INSPECT Suspension Mounts Superficial Rust (?) MOT FAIL

rogerball0

UK Spec 2002 LWB 311 CDI
Re: Suspension Mounts Superficial Rust (?) MOT FAIL

Had exactly the same problem last year, after cleaning mine up the right hand side suspension hanger had cracked through the bottom and was peeling away from the inner sill location and the left hand side had a small deep crack in the bottom that would eventually collapse. You can't get them from MB UK, Steve Ball (Mercedes Gen In) put me in touch with a firm in the U.S. who supplied the parts.

FWIW mine were never an MOT failure but were slowly failing and formed what turned out to be the start of a reasonably comprehensive chassis rebuild.

Parts you may need:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leaf-Spring-Hanger-Rear-Dorman-722-215-fits-03-06-Dodge-Sprinter-2500/222461011852?epid=508946243&hash=item33cbb5a78c:g:iLoAAOSwZ8lboMBP

Mine before: the underside (floor of the hanger) had cracked through & was progressively coming away from the inner sill, but the worst bit is a couple of photos down.

IMG_20180819_164828.jpg

New ones fitted, here's the right hand side

IMG_20180920_092639.jpg

What you couldn't see with the leaf spring attached; the hanger was literally days away from failing, that hole is where the leaf spring bolt attaches through the hanger and again this hadn't failed an MOT so worth checking even if you just drop the leaf spring out of the hanger to check overall condition of the hangar & bushings.

IMG_20180920_115606.jpg

I replaced hangers on both sides plus all suspension shackles (2 sheared when removing nuts), nuts, bolts & bushes with OEM parts as alot of parts were worn or failed through removal from the chassis then ended up going to town on the chassis, rust proofing and replacing parts.

IMG_20181020_141832.jpg

Welder i used, he's based in Poole www.cwwelding.co.uk charged me £200 a side with me as helper.

Costs were; welding - £400, hangars - £200 & ancillaries - £200

P.S, Gwilyn, i live about 10 miles from you in Ringwood, message me if you get stuck.

cheers

Roger
 
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lindenengineering

Well-known member
Re: Suspension Mounts Superficial Rust (?) MOT FAIL

Roger
Thanks for posting the pictures.
I see a few like this every so often , basically half a day away from the crusher!

Looks like a nice job done
The last time I was in the UK my brother's shop was doing some weld "scorch up work" on a Transit destined for a Nigerian buyer..Probably end up as a Matatu in Niarobi!

I said to him Hey Gordon this thing looks like a lace curtain.
Yeh after some patching and paint then a T Cut will look great.
All I can state is "Got Matatu"!
Dennis

P.S
For your Sunday entertainment, you have to have good welded structure when you go to bounce de car Maan!!:bounce:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxrGiouSGBU
 

rogerball0

UK Spec 2002 LWB 311 CDI
Re: Suspension Mounts Superficial Rust (?) MOT FAIL

Roger
Thanks for posting the pictures.
I see a few like this every so often , basically half a day away from the crusher!

Looks like a nice job done
The last time I was in the UK my brother's shop was doing some weld "scorch up work" on a Transit destined for a Nigerian buyer..Probably end up as a Matatu in Niarobi!

I said to him Hey Gordon this thing looks like a lace curtain.
Yeh after some patching and paint then a T Cut will look great.
All I can state is "Got Matatu"!
Dennis

P.S
For your Sunday entertainment, you have to have good welded structure when you go to bounce de car Maan!!:bounce:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxrGiouSGBU
Bloody hell that lot are crazy! You right though its amazing how many people are fooled by a fresh coat of paint and never think to look underneath. Since i decided to keep mine for a few more years back in 2017 i'm surprised how many jobs i've caught just in time.

It seems to me 15 years from purchase is when things start to go wrong if my vans anything to go by and from the experiences i'm reading online of the newer model i'll definitely stick with mine for now.

I'm finally getting on top of the jobs list, just fitting the cargo area out with some new cabinets at the moment:

IMG_20190525_172839.jpg
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Worth the effort again well done!
The director of Daf Bus in Holland once said to me "You Williams people know how to turn schit into perfectly running vehicles" .:laughing:

Nice :thumbup::thumbup:
Dennis
 

Ed463

Active member
Re: Suspension Mounts Superficial Rust (?) MOT FAIL

I belong to a couple of other forums and certainly anecdotally British MOT are not as consistent as Dennis seems to feel they are. People get failed for minors while others get passed and then discover majors. The training may be top notch, but perhaps the certification is not?
Regarding the pictures affixed, I could see an easy fail there, but don’t know how anyone could ascertain what is going on from the pics. I would wire brush that down so I could see what’s what before being able to decide on welding etc, but in my experience with rusty vehicles, most of that looks surface, with the road grime and undercoat peeling off making it look major.
Yep I've got a mate, who's mates cousin told him about an MOT station that will pass anything:lol:
I've only had one disagreement with an MOT tester, he didn't like the suspension bushes on a 25yr old G Wagen.
I can assure you the testers are VERY careful to comply with the regulations, they are randomly inspected, the tests are input in real time to a central data base (Which I'm sure has some clever algorithms to spot suspicious trends) and their livelihood depends on being professional. Oh and you can witness the test from a viewing area.
I've no issue at all with the high standards required to keep a vehicle on the road.
Well, until next time I see the fail report and bill:lol:
 

Gwilym & Eddy the Merckx

2000 208 CDi MWB Bus & 2005 313 CDi 4mWB Crew Van
Dead right about the miss-use of a jacking tool that part has been bent un-necessarily by an idiot in the past!...Yet another of my many reasons for being terrified of mechanics...sorry guys I know there are very good ones!:cheers:

All of the information that's been highlighted by everyone here is greatly appreciated it has helped me a lot.

All of the areas are completely solid and and rust is completely supperficial.

Unfortunately I found out too late that you can challenge an MOT but only within 14 days so sadly that catastrophic language will remain with my vehicle history on the DVLA web-site. To be honest i don't think I'd have contested it anyway it's too much bother I'll just go to another MOT station when everything is cleaned up under there!

:cheers::cheers:
 
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lindenengineering

Well-known member
Re: Suspension Mounts Superficial Rust (?) MOT FAIL

Yep I've got a mate, who's mates cousin told him about an MOT station that will pass anything:lol:
I've only had one disagreement with an MOT tester, he didn't like the suspension bushes on a 25yr old G Wagen.
I can assure you the testers are VERY careful to comply with the regulations, they are randomly inspected, the tests are input in real time to a central data base (Which I'm sure has some clever algorithms to spot suspicious trends) and their livelihood depends on being professional. Oh and you can witness the test from a viewing area.
I've no issue at all with the high standards required to keep a vehicle on the road.
Well, until next time I see the fail report and bill:lol:
I will just add that when I was an MOT Inspector, a colleague called Keith did an inspection on a Morris 1100. (Year was about 1972)
Car was clean, very clean with brand new tyres on it! Newly released rallye Dunlop SP Sport radials, a bit OTT for that car and moreso drooling needed them on on my rip snorting 1964 Morris Cooper Mini (6044 DD) still remember the registration DD = Gloucester! Light blue & dark blue roof! The girls in town loved it ! Great pick up car !

For some reason I took a couple of fotos of these tyres hoping to scrounge a good price from some of the "tyre soles" we had in town.
In the meantime the owner of the car from Coleford with a new test certificate, sold the car to someone & being the seller he switched the tyres & wheels before the sale . Then the new owner had a fatal accident in the car killing kids on bikes . The tyres and wheels were determined to be the cause of the accident! Then the balloon went up!
Keith was investigated and suspended from work for a few weeks until the investigation was concluded.
We were all investigated and interrogated about inspection procedures by the Ministry Of Transport inspectors and the local police vehicle inspection teams.
I innocently save Keith's bacon with those photos I casually took showing that that the tyres on the car were like new when he tested it! Phew!
He got his job back--eventually, but he had to re-do his test proficiency --to clear the books they said!
A month of nasty procedures for us testers at the county. Taught is some big lessons which I have never forgotten! Keith was without pay for more than a month.
The Authorities take this stuff very seriously in the UK.
Dennis
 

Oilburner

2004 2500 140"cargo l/r x 2
And the tyres/tires were 10" this was my first car about 40 years ago bloody red 850 cc with engine and manual trans sharing 1 oil.. what a car it was! No wood moldings, just pure thick sheet metal!
 

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