43 replies to this topic

[minidaves]

phone vosa and get the local inspector down simple

[lsto]

The garage is wrong. You can log a complaint with vosa or the dvsa as its now called. A spring washer is a locking devise.
Look online and you can appeal against the garage's decision. I would just to be petty and prove them wrong then after take my business elsewhere.

[jcab]

HELLO thanks everyone for your help here

The garage was being over protective it seems , they have now passed this with the new Nylon Locks , but I have since changed them back to the original spec.

It seems they are going by the Manufatures or parts spares shop locally , they sell these Balljoints with NylonLock , as apposed to Minispares spec. (spring Washer /Nut)

 

This would have cost me an additional £54 to appeal this with VOSA seems to expensive , then they would send an independent technician out.

If I win the case they would reinburse ,

Bottom line is they did not recgonise the original spec , I had advised them to look into this but they are rather dogmatic about there ideas.

Gues they are wrong and right ?

 

Wont be going back, but I have the M.O.T. now.

thanks again.

[GraemeC]

You don't need to appeal, just highlight to DVSA that you have been given poor advice and were requested to fit parts other than those of manufacturers specification in order to pass the MoT.

Drop them a well worded email or letter - they will soon pick up on it if they believe there is an area for concern.

[ibrooks]

HELLO thanks everyone for your help here

The garage was being over protective it seems , they have now passed this with the new Nylon Locks , but I have since changed them back to the original spec.

It seems they are going by the Manufatures or parts spares shop locally , they sell these Balljoints with NylonLock , as apposed to Minispares spec. (spring Washer /Nut)

 

This would have cost me an additional £54 to appeal this with VOSA seems to expensive , then they would send an independent technician out.

If I win the case they would reinburse ,

Bottom line is they did not recgonise the original spec , I had advised them to look into this but they are rather dogmatic about there ideas.

Gues they are wrong and right ?

 

Wont be going back, but I have the M.O.T. now.

thanks again.

 

It's not down to just you not going back - how many other people are these muppets going to put through this sort of hassle? even worse if it had been the stereotypical girl who knows nothing about cars and had ball-joints replaced somewhere else - would they have charged her money to supply and swap the nuts to pass an MOT?

 

Plus if they don't know about spring washers are they competent to be inspecting cars at all?

 

This needs to be brought to the attention of the authorities so that they can either be given guidance and start doing it right or so that they can have their testing license revoked if they really are as incompetent as they seem to be.

 

We still haven't seen the name of the garage..............

[Dan]

Yes I have to agree, it's very suspicious that they won't pass the OE part but they will pass the low grade pattern part that they are in the habit of fitting themselves. That also should be mentioned to VOSA.

[Cooperman]

I think we need the name of the MoT testing station. No reason for not telling us and it may prevent someone else being required to modify their car from original specification.

They need to understand what a 'taper-lock joint' is more than the function of a spring washer. In fact, on ball joints the spring washer does nothing, it's the taper on the pin and in the arm which does the actual locking.

[jcab]

Yes I do agree with the above . I have contacted VOSA also about this Garage ..

The Name of the Garage was also mentioned in the thread above.

Its not a simple method reporting them, VOSA seem to take little notice unless you  fill in forms ...and .... YOU PAY ...for a further inspection,

Does anyone have any experience with this procedure.

Seems Biased.

[The Matt]

Unfortunately it's like that because people often complain about legitimate failures. VOSA have a lot of time wasted over the years and are obviously setting a fee to avoid time wasters.

In your case, the garage is completely in the wrong and this is concerning. They have shown a total lack of mechanical understanding of a safety critical part of the car. Asking you to modify it 'could' turn out to be dangerous. They do need reporting and you will get your fee back.

I'm writing this as an ex MOT tester. They really do need reporting for this one. Thiers is a downright dangerous, arrogant state of mind for them to get into.

[Ethel]

There is an MoT Testers forum, you could start a topic on there. It may get on VOSA's (dvsa's) radar from there, or create some peer pressure you can bring to their attention.

 

The taper pin needs the correct tension applied to seat as designed. A nyloc will add a bit more friction that could reduce that tension by making your torque wrench "click" before it's reached. A split pin could be just as bad as it's unlikely you'd drill in exactly the right place and any backing off by the nut would make space for the pin to unseat. Split washers aren't great, but they are proven for this application.

[Cooperman]

What the MoT station have done, in their ignorance, is to consider the nut the primary securing device. The primary securing is the taper, with the nut merely there to apply the initial tension into the taper lock mechanism and to be left on as a secondary securing device. That meets all required safety legislation which is why it was designed like that in the first place. There is no requirement for a 'triple lock' system on this or anything else safety related.

[jaydee]

As Dan said, they HAVE TO refer to the OEM part and not rely on whatsover the pattern parts they sell at the corner shop are..

I bet they've seen a TRE which used nylocs and gone to conclusions from there, never seen nylocs on balljoints myself, on this i might be wrong and they might exist but surely those guys havent seen many classic car before.

Also the advise of replacing the original nut with something you probably dont know what grade it is, its a really poor advice.

Report them.

My 2c.

[gazza82]

Modern cars tend to have nyloks on balljoints ... bet that was their thinking. Doesn't mean they are right though ... far from it

 

Very rare to find a spring washer on much nowadays and castellated nuts and split pins are long gone in modern car production!

Edited by gazza82, 18 February 2015 - 07:21 PM.

[Cooperman]

Modern suspension does not normally use taper lock for securing suspension. It is often just a clamp bolt onto a parallel shaft and that does require a Nylok nut for security. The advantage is that a taper-lock ball-pin splitter is not required to take the suspension to pieces.