Ok, gingerly drove the 200 yards or so to the test centre, and dropped off the SJ this afternoon.
It failed. On:
- Offside winscreen wiper is not touching the windscreen in the middle (the new one is bowed slightly)
- Nearside headlamp is aimed too high
- Rear fog lamp isn't working (actually it is - just only on main beam, because I was told that's how it's supposed to work - this may have been wrong)
- Front steering arm (actually, it's the steering damper) has "relative movement at it's fixings" - the bushes are worn out.
- Nearside front axle swivel joint has excessive play (sounds to me like it needs new kingpin bearings?)
- Exhaust emissions carbon monoxide content excessive
- Rubber bush perished on driver's side body mount (the one under the driver's foot) lose
Advisories:
- Temporary fuel cap fitted
- Offside rear inner wheel arch corroded (it's not, there's a split - I guess their computer has a limited number of things it can list)
I'm actually happy with that list, believe it or not - I'm not driving it anywhere with those rear halfshafts/backing plates/whatever wobbling about like that, so it's not going to be moving for a while, but at least now I have a list of things I need to work on.
Yeah, it'd have been nice if it'd have just passed - but now I have a list of easy fixes.
Well, apart from the axles - I think I need to pull both axles and do a complete overhaul of both of them. Check them for trueness (thinking of using a laser level for this), then fit all new bearings and seals.
Also want to get my x-eng handbrake kit onto the 410 t-case, build it a nice heavy duty bucket to live in, and mount it with new heavy duty mounts both sides (going to cut off the suzuki mounts and fit something much, much meatier).
So that's it for now, the SJ is definitely not going on the road for a while yet, as the axle rebuilds are going to take *a while*.
Still, I got a taste of what she drives like on the road - and even at pedestrian speeds, she's a fun little beast! Couldn't feel the shudder that the rear axle should've been causing, but I did hear the brakes squeak a bit.
So the (re)build continues. New goals, new timetable. I'm going to take a little break though, until I can afford everything I'll need to rebuild the axles. I'll just do the rest of the little MOT failure jobs in the meantime, and talk to a man I know who should know a thing or two about tuning SU's. I think I'm running *crazy* rich...
But the SJ's been out today. That's all she's getting until I can afford to sort out the rest of the problems. Still, it's good to have an official list to work off of! Next MOT should have me fly through with no failures at all, hopefully!
