My Mini fails it's NCT

[J145]

After I bought the Mini back in February I took it for its first NCT. The car passed the test without any problems. I took it for it's test again today and it failed. Here's what is failed on.

Emissions - I'm ok with this because I did adjust the idle screw on the carb I must have just overdone it.

Loose seats - I fitted Cobra bucket seats since the last test and the tester wasn't happy about the rear of the seat frame being able to move. I tried to explain that the original seats were worse and had more movement in them than these. So it looks like I'll have to put a plate under the car and bolt the back of the seat frame into it. I'm ok with this one too.

Secondary structural - There is a lot of rust on the bottom of both doors but it was ok nine months ago and the car has been garaged since so it was there the last time it was tested. I'm going to have to remove the rust and put filler on the bottom of the doors to get it through.

Primary structural - This is the one that really irks me, at some stage in its life the car was lifted incorrectly and the floorpan under the drivers & passengers feet was dented upwards. The metal is totally solid it's just dented. Inside the car the factory sound deadening which looks a bit like glazed sugar has cracked and broken. The tester & his supervisor claim that the sound deadening contributes to the structural integrity of the floor. So despite the fact that the floorpan metal is solid, they want me to fill the cracks in sound deadening. The only reason this was noticed was that I removed the carpets since the last test so the sound deadening couldn't be seen but the metal underneath was inspected. I fail to see how this is structural, I was going to remove it!!









I'm tempted to remove it altogether but I've been told it's hard to remove. The alternative is to fill these cracks in the sound deadening with filler

[daniel garry]

just chip out all the bitumen sound deadening, it'l take u a couple of hours but the nct man wont complain then if the floor is solid underneath

[gareth]

Use a block of wood and hammer and bop the floor back to where it should be paint some sealer in around the floor and put the carpets back in. Then book it back in for a retest a different time so you get a different shift re testing it. That way it wont be the same guy checking it and he wont know exactly what the first guy was on about. He will check the floor is solid as it is and pass it.

Generally there are 2 shifts in nct centres. One shift does the 5 days the other does 3 or 4 evenings and the weekend. When was your test?

[keith]

-snip The tester & his supervisor claim that the sound deadening contributes to the structural integrity of the floor.

what a load .... gotta love those nct guys... at the end of that day it seems to be down to the opinion of the individual bloke/girl. there really needs to be an independent appeal system. Like it was said here., hammer it it down, fill it in and paint it over.. AFAIK that semi-solid stuff was installed from mid 80's onwards? certainly the earlier cars don't fall apart for not having it.
look at the bright side: if it was cracked it would trap moisture and rust the floor even faster.

[woody]

I never understand people NCT ing a car with visual faults which is open to the opinion (right or wrong as in this case ) of the tester. If its bent straightin it, if its holed fill it and if its rusty prime it. What they don't see won't bother them, I've just seen a mini pass needing inner and outeer sills and doorsteps, all cosmeticly enhanced just for the test.
Bang out the floor as said and fill the cracks with mastic.

[gareth]

Just as a small pointer when woody says mastic dont end up using silicone as it contains salt and enhances rust.....

[Deadly Dave]

FFS They will be failing cars for scratches in the paintwork next

[keith]

FFS They will be failing cars for scratches in the paintwork next

you won't have any problem with yours then....

[J145]

I went at the passenger footwell this evening with a hammer & chisel for a bit and as I knew it would be, perfectly solid metal.



Primary structural fail my arse!! I'll straighten the floorpan a bit before I go back with it.

If this was the only reason it failed I'd be driving back there at the moment to complain but as there are some legitimate reasons it failed I'll keep my cool and simply put it through again.

[woody]

Best floor I've seen in a while, must get some of that super strong sound deadining for my car

[J145]

Thanks Overall the shell is completely solid. The only rust is on the bottoms of the doors. I'll start tackling them during the week too - once I get them off that is....I tried to remove the passenger door last night but the screws on the hinge didn't want to move. I've sprayed them with penetrating oil so I'll try them again tonight.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Have you got an Impact Driver for doing the screws ?

[swalker]

impact driver is the best way to get them off I belive.
I am glad i dont have to NCT a car, i might just loose the plot.
there dosent seem to be a rule book as such reading the NCT posts.
at least a fail here is justified, even so they now pull the car apart on moving plates, so a ball joint that could be good for another year, and not picked up in a check, will be broken in the test here now..
My passat was a nice quiet car until the mot, it passed but now i have about 10 different knocks, rattles and god knows what else to sort for next year.

[J145]

No I don't have an impact driver, I was trying the 'old school' method of turning the screwdriver and hitting it with a hammer. I might also try the hot and cold method which normally works a treat with ball joints on track rod ends

[swalker]

I might also try the hot and cold method which normally works a treat with ball joints on track rod ends

duck and cover comes to mind....

have you not heard the urban legends about that one..
goes something like

heat... grease in ball joint.... BANG.

happened to a very experinced friend of mine about 7 years ago. wasnt right for a good few years after it

[J145]

Wow that's a new one one me, did he use a gas torch and make it red hot? I only use a heat gun and an ice cube so it's not getting red hot or anything.

[swalker]

from memory it was a ball joint from either a french car or LGV.
he was using a gas torch.

[J145]

Scary accident. That's why I only ever use a heat gun, I think it's safer, I know it'll never produce the same heat as a gas torch but all you need is a relative heat change (hence the ice cube) to get the stubborn item to crack.

[macker]

a scissors type ball joint breaker is your only man for doing the ball joints J, i used to use countless different old type methods for doing them until i got my hands on this little bit of kit, it's reletively inexpensive and you'll have it a lot longer than your new ball joint would last

[J145]

Sorry I should have been more specific , I used this method to unscrew the ball joint from the end of a trackrod which was stubborn. I have a scissors type splitter for removing the ball joint taper from the hub carrier.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Impact drivers are not too expensive, worthwhile tool to have in your tool box.

[woody]

I always remove the hinges with the door from the body.