oil leaks and the mot

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Mon 29 Jan 2007 12:23
oil leaks and the mot - milkyjoe
why is it that a car can gush oil from evry seal and thus covering the engine, fan belt ,alternator, road, driveway, et al, but they dont bat an eyelid at the mot station, seems strange in these pc,enviromental,tree hugging save the whale times we live in?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 29 Jan 2007 13:15
oil leaks and the mot - martint123
Stops it rusting though.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 29 Jan 2007 14:05
oil leaks and the mot - milkyjoe
good point martin123
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 29 Jan 2007 14:13
oil leaks and the mot - L'escargot
why is it that a car can gush oil ......... but they dont bat an eyelid at the mot
station, ...........


It's probably because oil leaks don't usually compromise the safety of the vehicle. Hugging trees and saving whales are the preserve of some other organisation.
--
L\'escargot.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 17 Feb 2007 23:12
oil leaks and the mot - wesleywain
Is that true. I have heard this before, surely if its leaking fluid or oil then its a danger to be on the road and could get worse at any point. Considering i have been fined in court for not haveing water in my washer bottles, and failed a m.o.t for a hangingtree in the windscreen.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 18 Feb 2007 13:55
oil leaks and the mot - scotmech
I can remember 20 years ago when i was with a haulage fleet ... when I went to the testing station for test ... the rule then (Probably a lot different now) if there was fuel or oil leaks the tester would wipe it and wait 18 seconds if it dripped within that time it was a fail and a pass if it dripped after that ... I am sure that was in the testers manual at that time ...
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 19 Feb 2007 08:27
oil leaks and the mot - Cliff Pope
Gosh, how precise. Not 20 seconds, or 15, or 19, but 18. So the engine could be spewing out oil on the road, but as long as it didn't drip when stationary within the magic 18 seconds it was all right?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 19 Feb 2007 10:37
oil leaks and the mot - nick
If oil leaks were a problem none of my old British classics would ever pass!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 19 Feb 2007 10:45
oil leaks and the mot - Number_Cruncher
To be fair, truck testing has always been a lot more precise than car testing - there have been very useful guidelines for how much play you are allowed in kinp-pins and spring shackles for example. The standards which apply to goods vehicle regarding leakage don't have any counterpoint for cars AFAIK.

Number_Cruncher
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 19 Feb 2007 12:44
oil leaks and the mot - Cliff Pope
Do commercial vehicles still have automatic chassis lubrication, like some expensive pre-war cars did? Oil was pumped along pipes to all the suspension joints and bushes, and then of course it dribbled out onto the road.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 19 Feb 2007 13:30
oil leaks and the mot - Number_Cruncher
>>Do commercial vehicles still have automatic chassis lubrication

Not usually as standard. My father used to have the Interlube system retro-fitted on the multi-wheel rigid trucks he used to run - the number of grease nipples on an eight wheeler is enough to keep someone busy for an hour or two, just cleaning them off, and getting some grease into them. He didn't bother with tractor units, because they were more managable. The systems ran off a central pump, which was electronically controlled (pulsed every so often), we would tend to up the pulse rate after the trucks had been pressure washed/steam cleaned, to make sure any water was driven back out of the bearing surfaces.

Number_Cruncher
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide