting point...so not testable by my reckoning..not measured on a syncro but suspect its over the 12 inches rule...best thing is get a fail and then ask for an appeal form...that will worry them!

while we are on the subject of mot fail


what do you recon of fuel filler neck hole rusted through? pass or fail?