MOT passed

[H48HPE]

passed the MOT today, the bloke said that everythings in great shape and as always they commented on how good the car is. the carb needed adjusting as CO was at 4%

What has anoyed me is that i spent over £40 getting rover to set the carb up exactly right a couple of months ago and now it fails, which tells me that they didnt bother doing it.

I drove the car home and it drove better, I was expecting it to start running on again because it might be too lean but it was fine and didnt show any sign of doing it. its now set to 2.5% CO

I tested it a few months early because it should have been done in january and I dont like it doing then cos of the bad weather.

Andy

[Beaker]

George runs on all the time :( :rage:

We keep meaning to adjust him,I am sure he will get it done soon

[SimonR]

One thing that I noticed about the 1.3 during the wonderful days when I had G417 LYA is that if you remove/damage one of the vacuum pipes coming out the bottom of the air cleaner you'll make it run on every time. THe same happens if you attach them the wrong way round.

Of course there are many reasons that George may be running on but that knowledge cured my car. It's probably worth a look.

Congrats on the MOT, btw, Andy! :cool:

[Austin-Rover]

Good to hear another maestro passed the MoT test! Now only if i could get mine through...

[SimonR]

Hey, don't worry, Rich.

Have you contacted Ledbury to get a covering letter? - is that a possibility?

I'm sure you car will still be passing MOTs long after the majorty of Maesties have gone forever. Well done on your test, btw. Happy driving and may you rack up many years no claims discount!

[Beaker]

George just runs on, because he is running a bit lean at the moment. Nothing major.

Lindsey

[D87 SMW]

SRY was running on at one point. Once, I switched off the engine, got out, and locked the door, and it was still going! :eek: :laugh:

Good to hear about the MoT btw.

[H48HPE]

SRY was running on at one point. Once, I switched off the engine, got out, and locked the door, and it was still going

are you going to restore 'SRY'?? if its not too bad it would be a really good project you could learn valuable experience on and cos its the base modle it would be a bit easyer because you wouldnt strugle to find all the rare higher spec parts + you could make a 'GGT' replica.

I only wish I could have more than 1:(

andy

[D87 SMW]

Originally posted by H48HPE
are you going to restore 'SRY'?? if its not too bad it would be a really good project you could learn valuable experience on and cos its the base modle it would be a bit easyer because you wouldnt strugle to find all the rare higher spec parts + you could make a 'GGT' replica.

I only wish I could have more than 1:(

andy

Won't be restoring SRY. She will be scrapped when she has been stripped.
Will then be selling NFV, so I will be left with one GGT.

[Austin-Rover]

Originally posted by F153JUE

Have you contacted Ledbury to get a covering letter? - is that a possibility?



Does anyone have any details as for who to phone regarding this MoT problem. Ideally someone who can help me with this at the Ledbury Garage or another Ledbury owner who can give me some advice?

[e692wtt]

In a previous Monstro, I seem to recall a contact name and number at the Vehicle Inspectorate, to help with this very problem. Isn't this the Garage's problem - shouldn't the car's VIN be on their 'emissions machine database'?

Not that I'm lazy, but if the car is 'type-approved' (and it is...) then a Government Body will have the details...

Has anyone got this particular Monstro to hand? My stuff is still being unpacked since my house move. It was a couple of years ago, this particular edition.

[G51 NAV]

Originally posted by H48HPE
What has anoyed me is that i spent over £40 getting rover to set the carb up exactly right a couple of months ago and now it fails, which tells me that they didnt bother doing it

Only goes to prove what enthusiasts on the MG BBS have been saying for a few years now: there's absolutely no point in taking older cars (including ours) to main-dealers any more, because the skill/people/mixture of both is no longer there, and no one really knows how to work on older cars

Much better to try to take your car to a local garage run by a genuine car enthusiast (preferably aged 45+) who was trained to service and work on our type of cars when they were new.

Back in the '70s when I was just a kid my Dad showed me how to set the mixture of an engine using just my ears and a screwdriver. These days, if they can't plug the engine's self-diagnosis system into a computer, they don't know where to start!

[tony]

took the wifes montego in for a test today,as has run out of tax and i cannot find the old mot anywhere so took it in for the test as the quickest way of getting a mot,with no prep work at all it failed on one tyer bald on the edge ,so i am one happy chappy,all to do now is tax it,
ps next week i bet i find the old mot
:(

[MaestroMatt]

Originally posted by F153JUE
One thing that I noticed about the 1.3 during the wonderful days when I had G417 LYA is that if you remove/damage one of the vacuum pipes coming out the bottom of the air cleaner you'll make it run on every time. THe same happens if you attach them the wrong way round.


Happens on the R series as well - mine started idling horridly and running on after I did a bit of monkeying around one weekend. Turned out that I had connected those stupid hoses backwards. Try swapping them over! Also, if the timing is even 1/2 a degree out then it will run on - try faddling with your distributor (with a timing light if possible!) and see if that stops it. Also, a mechanic told me that if all else fails then you can use spark plugs that have a slightly higher heat rating that is advised and that could stop it. There are so many reasons that they run on that it is probably best to just put it down to the laudable desire of the car to keep going.

[H48HPE]

Going back to the original topic of thius thread, for those interested, H48HPE passed its test again today, a few months over due but now its all sorted.
needed a new exhaust, and a set of tyres.

I went for a set of Goodyear GT2's, cost £40 each including fitting and valve, which I thought was ok. The diference is fantastic, the engine sounds far better without the exhaust blowing and the goodyear tyres seem really good too. Overall i'm really pleased with the car again, money well spent!

Andy

[Beaker]

Excellent News :thumbup: Hopefully you will be bringing it to a few shows this year.

[D87 SMW]

Yes that is good news. Glad to hear it's back on the road now, hopefully mine will be too before the MOT runs out!

Take it to a show or two, I'm sure there will be space beside GGT for it. :cool:

[matthewsemple]

What has anoyed me is that i spent over £40 getting rover to set the carb up exactly right a couple of months ago and now it fails, which tells me that they didnt bother doing it.

Take your receipt from the dealer and your MOT fail certificate back to the dealer and get your £40 back. There is no way that they would go out of tune within a couple of months. Even my twin-Webers on my MG1600 stay in tune longer than that.

Like you say they didn't bother doing the work but charged you anyway - get your money back and if they refuse ask for the address of MG Rover Customer Services and say you will be writing to complain.

By the way - what was the dealer called? Let's name the good ones and shame the poor ones!

[H48HPE]

Hi Matthew.

that happend at the last mot, the one before this one..... I just posted again on this thread to make it like a continuation, sort of a running report on the car.

but yes I agree, the car was not properly tuned. I didn't take the car back as the MOT tester didnt actually fail it at the time, he just adjusted it to get it through, and its been fantastic ever since.

It was done at Dixon Rover in Doncaster, they have a very good parts desk, very helpful, and interested in the car, one of them even came out to have a look round it. Thje garage side of things wasnt so good, I just went there cos i had managed to build up some cash, and didnt mind paying for what I thought would be a perfect job......we live and learn! i should have complained, but at the time I didnt.

I'll start another thread I think for people to rate their local rover....

Andy

[matthewsemple]

Hi Matthew.
that happend at the last mot, the one before this one.....
Oh yes, i never look at the dates.


but yes I agree, the car was not properly tuned. I didn't take the car back as the MOT tester didnt actually fail it at the time, he just adjusted it to get it through, and its been fantastic ever since.
Shows what a proper mechanic will do for free as just part of a routine check whereas the big dealers take your money but at best don't really know what they're doing.

[H48HPE]

It’s a very good garage, they do a very through test, but its very fair, they don’t look to make a profit out of you, which is the main thing. So many garages see it as a chance to gain some extra work, making up faults and exaggerating things. Once you find a good place you stick to it!

[G51 NAV]

Agreed. The only place I trust round here is a dedicated MOT centre about 8 miles away from home. They don't do repairs, and therefore have no vested interest in failing my car. I've had too many experiences of local garages seeing an old car and deciding that there's just got to be something expensive wrong with it that they can syringe some money out of me by fixing. Welding is a current favourite.

A lot of my local garages aren't licensed to do their own MOTs and instead take their customers' cars to one particular testing-centre on a nearby industrial-estate. I'm convinced that there's some mutual back-scratching agreement going on.

[skipweasel]

It’s a very good garage, they do a very through test, but its very fair, they don’t look to make a profit out of you, which is the main thing. So many garages see it as a chance to gain some extra work, making up faults and exaggerating things. Once you find a good place you stick to it!
Often worth using local bus garages. If they do their own MOTs - and many do - they're usually very practically minded and not interested in fixing your car. I've found several such garages very helpful. Not easy but realistic.

[E_T_V]

My very local tester does cheap tests, but he is thorough and fair, (if a little overcautious about brake lines!). He knows he doesn't get any work out of me as he often sees me outside my house lying under my car doing the welding etc on it. But he did start filling out a fail certificate as soon as he saw the car in my avatar (George) when it last went in for its MOT. At the end of the test he had to admit he'd have to rip it up as although tatty round the edges it was sound and safe.