My poor little polo is due for its MOT next month, any advise on what i
shoud check before sending to the garage for a whopping great bill. Its an F
reg 1.3 petrol.

Does any one know how big a chip iun a windscreen has to be before an MOT
failure? Pretty sure mine is a failure, a pheasant hit it and took my arial
off with it grrrrr!! left a sort or circular crack about the size of a 50p
piece.

--

They're usually pretty good, but make sure the rear brakes are effective -
does the handbrake slow the car noticeably when pulled on. Careful - brake
lights won't show, so make sure no-one's behind, or to each side in case it
skids if it's very effective (unlikely in a Polo!). Does it stop OK and not
pull either way when you push on the brakes?

Number plate lights get problems with corrosion - can often be a tricky
repair, needing a soldering iron to permanently join the wire and bulb, or a
new/used light unit.

Check the CV joint boots are not oozing grease (usually outer). I've had
the drive-shaft nut loosen on the odd occasion, and it failed on front wheel
bearing (but just needed tightening) - pull the front wheels in and out at
the top to check they don't rock.

Sometimes the rubber doughnuts at the top of the struts compress and allow
rocking of the strut when tested with the wheels off the ground - most
testers know this one by now, and lightly load it to check it's not rocking
due to a worn strut bearing.

Check the seat belts retract OK.

Check the fuel tank outlet pipe isn't leaking where it is attached to the
tank - special leak sealer for fuel leaks will do a temporary job.

There is a max size chip allowed in the swept surface, but 50p sounds bigger
than allowed. One of those windscreen companies would tell you - they might
do a cheap repair. They evacuate the air from the crack and fill with
resin - don't know what they would charge.
If not, the screens are held in with a rubber seal rather than glued and
aren't too hard to replace yourself with a bit of help.

I assume you got the oil leak sorted somehow - not an MoT problem though.

I've not had trouble with engine emissions, but I have a DIY CO meter to
help keep them in limits.

Good luck.
--
Dave.
UK VW Type 3 & 4 Club
http://www.hallvw.clara.co.uk/
------
"Thee_Psycho" wrote in message
...
My poor little polo is due for its MOT next month, any advise on what i
shoud check before sending to the garage for a whopping great bill. Its an
F
reg 1.3 petrol.

Does any one know how big a chip iun a windscreen has to be before an MOT
failure? Pretty sure mine is a failure, a pheasant hit it and took my
arial
off with it grrrrr!! left a sort or circular crack about the size of a 50p
piece.

--

This website explians the rules governing windsrceen damage and the MOT.
http://www.autoglass.co.uk/repair/mot.html

If you are a memebr of CMSA, Lex Auto Centres do a 33% MOT discount and a no
pass, no fee policy or 14 days to fix a fault.


"Dave Hall" wrote in message
...
They're usually pretty good, but make sure the rear brakes are effective -
does the handbrake slow the car noticeably when pulled on. Careful -
brake
lights won't show, so make sure no-one's behind, or to each side in case
it
skids if it's very effective (unlikely in a Polo!). Does it stop OK and
not
pull either way when you push on the brakes?

Number plate lights get problems with corrosion - can often be a tricky
repair, needing a soldering iron to permanently join the wire and bulb, or
a
new/used light unit.

Check the CV joint boots are not oozing grease (usually outer). I've had
the drive-shaft nut loosen on the odd occasion, and it failed on front
wheel
bearing (but just needed tightening) - pull the front wheels in and out at
the top to check they don't rock.

Sometimes the rubber doughnuts at the top of the struts compress and allow
rocking of the strut when tested with the wheels off the ground - most
testers know this one by now, and lightly load it to check it's not
rocking
due to a worn strut bearing.

Check the seat belts retract OK.

Check the fuel tank outlet pipe isn't leaking where it is attached to the
tank - special leak sealer for fuel leaks will do a temporary job.

There is a max size chip allowed in the swept surface, but 50p sounds
bigger
than allowed. One of those windscreen companies would tell you - they
might
do a cheap repair. They evacuate the air from the crack and fill with
resin - don't know what they would charge.
If not, the screens are held in with a rubber seal rather than glued and
aren't too hard to replace yourself with a bit of help.

I assume you got the oil leak sorted somehow - not an MoT problem though.

I've not had trouble with engine emissions, but I have a DIY CO meter to
help keep them in limits.

Good luck.
--
Dave.
UK VW Type 3 & 4 Club
http://www.hallvw.clara.co.uk/
------
"Thee_Psycho" wrote in message
...
My poor little polo is due for its MOT next month, any advise on what i
shoud check before sending to the garage for a whopping great bill. Its
an
F
reg 1.3 petrol.

Does any one know how big a chip iun a windscreen has to be before an
MOT
failure? Pretty sure mine is a failure, a pheasant hit it and took my
arial
off with it grrrrr!! left a sort or circular crack about the size of a
50p
piece.

--

I would check the brake pipes for corrosion and the sills too.

--Steve



"Thee_Psycho" wrote in message
...
My poor little polo is due for its MOT next month, any advise on what i
shoud check before sending to the garage for a whopping great bill. Its an
F
reg 1.3 petrol.

Does any one know how big a chip iun a windscreen has to be before an MOT
failure? Pretty sure mine is a failure, a pheasant hit it and took my
arial
off with it grrrrr!! left a sort or circular crack about the size of a 50p
piece.

--

Cheers Dave Excellent list!

Not fixed my oil leek, its just stopped! All I have don eis change my oil
and oil filter.. so I am hoping it was leaking oil filter but realy didin't
look like it. Anyway cleaned it all up so shoudl be easier to spot it again
if it re occurs.


"Dave Hall" wrote in message
...
They're usually pretty good, but make sure the rear brakes are effective -
does the handbrake slow the car noticeably when pulled on. Careful -
brake
lights won't show, so make sure no-one's behind, or to each side in case
it
skids if it's very effective (unlikely in a Polo!). Does it stop OK and
not
pull either way when you push on the brakes?

Number plate lights get problems with corrosion - can often be a tricky
repair, needing a soldering iron to permanently join the wire and bulb, or
a
new/used light unit.

Check the CV joint boots are not oozing grease (usually outer). I've had
the drive-shaft nut loosen on the odd occasion, and it failed on front
wheel
bearing (but just needed tightening) - pull the front wheels in and out at
the top to check they don't rock.

Sometimes the rubber doughnuts at the top of the struts compress and allow
rocking of the strut when tested with the wheels off the ground - most
testers know this one by now, and lightly load it to check it's not
rocking
due to a worn strut bearing.

Check the seat belts retract OK.

Check the fuel tank outlet pipe isn't leaking where it is attached to the
tank - special leak sealer for fuel leaks will do a temporary job.

There is a max size chip allowed in the swept surface, but 50p sounds
bigger
than allowed. One of those windscreen companies would tell you - they
might
do a cheap repair. They evacuate the air from the crack and fill with
resin - don't know what they would charge.
If not, the screens are held in with a rubber seal rather than glued and
aren't too hard to replace yourself with a bit of help.

I assume you got the oil leak sorted somehow - not an MoT problem though.

I've not had trouble with engine emissions, but I have a DIY CO meter to
help keep them in limits.

Good luck.
--
Dave.
UK VW Type 3 & 4 Club
http://www.hallvw.clara.co.uk/
------
"Thee_Psycho" wrote in message
...
My poor little polo is due for its MOT next month, any advise on what i
shoud check before sending to the garage for a whopping great bill. Its
an
F
reg 1.3 petrol.

Does any one know how big a chip iun a windscreen has to be before an
MOT
failure? Pretty sure mine is a failure, a pheasant hit it and took my
arial
off with it grrrrr!! left a sort or circular crack about the size of a
50p
piece.

--

Glad to be of help, and that the oil leak has gone (for now, at least). The
car obviously likes its new owner.

Another listee mentioned the brake pipes, which I forgot in my list. I've
had to carefully rub down orange deposit on the rear pipes around the back
suspension and rub in some of the dirty oil to make it look as though there
had never been any of this substance there. Of course if corrosion is
serious, don't hide it! The rears on our very old ones come all the way
from the front, and one was badly corroded, needed a flared joint to be made
at the rear to add a new piece. Our front pipes have been OK, but check
those too. The front rubber brake hoses bend through a large angle - check
for cracks in the rubber. The rear ones aren't usually a problem but while
checking for corrosion there, it's easy to check them too.

Oh, and make sure the handbrake works on both rear wheels - there's a wheel
the cable goes round that must be free to rotate. Stick some grease on the
cable adjusting thread too, so it adjusts next time you need it to.

--
Dave.
UK VW Type 3 & 4 Club
http://www.hallvw.clara.co.uk/
------
"Thee_Psycho" wrote in message
...
Cheers Dave Excellent list!

Not fixed my oil leek, its just stopped! All I have done is change my oil
and oil filter.. so I am hoping it was leaking oil filter but realy
didin't
look like it. Anyway cleaned it all up so shoudl be easier to spot it
again
if it re occurs.