NCT rust fail

Roberto_gas

Hi All,

My 2004 fabia failed NCT due to rust on rearside door seal outer. Pics attached.

Any idea if this can be DIY ? If not, is it even worth considering taking it to a body shop? 

Did bit of rust removal and it keeps getting bigger

Thanks

mk7r

If you can weld and fabricate sheet metal then you could DIY it but that hole is going to get a lot bigger before you get clean metal.

It might be time to say goodbye

ongarite

That's all rotten or rusted out.

If you hit it with screwdriver & it feels soft or goes through it, likely from the photos, then it's got to be removed & plate welded in.

elperello

Not likely to be a DIY but if the car is otherwise in good order it might make sense to get it repaired.

It won't do any harm to get a price for the job and then you can decide.

Dirty Nails

If that's all it failed on, it's well worth getting repaired. The €200 odd to fix it is good value if you knock another year out of it.

Viscount Aggro

They are out to fail you…. theres a quota.

was in there last week … some foreign guy staring testing my toebar plug connection… how is this part of the test?

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123435404#Comment_123435404

I second this. My fiesta used to fail every year on rust.... seemingly it was a known problem in fiestas .....it would only cost a couple of hundred euro to fix and , otherwise she was a perfect car....now I'm going back 10 yrs ....plus your car is 21 , but still think worth a conversation

Dirty Nails

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123435432#Comment_123435432

They were hardly out to fail the OP :) It's a structural hole. In so far as the socket, it's part of the test in years. They're also supposed to measure the ball for wear.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123435441#Comment_123435441

It all depends on your personal circumstances.

Buying a extra year for a couple of hundred € can make a lot of sense.

You can plan ahead, put a bit of cash away and start looking around for a replacement.

baxterooneydoody

If that's all that's wrong with it you're singing, fix it and drive on

JamBur

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123435432#Comment_123435432

Ridiculous comment. There is oversight of all their pass/fail rates, you can even see discrepancies per centre. Like any job, some workers are more diligent than others.

Why did your toe have a bar on it? Why was it in the testing area? Or did you mean a towbar?

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123435666#Comment_123435666

Well that's it....I only got rid of the car when I started a family and I couldn't get isofix fitted (the car was 15 then), I also thought side impact air bags and other safety features the fiesta didn't have were now a good idea.

I gave the car to a family member for their kids to learn in as it was still a great lil car...

I'd still be running around in it if I didn't have kids.

Phil.x

I had the same with my old nissan primera, I got the sander to it with the roughest sandpaper and filled it and spray painted it, looked like new and passed the nct.

greasepalm

I would ask if it was near the sea or UK origin as that is serious rust. Needs cutting out treated and weld a new plate in. I do wonder what else is in hiding.

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123435432#Comment_123435432

There's no quota. They're meant to give you the benefit of the doubt if there's anything marginal but in this case there's no doubt.

As for faulty tow bar electrics, that's not a fail just advisory.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123436129#Comment_123436129

Its a 21 year old Fabia.. Just get it fixed cheaply and drive her on

Roberto_gas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123436070#Comment_123436070

what did u fill it with?

User567363

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123435432#Comment_123435432

Ah its easy to think like that, buts its an inspectors job to find problems, imagine a guy inspecting planes or lorries and saying they were all 100%

I worked in quality control in a factory for 6mnts i really enjoyed trying to find something wrong that might not even be there, most items were perfect, but i did find several problems which was exciting, and then people were retrained or machines were repaired, some staff might have been annoyed that i spotted the issue

About 4 years later the factory closed due to a quality issue with their biggest customer, all staff were made redundant

Phil.x

Isopon, and a small bit of wire mesh to cover the hole.

JP 1800

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058409508/nct-rust-fail

Where are you based?. The NCT will expect to see a welded repair and not filler. Hard to make out but I assume its on the sill so the rust needs cutting out, the area treated and metal welded in. the welds will need to be visible for the retest and then they can be dressed once the inspection is complete. If you are in Dublin I can help you out if it is a quick job.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437105#Comment_123437105

DIY job using filler will pass. Doesn’t necessarily have to be welded.

JP 1800

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437118#Comment_123437118

Not necessarily, the NCT manual section 6.1 subsection J can be a cause of failure ( up to the scrutiny of the tester), as the filler is not a manufacturer recommended repair. The sill section should be repaired properly and not bodged with filler. If the rust is not removed the filler repair will rust out in no time and will cause more damage down the line. I have seen it enough over the years. Do the job properly the first time.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437155#Comment_123437155

Come on… As long as its solid it will pass. Its a 24 year old Fabia, in its current state its probably worth less than €500. If OP is open to a DIY fix we might as well encourage it if it helps them get another 12 months of driving from the car and saves them a couple of hundred euros in the process.

greasepalm

Even 5 years ago they would not accept filler in something like that it has to be a welded plate that they can see and when happy then painted. What happens if they put a magnet over a covered job.

Sills need to be strong if car needs to go up on a ramp.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437688#Comment_123437688

My mates Polo failed recently due to a rusty sill and we used the Isopon DIY kit and he passed the re test no problem

Dartz

The problem with sill rust is that it could be ready to unzip.

Failed the NCT on small patches of rust last year. Send it in for a couple of hundred euro's worth of patch-weld —- same as I'd been doing for the last 3 years — and your man just kept grinding and grinding until there was basically nothing left.

Ended up being the case that the entire outer and 80% of the inner sills, and part of the driver's footboards, needed to be replaced. Was still cheaper than replacing the car.

Reactive Welding in Bluebell do good work if it needs to be done.

JP 1800

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123437341#Comment_123437341

But it is not solid, that's advanced corrosion as the metal is delaminating and flaking. The inner sill looks good, but this wont stay that way for long. If all else is good with the car, getting that rust fixed will be cheaper than scrapping the car. I don't condone slapping mud in holes on critical structures of the chassis to cover up corrosion. Filling in a wing or a dent is a different matter. The reason the car failed on this corrosion is a safety issue, not a superficial fault. OP, the best thing to do is get the damage assessed and see where it goes, it may be an hour or two of labour so wont be too expensive. The car will be worth more with the work done and a valid NCT.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438560#Comment_123438560

I’m not against getting it welded either. I’ve done both methods in the past and have passed from both. But you claimed that it needs to be welded in order to pass which simply isn’t true, and then you immediately follow up by offering up your welding services, at a cost of course.

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438639#Comment_123438639

Officially speaking a welded repair is all that's acceptable by the NCT and it must be a full seam weld too, however what people do is they let the retest period expire fill it with filler book a new test and then the tester isn't allowed to go hammering and scraping so it passes.

You would want to give your head a wobble though if you are filling the main structural member on the car with filler

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438756#Comment_123438756

Like I said above my mate passed the retest no problem using the DIY kit

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123438771#Comment_123438771

I'm sure the odd one slips through but by the manual it's an instant fail