NCT Question

Reg_hurley

My car (99 Almera) passed the nct today but would be greatful for some advice..
Having looked at the report there are two items that I think I made need to look at. (The NCT mechanic just said I passed, handed me the keys and went on his way)

Rear Axle Brake Ovality is at 30% (30% is the limit). Does this mean I need new brake pads?

Visual defects listed is the tyre condition(reason: 6years old) of both rear tyres. I dont do much mileage and the thread depth fine but is there an age limit on tyres?

thanks.

biko

There is no age limit on tyres but they're made from a compound that stiffens and can crack a bit with age. If you do motorway driving or and fast driving you may want to swap them.

Ovality means brake drum isn't perfectly round any more.

wildefalcon

If the rear brakes are drum brakes it implies that they may need replacing, at some stage, however it could just be that the shoes are not contacting all the way around - this can be due to rust as the rear drums only do 10 or 20% of the breaking.

Before the next NCT try this: On a quiet, safe stretch of road slowly apply the hand brake while driving slowly and gently, and slow the car down with it. Keep the button pressed in so you can release it once the car has slowed down a bit.

This should rub the rust off the rear drums and remove the on/off nature of the braking that the computer is picking up as ovality.

As for the tyres - there are no legal "use-by" dates on tyres, yet, but it's best not to use tyres that are old. But, as you don't drive like a loon, you should be fine, so long as they are inspected for cracking, splits, and other damage on a regular basis (before each winter).

I'd give a boy racer different advice - change everything, as he'd need it.

TrailerBob

biko wrote: »

There is no age limit on tyres

Not sure thats correct, I think 7 years is the max age for tyres (no reference), thats why they all have date of manufacture stamped on them. Elderly neighbour was told he'd have to change tyres for next NCT for this reason on a 02 micra he bought new - it has 18,000 miles on it and tyre treads are 80%

Reg_hurley

okay, thanks for the quick responses.
I do some motorway driving so I'll get them replaced to be on the safe side.
I'll ask the garage about the brake drum. Would replacing it be labour intensive? i.e. cost much?

thanks,

_Conrad_

Reg_hurley wrote: »

okay, thanks for the quick responses.
I do some motorway driving so I'll get them replaced to be on the safe side.
I'll ask the garage about the brake drum. Would replacing it be labour intensive? i.e. cost much?

thanks,

Mot brake drums aren't very complicated or difficult to replace, same with pads and discs they pretty much just bolt on and off to it shouldn't be very expensive.

brownacid

I guess this is as good a place to ask as any, sorry for the thread hijack OP but I have my NCT coming up in two weeks and was wondering if anyone knows if a car will fail if the catch/release on a drivers seat doesnt work. I have a 3 door fiesta and the catch that pulls the wire to release the seat so that it can be folded forward snapped a while ago. Means the only access to the back is via the passenger side. I tried fixing it but I cant see a way of taking the part off the seat.

wildefalcon

brownacid wrote: »

I guess this is as good a place to ask as any, sorry for the thread hijack OP but I have my NCT coming up in two weeks and was wondering if anyone knows if a car will fail if the catch/release on a drivers seat doesnt work. I have a 3 door fiesta and the catch that pulls the wire to release the seat so that it can be folded forward snapped a while ago. Means the only access to the back is via the passenger side. I tried fixing it but I cant see a way of taking the part off the seat.

It should be a fail, as a passenger could be trapped inside, but if you have the rear seatbelts clipped in to the receivers then the tester may only do a visual inspection and not notice the seat doesn't work.