NCT fail me for this?

trixie11

Have a broken rear spring coil on the passenger side and was hoping to get in for NCT next week. Will I be failed for this? Have the part ordered just duno if I should get it fixed pre NCT or wait til after.

Defo fail and you shouldn't be driving a car with a broken coil spring on the road.

no1beemerfan

RoverJames wrote: »

Defo fail and you shouldn't be driving a car with a broken coil spring on the road.

Agree 110% with this. It is very unsafe to drive a car with a broken spring.

Gophur

no1beemerfan wrote: »

Agree 110% with this. It is very unsafe to drive a car with a broken spring.

Not necessarily.

I replaced a broken spring in a BMW that was broken for God knows how long. It certainly didn't affect the performance of the suspension, noticeably.

Replacement, by the way, was very simple, a DIY job.

Gophur

Gophur wrote: »

Not necessarily.

I replaced a broken spring in a BMW that was broken for God knows how long. It certainly didn't affect the performance of the suspension, noticeably.

Replacement, by the way, was very simple, a DIY job.

Why did BMW bother putting them in so ? I reckon the braking performance may well have been effected, I'm not being smart

Gophur

RoverJames wrote: »

Why did BMW bother putting them in so ? I reckon the braking performance may well have been effected[sic], I'm not being smart

The spring was about 95% complete, it was still practically fully functional. A break need not necessarily be in the middle of the spring.

charlemont

do the test anyway as it may show up other problems, if the spring fails you will only be retested for the same.

Captain Commie

If you put a car in the for NCT with something that you think may be a problem then you are asking to be failed.

they are going to fail you and will charge you for the pleasure of a re-test.

They may well reckon the car shouldn't be driven away from the centre like that, asking for trouble me thinks.

shamwari

Gophur wrote: »

Not necessarily.

I replaced a broken spring in a BMW that was broken for God knows how long. It certainly didn't affect the performance of the suspension, noticeably.

Replacement, by the way, was very simple, a DIY job.

If the spring is broken then it needs to be replaced without delay. Persistently driving a car with such a failing is breathtaking in its stupidity, and demonstrates a blatant disregard for the safety of you, your passengers, and other road users. Try braking hard with some weight in the car, on a bend and with the full load on that broken spring and you will find out PDQ why you need properly working springs to keep you out of the scenery.

In addition, replacement is not a simple DIY job. Unless you have the correct tools and know how to use them properly, anyone attempting such a task is exposing themselves to very grave risk.

Gophur

Gophur wrote: »

The spring was about 95% complete, it was still practically fully functional. A break need not necessarily be in the middle of the spring.

Once the break is between the two points where it's mounted it doesn't really matter I would think, like a rope, if it's broken it's broken

hanloj1

I got a fail for spring broke in a car I had. It was on front. I didn't cop that it was broken.

dr.fuzzenstein

hanloj1 wrote: »

I got a fail for spring broke in a car I had. It was on front. I didn't cop that it was broken.

That's why the NCT is actually a good thing.
Once had an ancient Merc that I bought of some dodgy guy in Mayo. (This predates the NCT)
The rear tires where actually a bigger diameter than the front ones and to stop the car riding too low at the front, bits of wood where wedged into the front springs.
I was young and dumb when I bought that particular lemon, also it had been converted from petrol to diesel (badly), so you had to pull the choke button to shut off the engine because the fuel shutoff valve was not connected to the air system.
When the choke cable broke I had to pop the clutch to stop the engine after turning off the ignition and removing the key or open the bonnet and manually pulling the lever that shut off the fuel.
It was a death trap. Still, it was a laugh while I had it...

AN air line snapped on my old diesel merc giving the same issue. Stalling her was my preferred method of getting her to die. SOld her like that too

KamiKazi

RoverJames wrote: »

Once the break is between the two points where it's mounted it doesn't really matter I would think, like a rope, if it's broken it's broken

It's not quite that simple, but I still would get it replaced before sending it in for the NCT.

dr.fuzzenstein

RoverJames wrote: »

AN air line snapped on my old diesel merc giving the same issue. Stalling her was my preferred method of getting her to die. SOld her like that too

Haha, love it, what did you tell the guy, or did you just not turn it off after the test drive?:)

mickdw

A broken spring is dangerous and my not have security in its seating position. All may appear to be well but at any time, it could move etc and cause loss of control.

dr.fuzzenstein

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Haha, love it, what did you tell the guy, or did you just not turn it off after the test drive?:)

Had it for sale for a grand, when the air line yoke snapped it snapped at the T piece so couldn't be bodge fixed and the part wasn't too cheap, fitting would have been a ball ache too as the entire line had to be replaced. Reduced it to €700 and described the fault in the add, he wasn't overly bothered about it. Hr reckoned his mechanic would sort it fairly handy. 'twas weird when it went though, I was working in Galway at the time and the ole lad went into hospital unexpectedly. He rang me and said he was in for tests but was fine. Drove down to Cork that evening, ole lad was fine so went back to Galway at about 10, got to the house in Galway and reversed into the drive, turned off the car but something wasn't right, radio off, dash lights all off, rev counter back to 0, then it twigged, engine still knocking away :pac:

trixie11

ok thanks guys will get it sorted asap so, didnt realise it would make the car unsafe to drive, mechanic who spotted it broke didnt give me any indication that its something i should get done asap! just that the car is a bit lobsided!