MOT fail / big service repair bill

[dunnah01]

£3k for an exhaust, I mean £3k for an exhaust wtf they'll be asking for £1.2k for a bit if brake pipe next

 

[TheCaller]

I appear to be in good company

You, me and the king

.....and a goodly proportion of the rest of us male Funsters. Caught reasonably early, it has one of the best clear-up rates going, so although it's a nasty shock, welcome to the club!

Sorry to hear that the lovely motorhome is also having trouble with its dangly bits & its main driveshaft. Must be coming out in sympathy.

I wonder if either the garage or the hospital have a 2-for-1 offer on the go?

P.S. Just done the maths & realised it'll be 14 years this year since they whipped mine out. Options for treatment have improved quite a bit in the interim. Probably a good job I didn't wait though!

 

[TheBig1]

Sorry to read your personal news David. I would never have made any criticism of your choice had I realised it was so insignificant in the bigger scheme of things. At least you know it will be fixed when you need it to escape the madness for a bit

 

[Al n Val]

No longer as I've jumped out of the frying pan and into the Fiat, I mean fire.

more reliable Trev

 

[Clive Mott]

This is why one must keep on top of these jobs as they get flagged up. Should have reacted to the warnings.
Sorry,

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[DavidG58]

This is why one must keep on top of these jobs as they get flagged up. Should have reacted to the warnings.
Sorry,

Bit harsh, the only thing not done as soon as we knew were the front discs advised last Jan at MOT, they have been done at the first service after

Service interval is 2 years or 20K miles

Total mileage now 65K we have had it serviced 6 times in 11 years ownership

 

[RobbyMClark]

I am just sharing, it’s not going to change our lives just caught me a bit below the belt

Thursday I had a biopsy which has confirmed I have Cancer

Friday cat curled up and died on the settee

But MIL now home and improving quickly

Prostate, so hopefully easily treated and fully recoverable

DavidG58, sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
It makes the van problems pale into insignificance.
Hope successful treatment starts soon you have to Fvck it right off- FIRO
Be strong.

 

[rvnib]

Hi David, apologies if you've answered this elsewhere in this thread but where do you live and is there still work to be done on the motorhome? I use an excellent mobile sprinter engineer, who may be able to help. Regards Jonathan

 

[DavidG58]

Hi David, apologies if you've answered this elsewhere in this thread but where do you live and is there still work to be done on the motorhome? I use an excellent mobile sprinter engineer, who may be able to help. Regards Jonathan

Thanks, work is now scheduled to be done by Mertrux M1 J28 10 miles from us next week, with a failed MOT I have already moved it twice since then and now just going to leave them to resolve

We have had words over the exhaust which did disappoint me, other than that their observations seem fair and what price do you put on safety

 

[rvnib]

Pleased you've made progress on this and hope it all gets resolved to your satisfaction, David.

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[funflair]

Thanks, work is now scheduled to be done by Mertrux M1 J28 10 miles from us next week, with a failed MOT I have already moved it twice since then and now just going to leave them to resolve

We have had words over the exhaust which did disappoint me, other than that their observations seem fair and what price do you put on safety

And the pleasure the Hymer has given you over the years and will again when it's sorted, it's only money David and I think we are both lucky that we can afford it, onwards and upwards and good luck with the treatment look after yourself and Bev.

 

[akadingbat]

Sorry you are having such a crappy time right now. I know it’s not the same type of vehicle but I had my DPF go on my Nissan Navara and the Nissan part was £3K plus fitting. Took it to a general commercial garage who got me a new non-Nissan one with a good warranty for £400 incl fitting.

 

[Benson]

I rang Weds this week to check progress to find there are problems getting some of the parts, in particular the ‘expensive’ bit of the exhaust

I felt I had been told it all came as one piece and all needed changing , I am both technically useless and naive

So I asked to come down and have a look before they did any more

Saw MH from inspection pit, there is a lot of corrosion , top still looks lovely and had just been valeted , but it’s a 2005 sprinter chassis only registered in 2009 but nearly 20 years old

The exhaust is not hanging off I now have a much better understanding of how this fits the brackets hang in rubber mountings Which are all good. The exhaust itself has u shaped loops welded to the pipe. It is the welds that have failed, but the exhaust is still very secure sitting in the brackets , you only know it’s loose if you lift it

Mercedes say there is no way it could have passed an MOT, I ask why, it’s not blowing or in danger of falling off as I had thought from their description

Then I get to the expensive bit, DPF ? Very secure why change that I ask

Merc service chap says its best to change everything

But this is working, stainless steel so no rust or rot and secure, with an obvious bolted connection behind it to connect the next section

Return to office

I know I said get on with it but I am now not happy and do not want this DPF bit changing

But we have special ordered it

Well special cancel it, not needed , I do agree to change the two end sections which do look ready

A technician appears , ‘did you miss the hairline crack in the weld on the DPF bracket’

Yes, but I still don’t want it changing, I will get it welded, if it breaks and the DPF is still working

So now hoping for around £4K which oddly now sounds quite cheap

Hopefully 2 more years of trouble free motorhoming , not sure we can afford the diesel though

 

[Clive Mott]

Must admit that when we first get our motorhomes my first job was to lay underneath and give everything metal (not exhaust or engine) a couple of layers of propper outside gloss house paint, brake steel pipes included. Colour a mixture of whatever I had left in part cans at home in the garage. Another bonus is being able to identify it should it get stolen and recovered. Must crawl underneath and check it over some time.

 

[Tonks]

Highlights the madness of just giving a main dealer to do whatever they think needs doing. An independent will charge half the price and only do what absolutely has to be done. Would have saved more than enough to get somebody to sort and treat the corrosion underneath

Generally I’d agree and my van is always looked after by an independent specialist, but my car failed it’s MOT big time last year and the nearby supposed ‘experts’ (locally highly praised, but no longer by me!) had done such a poor job of ‘repairing’ it even after I’d taken it back twice that the main dealer had to redo the whole lot, and the ‘repair’ had made it difficult for them to properly fix it, even with all the oem parts.
So now I’m very wary of recommendations unless they’re from people I know and trust.

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[DavidG58]

Must admit that when we first get our motorhomes my first job was to lay underneath and give everything metal (not exhaust or engine) a couple of layers of propper outside gloss house paint, brake steel pipes included. Colour a mixture of whatever I had left in part cans at home in the garage. Another bonus is being able to identify it should it get stolen and recovered. Must crawl underneath and check it over some time.

Now I am not sure if you are joking, maybe your humour was lost on me with your earlier post

I refer you back to my earlier post

I don’t think I will be following your advice this time

Like the ID bit though

 

[Thornebt]

Not sure why the garage recommends changing both track rod ends if only one is bad.

 

[DavidG58]

Generally I’d agree and my van is always looked after by an independent specialist, but my car failed it’s MOT big time last year and the nearby supposed ‘experts’ (locally highly praised, but no longer by me!) had done such a poor job of ‘repairing’ it even after I’d taken it back twice that the main dealer had to redo the whole lot, and the ‘repair’ had made it difficult for them to properly fix it, even with all the oem parts.
So now I’m very wary of recommendations unless they’re from people I know and trust.

Totally get this and empathise, we used an independent trusted ‘friend’ when we had turbo issues, £2500 down not fixed, ended up at Mertrux to be undone then done properly

 

[GAVLAD]

I’ve just dropped off my in-laws Mercedes Van (Luton based on Sprinter chassis) at the garage I use for my motorhome for its MOT.
I told them that it will fail as the ABS and ESP lights were lit on the dash.
Sure enough it failed.
They called me with a list and brake pipes were on it.
I will message you with the breakdown of costs when I collect it. They did say they charge £5 per metre for brake pipes and I know their labour is £55 per hour.
You’ll be able to compare with what you’re paying.
I think you’ll then feel a bit better and that what you’re having done for what they’re charging is not too bad.
Like I told my in-laws, you could get it cheaper if you went to different places to get each issue sorted (like an exhaust specialist who was willing and had know how to repair the exhaust and brakes to a different place) but once it’s in for the MOT and they strip it down to see what it’s failed on, they may as well make a start on it all. You’d only have to take it back to re-test it and then you’ve lost any goodwill.

 

[DavidG58]

Not sure why the garage recommends changing both track rod ends if only one is bad.

Back to my gullibility maybe seemed sensible to change both, brake discs are off and it’s virtually only the part price

I took it to be a bit like tyres, change both on same axle even if one still has some life left

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[Silver-Fox]

Must admit that when we first get our motorhomes my first job was to lay underneath and give everything metal (not exhaust or engine) a couple of layers of propper outside gloss house paint, brake steel pipes included. Colour a mixture of whatever I had left in part cans at home in the garage. Another bonus is being able to identify it should it get stolen and recovered. Must crawl underneath and check it over some time.

 

[PeterCarole29]

For 3grand, I would have thought you could get a Stainless Steel exhaust system from a S/S specialist.
Mine has no Cat or DPF but only cost £600 about 5yrs ago.

I have heard of several exhaust,s been done this way worth at least talking to them

 

[MrDean]

Hi David, apologies if you've answered this elsewhere in this thread but where do you live and is there still work to be done on the motorhome? I use an excellent mobile sprinter engineer, who may be able to help. Regards Jonathan

I maybe interested later in the year if they are around the gloucester area.

 

[Just smiffy]

Must admit that when we first get our motorhomes my first job was to lay underneath and give everything metal (not exhaust or engine) a couple of layers of propper outside gloss house paint, brake steel pipes included. Colour a mixture of whatever I had left in part cans at home in the garage. Another bonus is being able to identify it should it get stolen and recovered. Must crawl underneath and check it over some time.

Now I see that as a bad idea… gloss paint I’m assuming it’s oil based will shrink over time and cracks will appear then you got water and moisture creeping in and will make the rust harder to see and will eventually do more damage then not having it…

I would not recommend this to anyone…

Purpose under-sealing products have flexibility in their makeup and are designed for the job.

 

[chesterfield hooligan]

What I don't understand is why aren't brake pipes made with better quality materials as there so important, I do understand the flexible pipes have a lifespan but the metal one's should be of a better quality.
Also we would never change one or two we always change all the metal one's fix and forget.

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[funflair]

Back to my gullibility maybe seemed sensible to change both, brake discs are off and it’s virtually only the part price

I took it to be a bit like tyres, change both on same axle even if one still has some life left

If the one is being changed purely on age related wear and tear as opposed to premature failure I would be doing both as well

 

[Debs]

Just seen this post David - firstly I hope Bevs mum is doing ok & makes a good recovery.

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis too, not sure if you know but Rob was successfully treated for it in 2022. I know you might not feel like it but do your research with treatment options, Rob had brachytherapy.
All the best & hope your van gets sorted so you can get away soon x

 

[pappajohn]

Not sure why the garage recommends changing both track rod ends if only one is bad.

Normal procedure.
If one has failed the other won't be far behind.
Same applies to brake discs etc.

 

[Thornebt]

Normal procedure.
If one has failed the other won't be far behind.
Same applies to brake discs etc.

I thought ball joints generally failed when the rubber boot split, let grease out and sucked water in. So one joint could fail but the other might be perfect. That said, I guess if the rubber has perished enough to split on one side the other joint rubber might be equally perished.

 

[Bonnie119]

As the saying goes You wake up You get up You dress up BUT you never Give Up

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