Avoid MOT Failures with these External Checks

Have your assistant turn the wheel from side to side slightly while you grab each of the front wheels in turn and check for excessive play. Play in the steering could be due to a worn steering rack, coupling or insecurity of the steering column. All would fail an MOT.

While you assistant turns the wheel more vigourously examine all the joints and linkages for signs of wear or damage. Everything should remain solid. Watch your fingers! Make sure no pieces rattle or wobble. Any worn or damage peices must be replaced including the rubber bushes at the linkage joints. The rubber must be solid. Old bushes can become to pliable to do their job. If you check all the bushes a worn one should stand out from the rest by providing more movement than the rest. It is unlikely that all the bushes would need replacing at the same time so worn ones should stand out.

Check power sterring pump for any signs of leakage and as prevoiusly mentioned check that the steering goes lighter when engine is running. Check the condition of the belts that drive the pully wheel on the front of the pump and the hoses/pipes that come from the pump.

Make sure that all suspension parts are secure and intact. Also any torsion bars, hyraulic displacer units etc. Check mountings and brackets for any sign of excess wear or damge/corrosion. Any hydraulic suspension pipes should be checked for leakage and damage.

Shock Absorbers

Make sure before doing any tests that your vehicle is unladen and on a level surface.

Press down on each corner of the car in turn and make sure that the car returns to its normal position when releasing. The car should not continue to bounce on afterwards. This would indicate worn shock absorbers. Also make sure that none of the shock absorbers are seized preventing you from pushing down the car.

Turn the steering wheel fully to either side will expose the shock absorbers where you check for any signs of leakage. Behind the spring will be a shiny rod that goes inside the shock absorber. Check for any fluid leakage on this rod, It should be dry and clean all the way round. Also check that the springs are intact and the joints to the car body and suspension are solid. For leaf spings check that all the leaves are intact and that the axle is securely attached. Check condition of all attachments such as spring eye mountings, bushes and shackles.

Open the bonnet and check each side of the engine bay to where the shock absorbers come up inside each wing. There can be no corrosion around these areas and the retaining nut on top should show no signs of corrosion, wear or damage.

Signs of wear to a shock absorber can also be shown in unusual wear in the tread patterns of your tyres.

Exhaust System

Have your assistant place a rag over the exhaust while the engine is running. (Note they are not trying to block the exhaust just impede it)

Check system for leaks.
This will be a lot easier with the car jacked up but if you cannot jack the car up, a leak should still be more obvious when the pipe is partially blocked with a rag.
Joints are the normal places for leaks to occur and can sometimes be fixed by simply tightening up the bolts that hold the joints together. I say simply but the bolts can sometimes be badly corroded and seized. Applying some oil and allowing time for penetration will help.

Wheels & Tyres

Check the side wall of all tyres fro any damage, splits, lumps or bulges. Make sure that there is no seperation of the tread from the tyre and no visible signs of any of the ply or cord.

Check that the tyre bead is correctly seated in the wheel rim and the wheel is not distorted or buckled.

Check that the valve is correctly seated and is is good working order.

Check that each tyre is of the correct size and pressure for the vehicle and that each tyre matches the opposite tyre on each axle.

Check the tread depth of each tyre. The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm for at least 75% of the tyre. Abnormal wear patterns could indicate worn shock absorbers, innacurate wheel alignment, bad tyre pressures or suspension faults.

Bodywork

Check the overall condition of the bodywork for excess corrosion especially in load bearing areas such as side sills, chassis, cross members, and pillars. Any of these points which display corrosion or thinning of the panels can fail an MOT and will require qualified repair.

Any accident damage can be permissable providing that there are no sharp edges protruding and that any damage has not affected the structural integrity of the car.