Will my car fail its MOT? (pics)

[Rave]

Right, I'm planning on taking my car for its MOT tomorrow but I just thought I'd check whether a couple of the obvious problems it has are going to cause it to fail. It's a 1988 (Mk1) Toyota MR2. First up, the offside rear wing:



That's not a structural part AFAIK, I had the sills welded up a couple of years ago and I know they're sound.

Next the nearside front tyre:



I don't think it's down to the cords. If it's a fail, what will happen if I bung some vulcanising rubber solution from a bicycle repair kit in there?

Cheers,

Rich :¬)

[Tumble]

the tyre will fail... any damage to the sidewall is an instant no-no. as for the rust.. I think it's 12cm or less from a structural position (think it was that last time I checked) then it'll fail.

[Skii]

I reckon the rust will be ok, but as Tumble says, the tyre is a no-no.

[5lab]

rust will be fine..

my cars in for its mot tomorrow too. probably need more luck than you

[Crazy Cricket]

The rust may be ok, but the remaining metal may not be, if it leaves a sharp edge, as sharp edges can lead to a failure.

[Konan555]

That arch could well fail on a sharp.

Emergency MOT measure.... bang the metal in with a hammer and slap some P38 on. Then give it a rough sand in the morning.

If not, just bang the edges in and put some tape on.

[Donny John]

Temporarily stick some carpet/gaffa tape over the sharps on the wheel arch and replace that tyre, it's dangerous m8e

[Rave]

Hmm....I'll be gutted if it's the tyre, it's a Yokohama A539 which has been on the front with an identical one since I replaced them as a pair, there's loads of tread left on both of them too. Don't want to replace it really as I'd basically have to do them both, and TBH the sidewalls on an A539 should be as tough as anything. I'm very tempted to bung an el cheapo onto my spare wheel (which currently has a bald tyre on it) and put that on for the MOT, then bung the A539 back on straight after....

What's P38 Konan? Filler?

I could drive it up tomorrow morning and just point the faults out to the guy at the testing station before I decide to put it in, and see what he says. Trouble is my insurance runs out on Friday and I don't want to reinsure it until I'm sure it's MOTd.

Where's Jiff when you need him?

[Lead_Head]

I would replace the tyres anyway. It aint worth my live to skimp a few quid.

[Butuz]

Bloody hell! Get new tyres now before you have a blowout at 70 and kill yourself and god forbid anyone else!!!

jeees!!!!

Butuz

[Raz316]

ooer, my tyre had pretty much exactly the same damage when i had my car M.O.T'd in January. Dunno if its a dodgy M.O.T. centre but they passed it without any problems at all, and did the year before too. Dunno how odd that is for a 15 year old car.

[Rave]

Originally Posted by Butuz

Bloody hell! Get new tyres now before you have a blowout at 70 and kill yourself and god forbid anyone else!!!

jeees!!!!

ehhhh...calm down. No bulges (not even close), and the damage has remained exactly the same since I spotted it months ago. A539s are designed for much heavier loads than they get on the front of my MR2.

[Butuz]

Regardless of the load they are designed for, theyre not designed to be used with big gashes and tears in the sidewall!

Butuz

[5lab]

its not a big gash, just a little one. if i were you i'd lop my spare on for the test, then swap back over to that one afterwards

[Nox]

that gash in the tyre seems pretty bad to me - looks like some passer by has allready got their finger stuck in it

Nox

[Rave]

LOL Nox. 5lab, as I said, I have a bald tyre on the spare atm, so that isn't an option. Butuz, there is clearly no damage to the cords, and they're what gives the sidewall its strength, so the tyre is not being subjected to any unusual stresses.

Anyway I took it up this morning, and the bloke correctly pointed out that there was no point in him looking at the car; if it fails on the tyre I can bring it back with a new one and get the certificate. If it fails on something else then there's no point getting another tyre until I've decided what to do about that....fingers crossed now anyway.