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MOT tester v Underseal - dodgy turbo's....

1K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  Dakta 
#1 ·
Hello all.

Took my motor for an MOT Friday. Against my better judgement I opted for a garage MOT and not the usual MOT only gaff due to lack of ££ and the lure of a cheap test.

To cut a long one short, he refused to test it because I'd rust treated and under-sealed all 4 wheel arches and around the jacking points because some cretin had jacked the motor on the floor pan and it had started to rust quite badly. Reason was because he couldn't see the quality of welding even though no welding had been done. He could test it if I washed all the under-seal off..!

He then went on to describe in some detail how badly the MG turbo's suffers from ?turbo over-spin? which quite frankly scared the **** out of me and suggested I either have the unit refurb or have a refurb fitted AND start having the oil changed every 2,500 miles to avoid any turbo issue in the future.

WTF now? Anxiety creeping in and I'm starting to spinning out a bit. The other half went skyward, 2 kids, summer hols, no car.

Beam me up Scotty :banghead:
 
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#4 ·
Yeah, what a complete ****, just trying to wind me up!

Spent a fortune on some expensive oil and a filter so feel happier now!

Don't suppose anyone knows what I can get new fuel lines, got one that looks very ill and close it going :frown:

Never rains but...
 
#6 ·
Was he talking about turbo overspin or Engine runaway

If he was talking about when diesel turbo engines dump a load of oil into the intercooler from worn seals in the turbo which then gets pulled into the engine which then proceeds to rev its tits off = Engine runaway (Big killer of Vauxhall Vivaros, I've done three :D )

Turbo overspeed is usually caused by a restriction in the airtake of split/detatched hoses or worn injectors, not the turbo itself. If anything its worth checking out the pipework on the turbo to make sure its in good order. If the pipes are no good, it could cause the same issue on even a brand new turbo. You never replace the turbo without first finding out why it ate itself in the first place.

To be honest i think that mechanic is just trying to worry you in order to get work from you. My wifes old Vectra was plastered with underseal and that was never a problem for my MOT tester. I would tell the bull******ter to do one and go somewhere else.

As for the fuel lines other than Rimmers you could try Pirtek who may be able to knock some up for you. eBay may also be an option.
 
#10 ·
Use a good quality oil also, fully synthetic is what i use in everything, even my gearbox . You could also be like me, every car i have ever owned has only ever had a genuine filter from the dealership. I have 10 filters in my loft for my ZR, just in case they dry up. Its a bit anal i know but i've done it for that long now that i can bring myself to fit a non genuine filter on anything.

Even my wifes nail of a Vectra has a genuine GM filter on it :surprise:
 
#11 ·
Ha, talk to me about being anal! Some years back in my youth I had an old C reg escort 1.6 derv. My obsession then was clean oil and for the first year did an oil change every month, the following 9 years of ownership 5 changed per year. It went to the scrap yard with 397k and rust was the reason for that.

Grown out of that now, twice a year is enough I think.. :grin:
 
#12 ·
To cut a long one short, he refused to test it because I'd rust treated and under-sealed all 4 wheel arches and around the jacking points because some cretin had jacked the motor on the floor pan and it had started to rust quite badly. Reason was because he couldn't see the quality of welding even though no welding had been done. He could test it if I washed all the under-seal off..!

He then went on to describe in some detail how badly the MG turbo's suffers from ?turbo over-spin? which quite frankly scared the **** out of me and suggested I either have the unit refurb or have a refurb fitted AND start having the oil changed every 2,500 miles to avoid any turbo issue in the future.
Tester probably suspects you have tried to hid rot with underseal. However he should still test it as presented.

Is it a turbo diesel or petrol? I suspect diesel in which case runaway isn't unknown but isn't common. Usual reason is a failed turbo which is usually caused by people running with split intercooler hoses for extended periods. If it is a diesel then there is no point changing the oil every 2.5k. Depending on how you use it 12k mile intervals or yearly is fine. I've done 20k mile changes at some points on mine when it was doing a lot of miles, (that was 6 monthly!).
 
#13 ·
**** I knew there was something I needed to check today. Is the pipe that needs checking the big one at the top?

As others have said he was probably after more work at the expense of a divvy..

Could you educate an idiot and briefly explain why over-speed occurs with a dodgy pipe. I thought it was down to poor servicing, oils etc.. I want to eliminate any turbo problems if at all possible even though refurbs look silly cheap on ebay..

My one's a diesel..
 
#19 ·
MG John, myself and 1234dist welded up some major just holes on my
ROVER 400 but we ran short of welding wire once it was all stitch
welded together so dist applied blobs of silicone in between the welds
to make it look more welded than it was then applied stone chip, it
was proper solid but a bit 50/50 lol, MOT tester was happier with it
than the last time it was in.
 
#20 ·
He then went on to describe in some detail how badly the MG turbo's suffers from ?turbo over-spin?
It's the underspin you want to watch out for, there you are driving to the MOT station thinking the days going your way, you pull out of a junction to take a gap in a cocky fashion, put the foot down then....nothing!

Damn these turbos
 
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