Mot fail, Upper rear wishbones, Brake lines, Tyre

[Robzki]

Hi all,

 

Not sure if this belongs in tech' but I'll put it here anyway.

 

Failed the mot on several things today....

 

1) Upper rear wishbone bushes worn both sides, n/s much worse than the o/s. which is strange because there is no noticable squirming or knocks from the rear end. but I did watch/help with the mot and it is very obvious. I get the gist that the replacement aftermarket bushes are generally frowned upon. I am looking for something that will last and I'm also concerned that the ball joint will be very near the end of its life anyway (170k km) Where is the best(read cheapest) place to obtain some oem or aftermarket(ikeya)? has anyone bought them recently so I can get an idea of price? I have seen anywhere from £190-£350 on messages here..... I always want to 'upgrade' if I have to replace but get the impression oem will be best.

 

2) The brake/fuel lines from front to rear are unbelievably corroded. I haven't had a good look, but I assume they are steel? can I just change the brake lines to copper? They passed fine last year and this year they are dangerous imo. I expect they are a lot worse under the protective trim. Rough winter and lots of salt I assume.

 

3) Front o/s tyre has perfect tread over 95% fairly evenly worn with 4-5mm remaining but the last 3/4" is through to wire, Its like it is chamfered at 30degrees to the road. Very strange and tbh not noticable unless you look very closely. I can't work out how and tbh nor could the Mot tester. The plastic around the arch has warped slightly and has a slightly clean edge above the tyre. but hasn't worn at all. I can't see how it could be that as the plastic would have an arc worn into it or shredded.

I jacked the car up, placed a block under that wheel, and lowered it back down to compress the suspension. I can still get a finger between the tyre and the trim, with someone sat in the car. Has anyone else had this? surely if the Tracking/camber/caster were out the tyre would wear evenly?

 

I will have a full geo setup when I've replaced the wishbones.

 

 

Thanks and sorry to waffle, Its been a long day, I'll leave the emissions/cat questions for later...

 

Any advice welcome

 

Rob

[Homer]

1) If you are after cheap replacement use a 2nd hand one from someone like Keron on here. The parts are warrantied so will be good. I think the upper rears are around £75 plus P&P. New are expensive as you will have found. Ikeya are for race cars only, not at all suitable for a road car.

 

2) Best to replace with OEM ones, they are pretty cheap as it is. The protective guards can be their own worse enemy on some cars that have seen a lot of winter/muddy road use.

 

3) Geometry

 

What suspension and wheel size do you have fitted? If it's not stock did it ever get a full geometry allignment after fitting?

 

HTH

[Robzki]

Thanks Darryl, Not thought about s/h wishbones, I'll give Keron a call 2morrow. Also my bad, just read some previous posts regarding brake/fuel lines, I'll give toyota a call as well to price fuel/brake lines.

 

much appreciated

 

Rob

[Digsy]

Are the brake / fuel lines split in convenient places so you can replace them without having to drop the fuel tank?

[Dnk]

Are the brake / fuel lines split in convenient places so you can replace them without having to drop the fuel tank?

 

I got my mot/technician spanner guru to really check mine over on the last mot and he said mine were fine.

 

He didn't seem to think it would be too much hassle to replace them either when they need doing.

 

If its any use to the op i have 2 new o/e brake lines that do the run from the engine bay all the way to the rear axle. £50 for the pair but not sure how i'd get them to you as their both 8ft long approx

[Chris Wilson]

You can splice in new pipe sections if the rust is localised. N/S nearly always wears faster than O/S suspension as that's the side that visits grids and potholes the most. Front tyre wear could well be tired lower wishbone inner bushes. If budget allows a complete new set of wishbones and suspension arms would probably show just how generally tired the bushes and joints are. Quite why even modern cars still use steel fuel and brake lines I don't know. Maybe some of the fuel additives corrode copper alloys, but Volvo stopped using steel brake pipes in the 1960's