Car test for older cars.

[madder]

Ok. So I drive a 1997 Toyota Carina E Leanburn Sli. It's a 1.6 litre petrol engine car. It still drives great after doing 240k miles. It is so reliable that I don't want to part with it, but I also see little point in spending a lot of money on the car if and when it does need anything done.
The Car Test is booked for Tuesday 22nd May. ANd I am wondering what things I can do to give myself the best chance of passing.
1. I have checked all my lights. Hazzards/indicators are fine, as are the brake lights. Parking lights are gone by the looks of it, and one of my headlights seems to be acting weird. When the parking lights are switched on, it looks as though there is light coming through the headlight. Just a tiny dot of light? Might just be a reflection, but as far as I can see the 2 parking lights are gone. Also my rear lights are gone. So obviously, I'll replace the bulbs for parking lights and rear lights.
I have booked an oil change for the morning before the test. The spark plugs have done less than 10K and so should be fine. Air filter is probably ok, but I might change it anyway to be safe. Mainly because my IAC valve seems to get dirty regularly and it makes the car rev erratically. SO what I intend on doing is spraying Carb cleaner down the case of the air filter, through the straw, to get it as close to the IAC valve as possible. Hopefully that will make sure that it is clean. Put in a fresh air filter, get the oil change and give the car a 20 to 30 minute drive before the test. This should make emissions lower, right? Is there anything else people would suggest? Is there something I could add to the fuel? Once the emissions are good, and the IAC valve and air system is clean, fresh oil should get the car through without any problems. I am not aware of any other possible fails that my car could have as other than those things it seems to be running perfectly?

 

[Burnerman]

These are perfectly reasonable proposals that you are making - with an older car its not a bad idea to see what it fails on, and then take action, rather than spend a fortune beforehand.
However, don't neglect the obvious, like a blown exhaust or split wiper blades!
Some fuel additive into the petrol wil do no harm, (Millers do a good additive, similar with Forte products) and maybe that little spot of light is due to the bulb holder fallen off the back of the lamp shell?
John

 

[madder]

Thanks John, once again. Always here for advice and help. I guess I'll open up and take a look at the lights and check the bulb holder. I can replace the tail light bulbs and parking light bulbs handy enough I am guessing?
I notice too that my front registration plate is snapped a tiny bit on the bottom right hand corner. Not enough to prevent reading the plate number but I better replace that too. Halfords I guess, for the fuel additive, the number plate, the air filter and the bulbs!

 

[Burnerman]

You seem to have quite a few bulbs gone at the same time mate - maybe this is coincidental?
The plate could be ok, but over here you need the V5 document plus proof of i.d to get a new one.
Dont forget such things as windscreen washers, and here's wishing you luck!
Brilliant car in its day, the Carina.
John

 

[madder]

Thanks John. I reckon I don't check the bulbs often enough, and so there really isn't much telling when exactly they went!

You're right about the washer fluid too! Almost empty! Must make sure that the spray direction is right too! I'd hate to fail on something so silly!

 

[madder]

My eyesight must be on the blink John! The tail lights are working fine! And only 1 parking light is out!

Got the air filter, bought the reg plate just in case, bought 1 parking light bulb! Carb cleaner bought.
Couldn't find Millers Fuel additive. Had to make do with Redex additive. Is that one ok for my car? 1/4 of the bottle to be added to every 25 litres of petrol into the tank. Doesn't say whether to add the stuff before or after though?

Nice to have change out of 30 euros for all of that!

 

[wingcoax]

Redex should go in before you tank up, that way it gets diluted properly. I wish my mot cost that little

 

[Burnerman]

The Redex will do fine, and overdosing won't do any harm either......the emissions test won't be as strict as it is on newer vehicles anyway.
Lets know how it goes!
John

 

[madder]

Thanks guys.
The test(called NCT here) costs 55 Euros, I think. Retest would be 25 or 30. The few bits I bought today should, hopefully, be enough to pass the test. The oil change will cost another 55. So long as I don't have a big job to do, I don't mind too much. The last two times it failed on something like wishbone bushes or something strange like that. Expensive fix on both occasions as it takes a long time to repair. I really hope it doesn't fail on that again.
Text is next tuesday and I'll let you know what happens!

 

[Mursal]

Hi all,

No wheel covers (if steel wheels)
Good tyres/spare
Wash underneath
Fasten all the seat belts especially the back (3), easy for them to check.
Good drivers seat?
Good pedal rubbers both brake and clutch?
Number plate light on the back?
Any severe body rust repair before he sees it, as it will need welding if it fails

Chuck steel brake pipes for rust and de-rust/paint if necessary. after painting (black) coat with Waxoil. Especially check the pipes going to the rear over the fuel tank, you don't want to be replacing then if avoidable.


Good luck

 

[JohnD]

When the parking lights are switched on, it looks as though there is light coming through the headlight. Just a tiny dot of light?

these strange things are often due to a faulty (usually rusty) earth connection between the shell of the car, and the lamp fitting.

Try giving a good earth with a bit of wire and a probe, perhaps to a metal screw head, if you have not got a test meter.

 

[ray99]

Is it a UK or Japan built car? (Makes a big difference to build quality)

 

[appletree]

Hi all,

No wheel covers (if steel wheels)
Good tyres/spare
Wash underneath
Fasten all the seat belts especially the back (3), easy for them to check.
Good drivers seat?
Good pedal rubbers both brake and clutch?
Number plate light on the back?
Any severe body rust repair before he sees it, as it will need welding if it fails

Chuck steel brake pipes for rust and de-rust/paint if necessary. after painting (black) coat with Waxoil. Especially check the pipes going to the rear over the fuel tank, you don't want to be replacing then if avoidable.


Good luck

I think I will go with this paint brake pipes advice, every year I clean them, sand smooth any minor rust then coat the pipes with grease, always passed but always get an advice notice about the grease.

On thing I regularly did on older cars was on the hand brake, with well worn components, seating points and ridging on rear drums etc always had trouble getting hand brake fully on in a few clicks but then fully off with no binding when released, I would remove the hand brake lever and grind the first notch off to give me a little more travel b4 the first click, bit cheeky but always got me through, ours all have discs on the back now so haven't had a problem with it as much lately.

 

[madder]

I'm not very handy with minor fixes. I can do the basics, such as air filter, bulbs, plugs, tyres, fluids, battery. Could probably do the oil change myself too but it's a bit awkward so I'm getting that done this morning before the test. I am also going to do a full lane test trial this morning at my local autoservice centre, just to see if they think it will pass.

Test is this afternoon, so I will report back sometime after 430.

 

[madder]

Apparently the back breaks aren't locking in when tested on the wheel in the autoservice place. That is the only fault that they found? Anything I can do or should I just put it through and see what happen? Cheers guys and wish me luck