MOT failure - help please!
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Hello all. Just took my little baby for her MOT and she failed miserably :( I need parts and I need them sharpish! Please be gentle with me - I am a laydee and I don't know much about cars - but I do love my little MX3 dearly! She is an R reg V6. I have also posted this thread in the parts wanted section - but am really after some advice too. The chap in the garage said he doesn't see many MX3's and I may be better to just scrap her :/ What are your thoughts?
Here's my list:
2 headlights - full set up including all the clips
I need new rear coil springs - the garage tells me I will struggle to get a hold of these - but I can see loads of them on ebay for about £40 - so not sure what he meant?
Possibly new rear calipers - I don't know if I can go second hand or if it's best to get new?That will get her through the MOT - but she could also do with:
New front seats
Surround for centre console
New ashtray (mine is really mouldy and discoloured and it wont clean up - unless there's something else I can do with that gap?)I am based in High Wycombe and would be willing to travel about 80 miles to pick up parts asap. Can anyone PLEASE help me out?
Also if anyone can recommend someone to do the work, please go for it - I have been quoted £500 to fit 2 headlights, new CV boots, release seized rear brakes, replace 2 rear coil springs, and he also said I needed a new sensor, as the fuel economy was terrible and the emmissions only just passed - I cant remember the name of the sensor he said I needed - it started with la…..
Any help would be MUCH appreciated!!!!!!
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If you love her that much then no need to scrap really. He probably means with parts & labour costs it actually totals more then what the car is worth is monetary value, buts obviously means more to you.
To be honest £500 is what it is going to cost at most garages, only way to do it cheaper is DIY. Makes you think doesnt it when you could probably buy another complete MX3 with MOT for not alot more then £500!
It will be the Lambda sensor also known as an 02 sensor which bolts into the exhaust/manifold and measures gasses in the exhaust.
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Hiya, what did the headlights fail on???
are they plastic ones or are they glass covered headlightsWhat did the coil springs fail on as its very unusual to have 2 fail unless they have both broken, I have 2 complete rear struts in my shed that would take about 30 minutes each to just swap to save getting spring compressors etc
the calipers on the mazda are prone to seize its usually just a strip down and clean and copper grease everything and put back together, if you need new calipers you can buy reconditioned ones much cheaper
if you can get a decent mechanic he could recondition them for you as the kits are only £10 but 90% of the time its the slider that rusts up and seizes, you just beat the caliper off clean the rust off, lubricate with copper grease and refit
these are the rear kits
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-MX-3-Toyota-Corolla-DAIHATSU-Rear-brake-caliper-repair-kit-AKEBONO-30-mm-/271398315030?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f3099a416
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Hi
Thanks for your reply. The headlights failed because they are lexus-stlye lights imported from China - they don't fit properly and don't get out enough light. They came with the car when I bought it.
One of the rear coils is broken and the garage said they never replace just one - they should both be done at the same - they quoted me £150 to fit them, but said I'd have to source my own cos they are difficult to find… But I've seen LOADS on various websites for £35-£50 - unless there's a particular brand I oughta be buying?
The brakes were stripped and greased about 10 months ago but have seized again. They said until they get a better look they wont know what needs doing. :/
Also need new Lambda (?) sensors - not sure if I can buy these new, or if I have to take them from another MX3?
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The headlights are only checked for the beam pattern, if they dont let out enough light fit 100w bulbs instead of the 55w. fitting has nothing to do with the MOT unless they are loose so if they are jam something n there to stop them moving and park the car facing a wall and you will see the beam pattern on there, a few of us have projector headlights and we dont have any problems with them.
can you post a photo of them ???with springs its true to do them in pairs because they squash down over time with gravity and your car wont be level if you only do one, the garage dont know what they are on about with buying them as they are easy to find but £150 is a lot of money for a 60-90 minute job to do both, it took me 2 hours to lower the whole of my car at home so it should take them a lot less than an hour as the rears were the easy ones
If its the same problem with the rear caliper you need to buy that kit in the link i posted, the long black tube in the picture is the part you need as the old ones get destroyed and continue to let water in. Mine have been fine since fitting new rubbers on the slider and sanding all the rust off. I also ditched the copper grease for the sliders and used lucasoil very high temperature waterproof grease for trailer bearings and that combo has sorted it
If it scraped through the MOT on emissions worry about the lambda later, also do you use it on long journeys much as a lot of short journeys sitting in traffic etc also causes emmision problems from the cat not working properly, before an MOT just floor it down a motorway for half an hour and that will burn off any crud and get the cat working properly again
roughly how many miles do you get to the tank and what car is yours 1.6 or v6